The Hurricane Shutters Guide
A simple guide to the layman
Hello
and welcome to the hurricane shutters guide. If you know very
little about hurricane shutters, you will learn quite a bit from this
site about them. The reading will be simple and intended
for the layman. Many sites lose their readers by assuming that
they "know" all there is to know about hurricane shutters.
Let's
get started: A hurricane shutter
by definition is a protector of
a "weak opening" to a house or building. The word is derived from
"Shut". Houses and buildings have
windows, louvers or weaker than cement or concrete or hardwood
openings. A door, for example is an opening. A window is
another opening, as well as a garage door. These means of
egress or way of letting the light in are weaker than the overall
frame of the house. Such is usually made of concrete or wood.
In
a storm shelter we, of course, have no windows. But nobody
lives in a storm shelter. A home without windows would feel like
a storm shelter indeed.
Garage doors
by the
way, have been made a lot tougher in coastal areas and are
capable of
withstanding very strong winds and debris. They can be a
hurricane shutter all by itself. Coastal areas such as Florida,
North and South Carolina have manufactures and suppliers of these
doors. Look up and check with companies to make sure that
that they're made to withstand strong storms such as hurricanes.
Now that you know what a Hurricane shutter is, let's get pictures and descriptions of them:
Wood Shutters:
Wood shutters are the most economical shutters that you can make
or have someone make for you. These are usually made of 5/8" to
3/4" plywood that you can buy at The Home Depot for about $18 a sheet.
Typically, these are cut a bit bigger around the opening (about
6" all around) and you fasten these to the exterior part of the opening
perimeter with concrete or wood fasteners.
Cost: About $600 for a 2,00 square foot home.
As
you can see above. Installing wood shutters is a very risky and
somewhat painful ordeal. But it's cheap. Wood shutters are
not approved in South Florida as a hurricane shutter. This will
make it difficult to get windstorm insurance discounts. Also
Municipalities won't issue permits on them. But they're better
than nothing when a storm approaches. That is why you may have seen
mobs of homeowners running to Lowe's or Home Depot to get plywood and
nails just before the storm.
Storm panels:
Storm panels are a good alternative to wood shutters. They
are more light weight and are approved by your insurance company as
well as municipalities. they are stamped by the manufacturer.
This stamp is certification awarded by the Municipality
which asserts the panels comply with Building codes and a permit can be
issued for it. There are three basic types:
Steel storm panels:
Thease are corrugated sheets that gets put up before the storm.
But you need to take them down to let some light in, after the
storm. They can produce claustrophobia. Steel Storm
panels can be dangerous to put up or take down. They are very
economical to get, but danger is the downside. When handling
them, use gloves and other proper equipment or gear. Many
hospital visits occur because the installer is in a rush and didn't
prepare properly. Don't let this happen to you.
Cost: About $1,200 for a 2,000 sqaure foot home.
Aluminum storm panels: Aluminum storm panels
are a much safer alternative to steel. Unlike steel panels, they
are lighter to handle. But care should be taken when
handling them as well.
Cost: About $1,800 for a 2,000 square foot home.
Lexan storm panels:
Lexan storm panels have the advange of being able to see through
them. The home owner maybe tempted to leave them up during
hurricane season. But there are downsides to them: They are
more expensive than aluminum panels (about 50% more in price);
They are weak when used on openings that exceed five feet.
So they are attractive, but have limited functionality.
Cost: About $2,800 for a 2,000 square foot home.
Accordion shutters:
Cost about twice as much as steel storm panels. They have
many advantages that panels don't have, however, such as:
They say in place. You don't have to take them out after
every storm. They are safer and easier to close and open.
There are many types of these. The most popular brands are:
"High Velocity", "High Tech" and "High Performance". In Miami
Dade County they have to have something called: "A Notice of
Acceptance". This means that they have been tested in a lab and
passed many tests. Such is sort of a Good Housekeping Seal, But
with more weight as an official gobernment agency gives it's final O.K.
Cost: About $4,600 for a 2,000 square foot house.
Roll up shutters: Roll up shutters are the most expensive of the aluminum type family of shutters.
These
open and close vertically. They can be manually operated with a
crank or can be operated with a switch. The latter requires a
motor, which adds to the price tag. Roll up shutters are also
used as shades and are very popular in Europe.
Cost: About $10,600 for a 2,000 square foot house Add a bit more for motorized.
Impact glass: Impact
glass is fairly a new technology as it applies to hurricane shutters.
It borrowed its design from the windshield of a car.
Basically 2 pieces of glass sandwich a sticky resin. When
the glass is impacted by windborne debris, the glass will crack, as a
winshield, but stays put. The hurricane force winds won't
penetrate the opening. When the event is over, the glass has to
be replaced. But the special frame that houses the impact glass
stays in place. Such makes the replacement of the glass
affordable.
Once you have impact glass installed, you
don't have to cover the openings anymore with other shutters. You
don't have to worry about closing your shutters before the storm.
The impact glass is the hurricane shutter.
Many homeowners that can afford this technology opt to get it. But such comes at a high price tag.
Impact glass breaking
Impact glass single hung windows
Cost for a 2,000 square foot home: Approximately: $15,000
Other types of shutters
There
are other types of shutters. These include but are not limited to
"Armor Scren" (a trampoline like protective screen), and a
fixed steel screen. Many claim that they are good solutions to
not being able to use any of the hurricane shutters types above. You
can look up more images in Google images, if you wish.
Cost for a 2,000 square foot home: Approximately: $8,000
For
the past 18 years hurricane shutters have played a very important role
not only in the safety of people and their property, but the economics
of the region. South Florida government agencies now
require, by law, hurricane shutters on new construction and
even on some renovations. Insurance
companies won't give desperately needed discounts if the house doesn't
have all openings protected by an apporoved shutter.
This
makes many tempers flare, especially during a recession. Those
with limited budgets see such an expense as "The last thing I need".
In all fairness, many windstorm insurance companies went
belly up after hurricane Andrew and then later after hurricane Wilma.
They are proptecting their interest and making coverage more
affordable for those who take precautions to protect thjeir
homes. Another way to look at it is that they are helping to save
lives along with local Building and Zoning enforcement organizations.
They are not the bad guys, even if they seem to ahve big pockets.
I
hope that this site has been informative. If you need more
information and wish to purchase hurricane shutters from my other
sites, please copy and paste this link on your browser window:
Hurricane shutters
or call us at:
305 266 2100
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