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1. Are your Accordion Shutters approved for Florida Building Code?

Yes. Our accordion shutter system is approved by the Miami-Dade County Product Control Division, the South Florida Building Code, and the new Florida Building Code. It is designed to withstand a category 5 hurricane with winds speeds exceeding 155 mph.

2. Why Should I Get Hurricane Shutters?

People who live in coastal counties from Texas to Maine, and those in other hurricane prone areas, such as most of the Florida peninsula, will find shutters an excellent investment for protecting their lives and property. They protect against wind and wind-borne debris. These shutters protect not only the windows or doors they cover, but also possessions and people inside the building. Once a window or door has been breeched by hurricane winds tremendous pressure is brought to bear on interior walls and upward pressure on the building's roof. This can lead to roof failure which exposes the entire contents of the building to the storm. Shutters are a first line of defense against the hurricane. Much of the damage and building failure in Hurricane Andrew could have been prevented by well installed hurricane shutters over windows and doors.

3. How much protection do Storm Shutters provide?

Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew were instrumental in an industry-wide upgrade of the standards for "storm shutters". Standard building codes require a product to withstand 110 M.P.H. winds. The "newer standard", increases the wind-load standard plus adds a positive and negative wind loads test and a positive and negative "cycling test" plus an "impact test". The new standards are much more stringent and expensive to satisfy but do provide a real degree of protection.

4. What materials are used for Hurricane Shutters?

The primary material used is aluminum. The alloys and strengths are determined by the application. Many roll-up shutter companies have used extruded vinyl slats or aluminum-roll formed foam-filled slats in their products. None of these slats meet the new ASCE-7-88 codes for roll-up storm shutters. The extruded aluminum double-wall slat and a heavy wall aluminum roll formed resin filled slat have proven themselves to be the only way to satisfy the new standards in a roll shutter application.

5. Should I put shutters over my doors ???

Obviously sliding glass doors, French doors or any door with considerable glass in it should be protected. Some double doors or garage doors should either be shuttered or reinforced. In Hurricane Andrew many of these type doors gave way.

1. Are your Accordion Shutters approved for Florida Building Code?

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