Seasonal Guide

Hurricane Season Prep: Remodeling Upgrades That Protect Your Brevard County Home

June 1 is closer than you think. Here is what to do now.

Home / Blog / Hurricane Season Prep: Remodeling Upgrades

Florida Living

Florida hurricane season officially begins June 1 and runs through November 30. For Brevard County homeowners, that means right now - the end of March through May - is the single best window to complete structural and protective remodeling upgrades before contractor backlogs explode and permit offices slow down from the pre-season rush.

We have seen this pattern repeat every year. Homeowners who call us in September after a near miss are looking at 6 to 10 week wait times and material price spikes. Homeowners who call us in March are scheduling installs before the heat and the storms arrive. This guide covers the upgrades that matter most, what they cost, and how to prioritize if you cannot do everything at once.

Why Brevard County Requires Serious Preparation

Melbourne and the broader Space Coast sit on a peninsula flanked by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Indian River Lagoon to the west. That geography means direct exposure to Atlantic storms and persistent wind-driven rain from nearly any direction. NOAA's National Hurricane Center historical data shows Brevard County has been in the track or impact zone of dozens of named storms over the past 30 years, including direct and near-direct hits from Frances (2004), Jeanne (2004), and Matthew (2016).

The Florida Division of Emergency Management consistently identifies window and door failures as the primary cause of catastrophic interior damage during hurricanes. Once a window or exterior door fails, wind pressure entering the structure can lift the roof from the inside. Every upgrade on this list addresses that core vulnerability in some way.

Impact Windows: The Single Highest-Value Upgrade

If you can only do one thing before hurricane season, install impact-rated windows. No other single upgrade delivers the combination of storm protection, energy savings, insurance discounts, and resale value that impact windows provide.

Impact windows are constructed with laminated glass bonded to a PVB (polyvinyl butyral) or SGP (SentryGlas Plus) interlayer. When struck by debris, the glass may crack but the interlayer holds the pieces together, maintaining the building envelope. This is what prevents the catastrophic pressure failure described above.

Current installed cost in Brevard County runs approximately:

  • Standard double-hung impact window: $800 to $1,400 per window installed
  • Large picture or fixed windows: $1,200 to $2,500 per window
  • Full home replacement (average 3/2 home): $15,000 to $35,000 depending on window count, size, and frame material

The return is substantial. Citizens Property Insurance - Florida's insurer of last resort and one of the largest in the state - offers meaningful premium discounts for homes with full opening protection. Combined with reduced cooling bills (impact glass blocks significant UV and heat transfer), many homeowners see a 7 to 10 year payback period on the investment independent of storm protection value.

For permit requirements and Florida Product Approval numbers, the Florida Building Commission's product approval database is the authoritative source. All windows we install carry current Florida Product Approval and are installed to Brevard County's adopted Florida Building Code standards.

Impact Doors and Garage Door Upgrades

Standard entry doors - even heavy solid-core wood doors - are not rated for hurricane-force winds. Impact-rated entry doors use the same laminated glass technology as windows but incorporate reinforced frames, heavy-duty multipoint locking hardware, and tested door slabs designed to resist both positive and negative pressure.

Costs for impact entry door systems in Brevard County:

  • Single impact entry door: $2,500 to $5,000 installed
  • Double French door configuration: $4,500 to $9,000 installed
  • Sliding glass door replacement (8 ft): $3,500 to $7,000 installed

Garage doors are frequently the weakest point in a home's envelope. An unbraced double-car garage door rated for only 90 mph will fail in a major hurricane. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety has documented garage door failures as a leading cause of total home loss in hurricanes. Wind-rated garage doors and horizontal bracing kits are far less expensive than a new garage door and offer meaningful protection for most storms. Full wind-rated door replacement runs $1,800 to $4,500 depending on size and rating.

Roofing: When a Remodel Becomes a Protection Upgrade

If your roof is more than 15 years old, a pre-season inspection is essential. Roofs that fail in hurricanes typically fail at the edges first - fascia, soffits, and rake edges take the initial wind load and, once compromised, allow water infiltration that can spread rapidly.

While ELSO's primary expertise is interior and exterior remodeling rather than roofing, we work closely with licensed roofing contractors throughout Brevard County and can coordinate a complete home hardening project that includes roofline work. Key upgrades to discuss with a roofer:

  • Secondary water barrier (SWB) - self-adhering underlayment applied over the roof deck before shingles or tile, required by current Florida Building Code but absent on many pre-2007 homes
  • Hurricane straps and clips - metal connectors that tie roof trusses to wall plates, dramatically reducing roof lift risk
  • Soffit and fascia reinforcement - replacing vinyl soffit panels with fiber cement or aluminum products rated for high-wind areas

The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation's Hurricane Mitigation Retrofit Guide provides homeowner-friendly detail on all of these retrofits and which ones qualify for insurance discounts through the My Safe Florida Home program.

