I loved the game! Awesome!
And a couple of tips that you may find useful. Get rid of your first handgun ASAP, it really sucks. Have two different types of weapons on you - like a crossbow and a UZI. Or a sniper rifle and a assault rifle/machinegun. I mean, a weapon having high damage and accuracy and another with a quite big magazine. Switch between them when zombies cross that white wall on the lawn (or even quite later).
This scheme allowed me no never repair my barricade as it NEVER gets damaged. And using this tactic you will never let zombies inside your house till day 36+ (things really get harder on late days).
As for search parties, never have more than 2 (or 3 at max) people in these groups. Plus try to form them sending only people with low shooting skill (high shooting skill increases the chances to get noticed).
 "Dead Zed 2"){kind=icon}
 "Fairway Solitaire"){kind=icon}