Can Taping My Picture Window Keep It From Breaking and Shattering?

Beliefs

• People often break out the duct tape at the first report of a coming storm. They put two crisscrossed pieces of tape on each pane of glass for hurricane protection. The belief is that the tape offers the glass some support preventing it from buckling and breaking if something heavy, such as a fallen tree limb, crashes into it. If the glass does break, the tape is meant to hold at least the cracked glass in place so sharp shards don't fly into the room or prevents wind and water damage inside the home.

Breakage Myth Busted

• According to the Sun Sentinel’s Storm Center, the notion that tape protects a window from breaking is a myth. The Pinellas County government's Web site demonstration for residents clearly illustrated the ineffectiveness of tape. They invited a high school softball team pitcher to fling her best fastballs at a pane of taped glass. The tape did nothing to prevent window breakage. The teen's fastballs were only about 55 miles per hour. Hurricane winds begin at 74 miles per hour, notes the National Weather Service. Loose debris in a hurricane can fly through the air significantly faster and with much more force than a teen’s softball thrown on a sunny day.

Shatter Support

• While it sounds reasonable that tape holds shattered glass in place, it is a dangerous gamble. Weather Imagery points out that the tape only gives a false sense of security. Unless your window has been in place for many decades, the tape is likely irrelevant. Modern windows have plastic or acrylic coatings that are more effective than tape in preventing glass from shattering. Plate-glass windowpanes once shattered easily before these types of shatterproof coatings were common. If you live in an old house, a few strips of tape across a smaller window may prevent some pieces from flying around. However, tape does not have the strength to hold up the larger shards of a big picture window.

Alternatives

• Seek better options for protecting your plate glass window. Invest in plywood or storm shutters that completely cover it when storms are heading for your home. While these are a more costly investment than a roll of tape, they actually offer protection, while tape offers none. Considering the cost of replacing the windows, water-damaged items in your room and the trouble of cleaning up, plywood or storm shutters are wise investments.