Appropriate polycarbonate thickness for various tasks?

[Torn Mind]

I was just wondering if anyone has experience with said material and what thickness can deal with the following:

1. BB gun shots. This is because some rural scoundrel neighbors are trying to milk favors by destroying the property there. Since I have been residing there for over 6 months, they decided to, and sucessfully cracked three windows already. If I plywood up the windows, they are going to try and claim the house is abandoned.

2. As a drywall shield for "rental properties". Some tenants really can put holes in freaking drywall and I would like to know what size is the necessary minimum so that the drywall underneath becomes extremely difficult to damage.

 

[deadlyapp]

For both of those, I'd say 1/4". You might be able to go a bit thinner if you use a quality version, eg Lexan, which is designed to be a bit "tougher". 1/4" will probably crack with a high powered BB though, but shouldn't take the same level of damage as glass.

For drywall, the thickness is more necessary to distribute the force better. The thinner it is, the more likely it will be to not really take the impact. With that said - I'm not sure if it's really worth it. 4x8 sheets of Plexi are going to cost you several hundred dollars each. A sheet of drywall is what - $25? Plus mudding and paint (paint which you'll probably have to do after a tenant anyways) it just seems like you don't end up better off. It doesn't help that plexi scuffs extremely badly and will haze over time, which will just make it look...bad.

 

[herm0016]

you could use painted tempered hardboard for the Tennent's, hopefully they punch it and break their hand. cheap too. for you windows, i would go 1/4 at least.

 

[bbhaag]

Good quality polycarbonate isn't cheap especially when you get into the 1/4 to 1/2" thick stuff. Not sure what you budget is but fiberglass corrugated panels might be a consideration to if cost is a concern.
As far a "drywall shield" is concerned I'm not sure how you would approach that. The boys above gave some great suggestions but are you really gonna go to all the time and trouble to install it? I mean a tenant can kick a hole anywhere right?

 

[herm0016]

you could try the clear corrugated plastic sheets that depot has, i have it on my chicken coop and i have windows in my greenhouse made out of it, its not very stiff, but it is quite strong. also, cheaper to do 2 layers of that than 1/4 polycarb. it has survived hail storms that dented my truck.

 

[bbhaag]

you could try the clear corrugated plastic sheets that depot has, i have it on my chicken coop and i have windows in my greenhouse made out of it, its not very stiff, but it is quite strong. also, cheaper to do 2 layers of that than 1/4 polycarb. it has survived hail storms that dented my truck.

Yeah that's not a bad idea either especially to cut down on costs and also help with natural light transmission into the house. IDK about you but I don't see the practicality in using polycarbonate sheets like the OP intends to. I mean hell a 4x8 sheet at a 1/4" thick is really expensive. Then at best with a 4x8 sheet you're talking 2 maybe 3 windows for coverage. I'm not sure how many windows the OP has but that could add up quick. That's just for the sheeting to never mind the additional materials needed to keep them in place for god knows how long.

Honestly both of the OPs ideas just sound terrible to me and not very practical or well thought out. I don't want to come off as sounding mean or condescending but that's just my take on it.