Home Safe Home

How do you keep your biggest asset safe during storm season? Window protection is key. Once a small object breaks a window, high storm winds can do immediate and significant structural damage to a home. Up to and including, literally blowing the roof off!

Post-storm photos have shown us all too clearly that proper window protection is vital. Determining which option is best for you requires an understanding of the pros and cons of your choices. Unfortunately, most homeowners don't spend the time to educate themselves. Wrong decisions can be costly.

Homeowners who have been through an active storm season have learned, often the hard way, that the single most important characteristic of effective hurricane protection is that it be rapidly deployable. Hurricanes have a way of suddenly changing their path, leaving precious little time to react. And when only a few days pass between multiple storms it simply becomes impractical to devote so many hours of intense physical labor putting shutters up and then taking them back down. Spending the final hours prior to storm impact trying to secure your home, climbing ladders and using unfamiliar electrical tools is not an effective or safe use of your time and energy. Many forms of window protection can pose a real safety danger, and most offer no extra benefits.

Let's explore some of these critical concerns as we discuss the options.

WHAT ARE YOUR OPTIONS?

People install window protection to protect themselves and the structural integrity of our homes. Stationary panels are a low cost option but they have some safety concerns.

The simplest form of stationary panel is a sheet of plywood cut to shape and then mechanically fastened, either nailed or screwed, over each window of your home. More typically, new homes come with a series of custom-made panels of corrugated steel designed to overlap in sequence and either fit into an integrated track system or be mechanically fastened with screws that are countersunk into the frame around the perimeter of each window and door.

Of all styles of hurricane protection, this type takes the longest to deploy. An average house requires several hours of intense physical labor and many more if your home is more than one story. Second-story installation is particularly challenging and inherently dangerous. Handling the roughly hewn panels can even cause injury, with sliced fingers and hands being quite common. The necessary mechanical fastening can seriously deface your home permanently. And just as they are difficult, dangerous, and time-consuming to install, they are equally challenging to take down. Since stationary panels are effectively sealing you within your home, every minute that they remain in place is putting you and your family at risk. In the event of emergency your escape routes are limited. Emergency personnel can not gain entrance or exit in the event of a fire. While providing low-cost hurricane protection, they are not a safe option.

Another talked-about choice that has real safety issues is impact glass. This most expensive of all options has gained popularity because it has the appealing benefit of having nothing mounted externally to distract from the home's appearance and absolutely no labor to expend when a storm is imminent. However, impact glass is breakable. A wayward baseball or other projectile can and will break impact glass, though the breakage itself will be contained. Meaning the glass will break but the object will not penetrate. Sounds okay until you think about what that really means. First expense wise, a panel of impact glass cannot be replaced simply and inexpensively like a normal glass panel. Complete replacement of glass and frame is typically required, and will likely cost as much as the original installation. But more importantly, for your safety, the fire department or other emergency personnel cannot enter through an impact glass opening nor can anyone escape in the event of a fire or other emergency.

Accordion panels are a safer option and provide a somewhat reliable from of hurricane protection although their deployment can be difficult for elderly or infirm. The horizontal-sliding, fan-folding blade design is much faster and easier to deploy than stationary panels. Typically, accordion panels are accessed from inside the house by leaning out of the open window to pull the two sides together. They are then latched together, again typically from the inside. Thus, the effort is not too terribly burdensome for a reasonably able-bodied homeowner, but due consideration is in order for the elderly or otherwise mobility-limited. The sliding tracks will need to be regularly cleaned and lubricated.

The tracks and the panels themselves remain on the outside of your window year round. While they stay in an open position, they do not bar entry or exit, however most agree this type of hurricane protection greatly detracts from the appearance of your home, often altering the architectural style. Furthermore, this pervasive appearance will likely prevent you from deploying the shutter for anything but serious storm protection.

So far, all these window protection options have some major safety and aesthetic drawbacks, but there is one choice that eliminates those concerns, offers superior hurricane protection and provides important ancillary benefits.

Rolling shutters provide an entirely different form of storm protection that is completely safe and aesthetically pleasing. Most are operated with an electric motor, thus requiring nothing but a touch of a button to instantly deploy. So while your neighbors are in line at the lumber yard or climbing ladders and hanging out of windows, the homeowner with rolling shutters can simply press a button to deploy protection all over the house. Of course, another press of the button and all of the rolling shutters retract, allowing visibility out and light back in. Worried about power outages? Don't be. Rolling shutters can also be manually operated with a small strap or a gear that one cranks by hand. So should the storm pass and the power still be out, you can easily let the light in, or open quickly in case of an emergency.

Appearance-wise, Rolldowns are a superior choice. The horizontal slats are tightly rolled into a small profile box above the window or door, thus blending into most home facades neatly. Since the sliding tracks are vertical, they tend not to accumulate dirt and debris so remain almost maintenance-free. And for hurricane protection, Rolldowns' aluminum slats are very strong, providing excellent protection against extremely high winds and projectile impact.

Great protection, safety, and aesthetic appeal make Rolldowns an excellent choice, but what makes them an exceptional value is the wealth of ancillary benefits they provide. Lowering a rolling shutter provides total blackout inside your home, equally ideal for your bedroom or home theater. Rolling shutters also provide outstanding noise reduction, blocking the sound of your neighbor's dog barking or children splashing and squealing in the pool next door. Nothing is better than rolling shutters for protecting your living area from the damaging effects of the sun's UV rays or the heat gain of intense summer sun shining through your windows. Raising and lowering your roll shutters daily can save considerably on utilities.

Many people depend on alarm systems to provide home security. But alarms merely inform you of the arrival of an intruder. A rolling shutter decisively blocks them from entry and seals your home up tight, whether you are inside or away.

And because rolling shutters are usually electrically operated, they can be linked to a wide range of electronic controls that raise and lower them based on rain, temperature, wind, and sun conditions. You can even link them to a home automation system and make them part of your designed scenes that you create with lighting and music.

Consumers find Rolldowns quickly become part of their everyday lifestyle, far surpassing all other window protection in safety and versatility.

If you would like to find out why Rolldowns are the best investment for your home and family, please contact....