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#1
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Hurricane Shutters
Hey All,
I used plywood to protect my home during the last few hurricanes we have had here in Tampa, Fl. This works well enough. I'm considering installing some hurricane shutters. I want them to protect my house and look good. So, roll downs, those aluminum monstrosities, etc are out. Any suggestions? I've been looking around on the net, and I see several styles that look good and would work. I mean if one can believe the manufacturer. Thanks, John P.S. Plywood worked well enough and didn't spoil the looks of my house. I may stay with that. |
#2
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Similar question, once the shutters/plywoods on then the house became
very dark & gloomy. Are there any transparent/translucent material that's strong enough to do the job? FC |
#3
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"FC" wrote in message ... Similar question, once the shutters/plywoods on then the house became very dark & gloomy. Are there any transparent/translucent material that's strong enough to do the job? Home Depot sells plastic translucent shutters. Not cheap and you would have to get the specs from them as to how high the wind coverage goes with them. |
#5
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FC wrote:
Similar question, once the shutters/plywoods on then the house became very dark & gloomy. Are there any transparent/translucent material that's strong enough to do the job? FC Polycarbonate (Lexan) is the stuff to use. Obviously, the thicker the better. But regarding storm shutters that are actually functional and don't look like Hell, I think you'd do best to get a welder to put together something from sheet steel that looks like a panelled or a louvered set, with a dead bolt bar on the back of each, and paint it all up real nice. Hmmm -- I'm an engineer . . . I'll bet after this hurricane season there'll be a ripe market for such stuff down there in the Sunshine State. Gee, I could put together a welding shop myself pretty easily. Hmmmm. And buy a powder-coat setup, too. Hmmmmmmmm. Problem is, I would NOT want to live in Florida. Mark 'Sporky' Stapleton Watermark Design, LLC Charlotte, NC www.h2omarkdesign.com |
#6
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I think you'd do best to get a welder to put
together something from sheet steel that looks like a panelled or a louvered set, with a dead bolt bar on the back of each, and paint it all up real nice. Hmmm -- I'm an engineer . . . I'll bet after this hurricane season there'll be a ripe market for such stuff down there in the Sunshine State. Houses in Florida owned by natives 60 years of age and older almost always have exactly the the type of shutter you describe. They tend to have walls made of poured concrete as well. Wonder if anything happened in the 30s and 50s to make them think they need those? Hmmmmm..... sPh |
#7
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sPh wrote:
Houses in Florida owned by natives 60 years of age and older almost always have exactly the the type of shutter you describe. They tend to have walls made of poured concrete as well. Wonder if anything happened in the 30s and 50s to make them think they need those? Hmmmmm..... sPh Funny!! I think they should pass laws to require builders and developers to spend time in their cheap-ass housing during hurricanes. That would result in some big changes real quick. |
#8
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"Bert Hyman" wrote in message ... (John Anderson) wrote in news I used plywood to protect my home during the last few hurricanes we have had here in Tampa, Fl. How, exactly, do you do that? Do you save the plywood for reuse for a single season or multiple seasons? Do you have permanent threaded mounting points around the window frames or are you making fresh holes each time? How many times can you get away with that? -- Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN | Bert, Well, you get plywood 4 x 8 x 1/2 or 5/8 etc. You then cut it to fit over the window. I have a stucco-over-concrete block house in the Florida Living style. I then place the plywood into the recess for the windows (I don't know what this is actually called.) I then used tap-cons to screw them down into the concrete. When it is all over, I take them off and put them against the wall in the garage for next storm. Notice I didn't say next year . You don't make fresh holes every year. You can reuse the old ones. I have a tube of stuff that patches the concrete, a little touch up paint, and voila! A little sun to blend the paint and you'd never know the difference. My problem with this is that these are good to only so much wind and crap hitting the house. I'm from Louisiana, and I have been in some VERY scarey hurricanes -Betsy and Camille to name a few. I will not live anywhere else but here in Florida or back in Louisiana. I will also never live too close to the water. You can get killed doing that. John |
#9
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Notice I didn't say next year . You don't make fresh holes every year.
You can reuse the old ones. I have a tube of stuff that patches the concrete, a little touch up paint, and voila! A little sun to blend the paint and you'd never know the difference. My problem with this is that these are good to only so much wind and crap hitting the house. I'm from Louisiana, and I have been in some VERY scarey hurricanes -Betsy and Camille to name a few. I will not live anywhere else but here in Florida or back in Louisiana. I will also never live too close to the water. You can get killed doing that. Im curious..... why isn't it a requirement that all new homes have built in storm shutters? Seems the sensible thing to do. No? |
#11
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Bert Hyman wrote:
Im curious..... why isn't it a requirement that all new homes have built in storm shutters? Seems the sensible thing to do. No? Just because something is a good idea shouldn't be enough reason to make it a legal requirement. Considering that owners homes in a declared disaster area can become eligible for Federal assistance (meaning you up there in St. Paul, Minnesota can end up helping to pay for it), and considering that insurance rates across the board can be affected by disasters in specific areas (meaning you up there in St. Paul, Minnesota can end up helping to pay for it), I'd have to say your argument is a bit short-sighted. |
#12
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In Sporkman
wrote: Bert Hyman wrote: Im curious..... why isn't it a requirement that all new homes have built in storm shutters? Seems the sensible thing to do. No? Just because something is a good idea shouldn't be enough reason to make it a legal requirement. Considering that owners homes in a declared disaster area can become eligible for Federal assistance (meaning you up there in St. Paul, Minnesota can end up helping to pay for it), and considering that insurance rates across the board can be affected by disasters in specific areas (meaning you up there in St. Paul, Minnesota can end up helping to pay for it), I'd have to say your argument is a bit short-sighted. Ignoring for a moment the bit about the Fed's involvement which is worthy of a thread of its own, I'm not so short sighted as to be willing to impose more government regulations on strangers just so I might save a few bucks. What's -your freedom worth? -- Bert Hyman St. Paul, MN |
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