Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I posted this on the Treasure Coast Forum but thought it might be of general interest to anyone new to Florida who is buying a home:
We are having accordion hurricane shutters installed, and I found out some interesting info from the installer: Had we ever had to use the standard hurricane shutters that came with our house, they would not have fit on at least three of our major windows. The two main front windows have a gutter in front of them that would have interfered with putting up those shutters, and the former owner had put a retractable awning on the family room window that would also have made putting up its shutter impossible. This would have been a heck of a thing to find out with a hurricane bearing down on us ! What I wonder is, shouldn't the house inspector have noticed this when we bought the house last year ? It seems like something he should have at least mentioned in his report, but he didn't. So I wanted to share with those of you planning on buying a house in Florida: make SURE that all your hurricane shutters will actually fit on the windows ! Ask your inspector to at least visually notice any problems like the ones we would have encountered. (And better yet - invest in accordion shutters ! We are getting eleven of them installed for $6,250. The peace of mind is well worth the price).
That does seem like a miss, but I don't agree that accordions are best for everyone. They are more expensive and don't provide any more protection than panels. Mor importantly, they need more maintenance (lubrication, cleaning) and will have to be replaced sooner since they have moving parts and are exposed to the elements all the time. However, they are ideal for older people who may have trouble putting up panels and are ideal for upper stories.
Also, I did this instinctively but perhaps not everybody does. When you get panels installed do a "dry run" and put up all the shutters. That way you cn identify any probelms or missing shutters right away and can get the shutter company to rectify the situation. It also gives you a ballpark regarding how long it will take you to put them up so you know how much time to allot when putting them up before a storm (and of course, don't wait too long because it is very difficult to put them up once the inds have started to pick up).
Last edited by CrowGirl; 02-02-2014 at 09:07 AM..
Reason: fix typo
I have yet to get hurricane shutters/panels on the Florida keys house. when I do I would expect them to be installed and up before the final check/payment was given to the contractor. I would rather pay or take them down myself that to find I have a subpar product when the hurricane is bearing down on the island.
That does seem like a miss, but I don't agree that accordions are best for everyone. They are more expensive and don't provide any more protection than panels. Mor importantly, they need more maintenance (lubrication, cleaning) and will have to be replaced sooner since they have moving parts and are exposed to the elements all the time. However, they are ideal for older people who may have trouble putting up panels and are ideal for upper stories.
Also, I did this instinctively but perhaps not everybody does. When you get panels installed do a "dry run" and put up all the shutters. That way you cn identify any probelms or missing shutters right away and can get the shutter company to rectify the situation. It also gives you a ballpark regarding how long it will take you to put them up so you know how much time to allot when putting them up before a storm (and of course, don't wait too long because it is very difficult to put them up once the inds have started to pick up).
Older people and upper stories?
I lived in a newly built 2200 SF single house rental - all one story - and there is NO WAY I could have put up at least 8 out of 10 windows/patio door. IF I could have even done the 2 - it's debatable. (I never tried them)
The windows are not ground level and you still need to get up on a ladder to do the installation. This has nothing to do with age, as I am athletic and have no fear of a 6 ft ladder but it's a matter of needing two people.
I couldn't even find a handyman or electrician willing to come CHANGE THE BATTERY on my smoke alarm on my 12 foot ceiling for several days let alone someone to do the installation of a house full of hurricane panels when there's an imminent threat. So I guess I'd need to install the panels WEEKS in advance if and when there's a storm brewing.
My condo was destroyed in 2004 so it's a concern regardless of the infrequency here. I'd take my chances with the little extra maintenance and elements.
My suggestion for TENANTS is to make sure there's something in the lease requiring the landlord to facilitate the installation of panels within X amount of time after X conditions are announced. Especially considering there are still so many reluctant default landlords out there who would be willing to ignore it and take their chances.
I think if someone is buying a residence in Florida they need to factor in the shutters just as much as you would do a roof, A/C, water heater and if you only get a 10 year warranty (or whatever) for your $6000 investment and that's prohibitive in your budget, then you need to buy a different house or revisit your budget.
I posted this on the Treasure Coast Forum but thought it might be of general interest to anyone new to Florida who is buying a home:
We are having accordion hurricane shutters installed, and I found out some interesting info from the installer: Had we ever had to use the standard hurricane shutters that came with our house, they would not have fit on at least three of our major windows. The two main front windows have a gutter in front of them that would have interfered with putting up those shutters, and the former owner had put a retractable awning on the family room window that would also have made putting up its shutter impossible. This would have been a heck of a thing to find out with a hurricane bearing down on us ! What I wonder is, shouldn't the house inspector have noticed this when we bought the house last year ? It seems like something he should have at least mentioned in his report, but he didn't. So I wanted to share with those of you planning on buying a house in Florida: make SURE that all your hurricane shutters will actually fit on the windows ! Ask your inspector to at least visually notice any problems like the ones we would have encountered. (And better yet - invest in accordion shutters ! We are getting eleven of them installed for $6,250. The peace of mind is well worth the price).
This is excellent advise.
I don't have shutters but I wonder if I would have even THOUGHT to have them put on during the inspection!
My guess is they would have told me "no way, call a hurricane shutter company to do that".
As it is, my inspector misstated the age of my AC by over TEN YEARS LOL. So I learned to double check everything as best I can after I had to buy a new system 4 years later.
