Hurricane shutters are the most important protection for your home during hurricane season.

Hurricane shutters remain the most economical solution for most homeowners to protect window openings in a storm, although impact  glass is increasingly popular. Preparing ahead of time, say experts, particularly with panels and other manual deployment options is key. Make sure the right tools and hardware are on hand before the storm nears. Here are just a few tips to help you decide which shutter may be best for your home or business.

Storm panels ~

Steel or aluminum shutters attach to the walls around windows and doors on bolts or tracks. Storm panels are corrugated, and each piece overlaps the next for maximum strength. There are several styles of storm panels to choose from.

• The first style incorporates both tracks and bolts. The top of the panel is slipped into a track above the window, and the bottom of the panel is secured to bolts that are permanently attached beneath the window.

• The second style uses a set of C-shaped tracks above and below the windows and doors. Bolts slide into the tracks from either side and must be manually aligned with the holes on the panels.

• The third style uses only bolts permanently set into the wall beside the windows and doors. They can be loosened as the panel is hung horizontally, and screwed down to secure it.

Storm panels are the most inexpensive options of the permanent shutter systems. They are removable, so they don’t change the aesthetics of the house when not in use and provide excellent protection for both doors and windows.

Accordion shutters~

These one or two-piece hurricane shutters are housed beside the windows or doors when not in use. They unfold accordion-style to cover and protect during a storm.

The benefit of accordions is that they are permanently affixed beside the windows and don’t require any extra storage space.  They can easily be deployed by one person and most models can be locked with a key and may be used as a theft deterrent.

Roll-down  shutters~

These shutters attach above the window. They roll up and store in an enclosed ‘header’ or ‘housing’ box when not in use. They are lowered either manually by a hand crank or automatically by push button or remote, and lock in place for storm protection.

Aluminum rolling shutters are permanently affixed above the windows/doors and don’t require any extra storage space. They too can easily be made storm-ready by one person with very little effort. These type of shutters also offer some of the best protection, and make an excellent theft deterrent.

Hurricane / Impact glass~

This glass can withstand hurricane debris and eliminate the need for hurricane shutters.  Modern code requirements, which already require hurricane shutters or other protections on new houses, make the glass a more practical option at the time of new construction or remodeling. By having impact resistant windows installed professionally, in most cases it eliminates the need for additional shutters.

Call us today for a complimentary, no-obligation consultation to find out what works best for you and your home or business!

Close Bookmark and Share This Page

Save to Browser Favorites / Bookmarks

Ask backflip blinklist BlogBookmark Bloglines BlogMarks Blogsvine BuddyMarks BUMPzee! CiteULike co.mments Connotea del.icio.us

Digg diigo DotNetKicks DropJack dzone Facebook Fark Faves Feed Me Links Friendsite folkd.com Furl Google

Hugg Jamespot Jeqq Kaboodle kirtsy linkaGoGo LinkedIn LinksMarker Ma.gnolia Mister Wong Mixx MySpace MyWeb

Netvouz Newsvine oneview OnlyWire PlugIM Propeller Reddit Rojo Segnalo Shoutwire Simpy Slashdot Sphere

Sphinn Spurl Squidoo StumbleUpon Technorati ThisNext Twitter Webride Windows Live Worlds Movies Yahoo!

Email This to a Friend

Copy HTML: 

 If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

More »