Storm Panels – The Most Affordable Hurricane Protection
An Overview
The basis for all types of hurricane protection is simple – to protect your home’s weak openings (windows, doors, and skylights) in the event of a storm. While there are several options available for protecting these weak openings, this article is going to focus on the most affordable protection, the aluminum storm panel.
Most all manufacturers form their panels to be 14 inches wide and 2 inches thick with 12 inches between the mounting holes.
Not much has changed with these panels since they were first introduced to the market. The only major improvement is the change of its material from steel to aluminum. We are thankful for that because those old steel panels are heavy!
Mounting Methods
There are several different methods of securing panels to your home. The most common (and most time consuming) utilizes direct mount hardware. This type of installation typically proves difficult for the homeowner to place the panels in the event of a storm since the panel holes and the mounting hardware must be placed perfectly.
Direct Mount Screws
Direct Mount Sidewalk Anchors
When Hurricane Frances struck in 2004, doctors in Palm Beach and Broward counties said the most common injuries were cuts and bruises sustained by people trying to put up hurricane shutters. The direct mount method is definitely the most difficult and most dangerous way to install storm panels.
We recommend using one of the different track systems when purchasing hurricane panels. The most common are H-Header for the top of your opening and studded angle or F-Track for the bottom (the latter happens to be our favorite).
H-Header is the industry standard for the top of your opening. It is an open channel and allows the storm panels to be placed in any location within the header track.
H-Header
Studded angle protrudes from your home and has sharp edges. It also has fixed bolts that sometimes prove difficult to line up with the holes on your shutter panels.
Studded Angle
F-Track offers an extremely clean look and accepts bolts via a built in track. These bolts are adjustable and make installing your storm panels a breeze.
F-Track with bolt
F-Track has a very low profile
We hope this short article has helped explain some of the options available when making the decision to purchase aluminum storm panels for your home’s protection. Please feel free to contact us should you have any questions or to request a free quote! Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Loxahatchee Door and Window
561-281-2999
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