Well hello, and welcome to our blog. I am going to take up an important topic here and I hope that this will be useful to our readers.
Not everyone who contacts us for shutters and shutter parts realizes this point but, it is nevertheless something that makes a difference between a good result and a problem result or the desired result and a nightmare. This happens more frequently than you may realize, so here are some tips to hopefully clarify the point.
Let's say for example, a person contacts a company and says, "I need tires for my car. How much will they cost?" Now the fun begins. What make car, which model, which year? Which tire size, tire type? Tires that fit a Mini Cooper are different than tires that fit a Cadillac, and so on. It would be the same for floor mats for the car. Floor mats for a Corolla are different from floor mats for a Hummer. I think that you get the point.
Accordion Shutters are not all the same. And neither are Storm Panels or Roll Up Shutters. Accordion Shutters have different levels of quality, strength and durability. And different designs of interconnecting parts, different designs of tracks, different screw types, different lock systems.
Storm Panels are another product that differ from brand to brand. And the Steel Panels of today are possibly not as heavy as the panels that were in use 25-30 years ago. There have been different track and attachment systems over the years as well.
They are corrugated (having a wavy form of ridges and depressions). Now, what is the depth of that wavy form, highest point to lowest point? Could be 2 inches, could be 2-1/4 inches. And this becomes important when you have to match up the panels and the header (top) track (channel) for the panels.
The width of the individual panels can also vary from brand to brand and the distance or width between the holes can vary. Some have 12-inch distance and some 12-1/2. And I have heard of 13 inch spacing as well. All of this is important when trying to match up angle tracks with fixed studs for the bottom attachment of the panels. Or trying to match up panels and existing screw holes in the wall for shutter directly mounted to the wall.
Roll up shutters are another type of shutter with a history of varying designs and varying components and varying options. The important point here is to give attention to the necessary details in order to be able to communicate what you need to others who do the work and supply the parts.
I hope that this information helps.