Have You Heard About the Interesting New Trend?

I recently became aware of an idea, a NEW idea that may have some value and just might catch on -- you know, become popular, after all these years where people have been seeking the best method of Hurricane Protection.

There are various types of shutters which you may or may not be familiar with, and these have been tested in the "lab" and also stood up to actual storm conditions that can come with Hurricanes of different strengths.

You have seen Storm Panels in Steel or

in Aluminum, which are strong against

storms. These are great for providing

protection; you could bounce a hammer

off these shutters with your hardest throw and they would not fail to protect.

There are also the Accordion Shutters,

named after the musical instrument because of the folding design that the shutter has.

While Accordion Shutters are available

in several colors such as white, ivory,

beige and bronze, the most popular

colors seem to be white and bronze.

Roll Up (Roll Down) Shutters are also a very popular means of Hurricane Protection, and very commonly used.

MORE ABOUT ROLL UPS / ROLL DOWNS

What Is the New Trend?

There has been a growing trend in recent years toward impact glass and impact doors as the "new" solution to hurricane protection. Sure these have great potential, but there is a drawback: impact windows and doors continue to be one of the most expensive options or choices, both because of materials and the labor required.

Still, some (not all) clients want the impact windows and doors.

I have spoken with many public and clients. I have had more than just a few tell me that they have impact glass, but they want to now get Hurricane Shutters for added protection to protect their impact glass or their "beautiful impact front door". Or the person told me that they just had impact glass put in and left their accordion shutters up so that they could protect their impact glass investment.

Just today I spoke with an insurance inspector / insurance adjuster from a large well-known insurance company -- You know, the guy who determines if your home is worthy of insurance protection? Or the guy that checks out your insurance claim to see if the company really should pay and really how much should they pay?

He offered his viewpoint to me. He had to visit homes in a location where a hurricane had just passed through. Homes that were protected by impact glass had actually been protected by the impact glass during the storm, but many of the windows were damaged. The windows could not be repaired. They had to be replaced.

In other words, they had to pay for their replacement impact glass windows more or less the same cost as when they got the impact glass the first time. And it is not guaranteed that the insurance company is going to pay it.

He said that the people who got impact glass, but still kept their hurricane shutters, were very smart to keep their shutters to give further protection and protect their impact glass. He also mentioned that some homeowners had only gotten good quality hurricane shutters, spent less rather than buying impact glass and did just fine with the shutters.

Impact windows and doors are here to stay. However, Hurricane Shutters definitely are still a valid form of storm protection, both alone and in combination with impact glass. And now we see that using Hurricane Shutters to protect the impact windows and doors has emerged as the latest trend.

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