Something useful from Doomsday Preppers

I haven't watched any of the new season of Doomsday Preppers, but they had a marathon last week so I Tivo'd a few and watched them over the week. Mostly the same as last season...

BUT, I did see one idea that I thought was worth stealing/sharing. It's a method for attaching plywood to hardened windows on a suburban home, seen in episode 3. Frickin' genius, if you ask me...

The whole episode is currently up on YouTube, and the segment I'm talking about appears at about 5:40 into the video. Click here to watch it.

Quick description: the window is opened, and a long bolt fed in through a hole in the pre-cut plywood and then through a 2x4 cross brace on the interior of the home. Tightened the bolt down and you're good to go. They're using 3/4 inch plywood and, in Doomsday Preppers style, spend some time trying to smash through it. Not bullet proof, but it will certainly slow someone from getting into a home and provide concealment, too.

Here's a few pictures to give you an idea of how it works in case the YouTube link goes down:

Pre-cut plywood, hole, bolt passed through.

Open window, bolt on the other side, horizontal cross brace moved into place. 

Tighten down the bolt and move onto the next window.

They claim to be able to do the entire first floor of the house in 30 minutes, which isn't too shabby.



Normally, I've seen plywood attached with screws around the edges into the studs - which is not only going to leave holes all around all of your windows, but is going to take a while to install on your house. Here's a picture to give you an idea:

The "Doomsday Preppers method" is going to be much faster, doesn't require permanent alteration/damage to your home, and should be more secure, too.



Certainly, 3/4 inch plywood is not bullet proof and a determined attacker could get through given enough time. BUT, much better than a bare window against an angry mob or zombie hordes. Should also do a pretty good job of keeping any light inside your home.

I'm pretty sure you would lose more heat via the plywood over a modern window, and that's a trade off that would need to be worthwhile.

But, in general, a really solid way to harden up the average suburban home fairly quickly and fairly inexpensively, without altering the home in any way. Something we'll be doing when we settle somewhere a bit more permanent.

Anyone seen/done this before? Thoughts, experiences? Let me know!