Home hardening

Home Hardening

What Is It?

Home hardening involves the use of fire-resistant structures and materials to help protect your home or business from embers or flames.

Why Do It?

Combined with defensible space strategies, simple actions to harden structural elements of your home or business can increase its chances of surviving wildfires

 

What to Know and Do

 1) Understand how homes burn.

How Do Homes Burn (UCANR)

How Do Homes Burn in a Wildfire (NFPA)

2 ) Assess your home using one of these guides.

CAL FIRE Home Assessment

IBHS Home Checklist (PDF) (IBHS)

Assessing Risks and Prioritizing Actions (UCANR)

 3) Retrofit your home by addressing vulnerabilities from your assessment.*

Where to start? If your home was built after 2008, it likely has some of the features that make it more fire resistant. Older homes will have fewer upgrades and require more effort.

  • Upgrade your vents - prevent embers from coming in.
  • Clean up under decks, porches and enclose them.
  • Enclose your eves.

 

more details on home hardening

General Guides

Here are guides to retrofitting your home from top (roof) to bottom (crawl space) and around its exterior.  Some of the guides are web pages, others require downloading PDFs.

Low Cost Retrofit Guide (CAL FIRE)

Home Hardening Guide (CAL FIRE)

How to Prepare My Home Checklist (IBHS)

Protect Your Property from Wildfire – California Edition (IBHS)

Videos: General Home Hardening Information and How-To

California’s Focus on Home Hardening (Office of the State Fire Marshal)

If Your Home Doesn’t Ignite, It Can’t Burn (NFPA)

DIY Vents: This Quick Trick Could Save Your Home from Wildfire (Fire Safe Marin)

DIY or Hire a Contractor

Some homeowners can do some of the work to harden their home; others may need to hire a contractor.  Check with your local Contractor’s Association for information on hiring a contractor and referrals to local resources.