Hurricane Shutters

[Miss Kitty]

http://www.sowal.com/bb/showpost.php?p=8915&postcount=14

Okay, I'll admit. I'm addicted to this message board.

Okay, I can't stop giggling at this!!!! BR...you can be healed...recognition of a problem is 90% of the cure!!!! Naaaa...never mind!

 

[Beach Runner]

Okay, I can't stop giggling at this!!!! BR...you can be healed...recognition of a problem is 90% of the cure!!!! Naaaa...never mind!

 

[SGB]

We hear Lexan & or crinkled aluminun shutters were an alternative. Does anyone know who handles or installs these? We have a place in Seagrove. I also heard Home Depot has something along these lines.

We have the Lexan panels for the 1st floor and front of our house in Seagrove. They work well and are easier to install than plywood. The bonus is that they aren't as heavy as plywood and they're clear so that you can put them up and not feel like you're living in a cave. We used them on the front and 1st floor of the house because of cost and because you can't see the channels they install into when the panels aren't up. On the rest of the house (2nd and 3rd floors) we did accordian shutters. After now installing/closing up the house twice, I wish we had forsaken looks and gone with the accordians everywhere. They are much easier and don't require storage or strength.

I did see the metal panels at HD a few weeks ago. They don't seem as beefy as the ones my neighbor has.

 

[tistheseason]

Thanks for all of the information. . . now I don't feel so silly for still boarding up. It certainly makes me feel safer!

 

[Camp Creek Kid]

I do not believe the hurricane windows are required by code. You can either have the hurricane resistant windows and doors, or build your house to handle the pressure loads, which includes things like having plywood installed on the interior of the studs as well as the outside on certain walls. I am not in the construction business, but I think I correctly understand this.

Hurricane resistant windows is much like stainless steel. Stainless Steel will rust under the right conditions and hurricane resistant windows will not resist everything. I think those windows are rated for wind pressure up to 140mph. What happens if a strong Cat 5 hits? They will give. Also, these windows' strength is directly affected by the installation process. When improperly installed, they can fail. Furthermore, these windows and doors are not puncture proof. They will resist much force, but they will give at some point.

As for boarding, if your windows are busted, yet not broken through, how expensive is the replacement cost? I thought so -- the boarding is cheaper.

If any construction gurus out there see any faults in my statements above, please correct me.

Hurricane resistant windows OR installed permanant hurricane shutters of metal or wood (not plywood) are required by code for all windows on all levels of a home/building that is three stories or greater. That wind rating is to 130 mph.

The code requires one and two story home to have precut plywood for each window and door and screws to attach the plywood. (The reasoning is that most people cannot safely lift and secure plywood to the third story.)

What happens in a Cat 5? Structural failure of all buildings except those of reinforced concrete so why bother making windows that can withstand Cat 5 wind speeds?

 

[Seasider]

The code requires windows and doors to be storm rated to 130 mph 3 second gusts. If the structure is designed to withstand internal pressure, impact glass or shutters are not necessary.

 

[GVM]

SGB--- were the metal panels at the Home Depot in Panama City Beach?

 

[Smiling JOe]

The code requires windows and doors to be storm rated to 130 mph 3 second gusts. If the structure is designed to withstand internal pressure, impact glass or shutters are not necessary.

That is what I have been told by builders and tried to convey in my message.

 

[Seasider]

Agreed. The impact glass is designed to withstand the impact of a 2x4 shot at 100 mph. Standard storm rated windows and glass will not do that. If a window is busted out by a flying object, the structure itself must be designed to withstand the internal pressure introduced by the hurricane. That is accomplished with lots of steel strapping to hold the house down and 3/4" plywood sheathing and decking to hold it together. The houses built in SoWal these days are built like fortresses, but let's hope we don't experience a Cat 4 or 5 to test them out.

 

[SGB]

SGB--- were the metal panels at the Home Depot in Panama City Beach?

I saw them in the HD in Destin about 2 weeks ago.