My husband and I are seniors and could not handle putting up regular shutters by ourselves. It's true that you can hire people to do it, but I don't want to risk being way down the list, and not having it done in time. The accordion shutters made now are a lot more durable; some of ours even have little "port holes" to let some light in. They are Miami-Dade code approved, and they are made with less gaps to prevent insects getting in them. Basic maintenance is spraying the tracks and locks with silicone once a year.
Our installer said that people who stay with the regular shutters should at least consider getting tracks put in to replace the bolts (which not all builders lined up very well).
That does seem like a miss, but I don't agree that accordions are best for everyone. They are more expensive and don't provide any more protection than panels. Mor importantly, they need more mainten ance (lubrication, cleaning) and will have to be replaced sooner since they have moving parts and are exposed to the elements all the time. However, they are ideal for older people who may have trouble putting up panels and are ideal for upper stories.
Also, I did this instinctively but perhaps not everybody does. When you get panels installed do a "dry run" and put up all the shutters. That way you cn identify any probelms or missing shutters right away and can get the shutter company to rectify the situation. It also gives you a ballpark regarding how long it will take you to put them up so you know how much time to allot when putting them up before a storm (and of course, don't wait too long because it is very difficult to put them up once the inds have started to pick up).
It's been my experience that companies from which you purchase those shutters ( or panels), they will do a dry run installation on the windows to ensure they fit, and that the homeowner knows how to install them. I guess if you buy ready made panels or shutters from Home Depot you'd have to do that yourself, but it's a wise move NOT to wait till a hurricane's approaching to try them out and find they aren't satisfactory for some reason.
We had hurricane impact windows put in our house when we had it built. We figure those will provide adequate protection in the event of storms. They're pricey, though.
We had some accordion shutters for our house in Miami, and they worked well for hurricane protection ( although wouldn't have worked to protect us against the 300 lb 4x12 neighbors' patio overhang support beam that went through the shutters on our living room window in excess of 160 MPH in hurricane Andrew)- we were located in the northern eyewall of that storm-. But it is important to maintain those, with lubrication and cleaning the tracks every year without fail.
I posted this on the Treasure Coast Forum but thought it might be of general interest to anyone new to Florida who is buying a home:
We are having accordion hurricane shutters installed, and I found out some interesting info from the installer: Had we ever had to use the standard hurricane shutters that came with our house, they would not have fit on at least three of our major windows. The two main front windows have a gutter in front of them that would have interfered with putting up those shutters, and the former owner had put a retractable awning on the family room window that would also have made putting up its shutter impossible. This would have been a heck of a thing to find out with a hurricane bearing down on us ! What I wonder is, shouldn't the house inspector have noticed this when we bought the house last year ? It seems like something he should have at least mentioned in his report, but he didn't. So I wanted to share with those of you planning on buying a house in Florida: make SURE that all your hurricane shutters will actually fit on the windows ! Ask your inspector to at least visually notice any problems like the ones we would have encountered. (And better yet - invest in accordion shutters ! We are getting eleven of them installed for $6,250. The peace of mind is well worth the price).
Forgot to mention that in regard to a house inspector's determining that the shutters are not a good fit for a house, from what I've seen, inspectors just check and see if there are shutters/panels for hurricane protection and the hardware needed to install them on a property, but they don't actually check to see if they fit, or ask to see the shutters installed. Perhaps if they're requested to check on such issues they will do so, but I haven't seen them do anything except to ask to see the shutters, and hardware.
That does seem like a miss, but I don't agree that accordions are best for everyone. They are more expensive and don't provide any more protection than panels. Mor importantly, they need more maintenance (lubrication, cleaning) and will have to be replaced sooner since they have moving parts and are exposed to the elements all the time. However, they are ideal for older people who may have trouble putting up panels and are ideal for upper stories...
We had accordion shutters in our Miami condo. And the only maintenance they needed was a once a year cleaning (to get rid of the dust and the cobwebs) and some spraying with a lubricant (silicone?). They got us through the 125 mph winds we had during Andrew just fine (in areas where Andrew's winds were stronger - some shutters were pulled right out of the concrete walls they were attached to). And they were still doing fine when we sold 10 years after installation. Robyn
We had accordion shutters in our Miami condo. And the only maintenance they needed was a once a year cleaning (to get rid of the dust and the cobwebs) and some spraying with a lubricant (silicone?). They got us through the 125 mph winds we had during Andrew just fine (in areas where Andrew's winds were stronger - some shutters were pulled right out of the concrete walls they were attached to). And they were still doing fine when we sold 10 years after installation. Robyn
I'd feel confident ( and have) with accordion shutters in a hurricane- they're good strong protection in most instances, when you're not battling a category 5 storm with flying debris all over. In that case there's probably nothing that will provide sufficient protection. I still think our house in Miami would have fared a lot better in Hurricane Andrew had our neighbors' patio overhang beam and other portions of his roof not slammed into the eastern side of our house, and the beams gone through the shutters covering our windows. That let the wind into the house, and the roof, as well as everything else on that side of the house, was history. I've watched programs demonstrating how shutters were determined by Dade County to meet their building codes, and had to laugh as they kept lowering the windspeeds to find shutters/impact windows that would actually stop the 2x4 they used as test debris. I think they lowered the speed down to about 25 MPH to get one to work. Then I think of the 40 foot long 4x12 beam that went through our shutters at somewhere over 160 MPH, and realize there isn't much that will stop that- in fact that same beam, with portions of the neighbors' roof plywood and wires, cracked the CBS on the side of the house as it hit and bounced along that wall- then crashed through and took out another shutter/window at the end of that side of the house.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