Outdoor Living Spaces: Securing What You Have Built

Screen enclosures, pergolas, and patio covers require special attention before hurricane season. Standard aluminum screen enclosures are designed to vent wind through the screen material - they are not designed to survive a major hurricane with screens intact. The structure itself, however, can be reinforced.

For homeowners who recently invested in outdoor kitchen installations or paver patio systems, the surrounding screen enclosure and roof structure should be inspected annually before season. Key items:

  • Anchor bolts at the base of vertical frame members - these corrode in salt air and should be inspected and replaced every 7 to 10 years
  • Ridge cap and roof panel connections - the first things to go in a high-wind event
  • Screen panel condition - torn or bulging screens dramatically increase wind load on the frame

Built-in outdoor kitchen appliances should have manufacturer-specified storm covers or be able to be temporarily removed for major storms. When we install outdoor kitchens, we factor in storm accessibility as part of the design so propane connections, electrical runs, and appliance mounts can be quickly secured.

Interior Remodeling as Storm Recovery Planning

This may sound counterintuitive, but scheduling interior remodeling projects before hurricane season is actually strategic. Here is why: if your kitchen or bathroom project is already complete before a storm, there is nothing partially demolished that could be damaged or set back by water intrusion. Homeowners who are mid-project when a storm hits face potential timeline delays of weeks or months.

Completing interior work now also means your home's value is maximized entering storm season. Should damage occur, insurance claims and restoration work proceeds from a higher baseline.

The Insurance Angle: Wind Mitigation Inspections

Before investing in any of the above upgrades, consider scheduling a wind mitigation inspection. A licensed inspector walks your home, documents every feature relevant to storm resistance (roof shape, sheathing attachment, opening protection, roof-to-wall connections), and produces a report that your insurance company uses to calculate discounts.

Many homeowners discover they already qualify for discounts they are not receiving. Others get a clear prioritized list of what upgrades will generate the highest insurance savings per dollar invested. The inspection itself costs $75 to $150 and can pay for itself many times over in annual premium reductions.

The Florida Chief Financial Officer's consumer property insurance guide explains wind mitigation credits in detail and how to use the inspection results when negotiating with insurers.

Permitting Timeline: Why Now Matters

Brevard County's Building Division processes permit applications in roughly 5 to 15 business days for routine residential work, but that timeline stretches predictably in May as homeowners rush to complete work before June 1. Material lead times for impact windows ordered in April are typically 3 to 6 weeks from major Florida fabricators - which means a project started in early April can realistically be complete and permitted by mid-May.

Start the same project in late May and you are looking at a July or August completion at best - the heart of hurricane season. The math strongly favors acting now.

The homeowners who sleep well during hurricane season are the ones who treated preparation as a spring project, not a September emergency. A calm April installation is fundamentally different from a panicked September rush - in cost, quality, and peace of mind.

What to Do This Week

If you are reading this in late March or April, here is a simple action sequence:

  1. Walk your home's exterior and photograph every window, door, and garage door. Note any existing impact ratings (look for the Florida Product Approval sticker on the frame corner).
  2. Pull your homeowner's insurance declarations page and check what opening protection credit you are currently receiving.
  3. Schedule a wind mitigation inspection - many inspectors can come within 1 to 2 weeks.
  4. Contact ELSO for a free project estimate covering the upgrades you want to prioritize. We will walk you through permitting requirements, current material lead times, and realistic scheduling.

The Space Coast's unique coastal geography makes hurricane preparation not optional but essential. Homes that are properly hardened not only survive storms better - they retain their value, command lower insurance premiums, and give their owners genuine peace of mind from June through November every year.

Schedule Your Pre-Season Consultation

ELSO Contracting specializes in luxury remodeling for Melbourne, Viera, Suntree, Rockledge, Palm Bay, and the surrounding Brevard County communities. Our team understands Florida's building code, Brevard County permit requirements, and the specific demands of coastal construction. We can help you prioritize and complete the upgrades that protect your home before the season begins.

Get a Free Pre-Season Estimate

Sources

Related Articles

Get Ready Before June 1

Free Pre-Season Home Estimate

Permit windows are closing fast. Schedule your consultation now and have your upgrades complete before hurricane season begins.

Request Free Estimate