Hurricane Shutter Systems From Gulf Atlantic Industries
If you own a home in the South Florida area, you should seriously consider protection from hurricanes and high winds and other natural disasters with hurricane shutters. As South Florida licensed contractors, we offer a complete line of professionally installed hurricane protection solutions. After inspecting and measuring all openings of your business or home for custom-fit protection, we give you a professional, easy-to-understand estimate. From the value-engineered estimate, you have complete control to choose the best protection option for you, your unique property and your budget. An alternative to Hurricane shutters are impact resistant windows and doors, built to withstand flying debris generated by hurricanes and high winds.
What is a Hurricane Shutter?
Hurricane shutters are products designed to limit damage to window and door openings caused by high winds and flying objects. Commonly, storm shutters are popular in coastal areas, but storm shutters are rapidly growing in popularity in all areas threatened by high winds or hurricane conditions.
Why Should I Have Hurricane Shutters?
The security and piece of mind they provide is worth their price. Additionally, preventing loss from storms plus the added protection from vandalism, burglars and simple looting after the tragedy of a hurricane is a key justification. Insurance companies are moving toward requiring hurricane shutters before covering properties in hurricane-prone areas. We currently service Miami and surrounding areas in South Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach all cities and located within Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County.
Hurricane Shutter Styles Available:
Roll-up Hurricane Shutters
Roll up shutters installed by Gulf Atlantic Industries offer the quick convenience of security and storm protection, not to mention the potential savings on energy costs. These easy-to-use shutters may be raised or lowered manually by hand crank, or automatically at the touch of a button. Roll-ups will increase the overall value of your home and business, and of course, provide peace of mind. Available in a variety of colors. We also offer an alternative to roll-up shutters: Impact resistant windows and doors These provide hurricane protection that meets code and protects your home, whether you’re there or not when a hurricane strikes.
Accordion Storm Shutters
Protect your home: Let us install the most secure hurricane protection available: Accordion Shutters are especially effective for sliding patio doors or balcony doors, and offer maximum security and storm protection at less cost than Roll Shutters. The top track of the shutter is parallel to the floor and provides the track into which the self mating extruded aluminum vertical blades glide from side to side on stainless steel and nylon roller carriages. The bottom track of the shutter provides a groove into which the pins on the bottom of the vertical slats are secured. Easy to Store: When fully opened, the shutter panels stack in an area equivalent to approximately one inch for every linear foot of shutter (i.e. a 10 foot shutter would require about 10 inches of stack space at one end if designed as a single unit, or 5 inches of stack space at each end if designed to open it the center). The accordion shutter is manually operated, which means that you must have access to the shutter so you can open or close it by hand. This presents no obstacle if the shutter is mounted in front of glass doors or windows on the first floor or accessible from a balcony. But if mounted over an inaccessible window, operation would require the window to be opened and the screen removed in order to open or close the shutter. Accordion shutters can be of any width. Their only restriction is in height, which is determined by elevation (first floor, twentieth floor, etc.).
Hurricane Storm Panels
Our hurricane Storm Panels offer you maximum security and storm protection at the most favorable cost of any of the types of shutters. Ideal for residences, vacation homes, and commercial buildings. Storm Panels meet the standards of the Southern Building Code (SBCCI) and the product approval of Metro Dade and South Florida Building Code. Act now & always be prepared for the constant changing weather conditions. “Protection you can afford” offers peace of mind.
How Much Protection do Storm Shutters Provide?
Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew were instrumental in an industry-wide upgrade of the standards for all “storm shutter systems.”” Standard building codes require a product to withstand 146 M.P.H. wind load stress and missile impact testing. The “newer standard,” commonly called ASCE-7-88, increases the wind-load standard plus adds a positive and negative pressure 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. The only Florida counties that have formally adopted many of the new standards are Dade, Broward, Palm Beach & Monroe counties. No matter what county we are performing installations, we follow the new Dade County product approval codes as they are the strictest in the state.
When is the best time to get my shutters installed ?
The best time to have hurricane protection installed is when the house is built and it should be in the form of hurricane impact windows and doors. If you own a house without impact windows then you may choose to upgrade to impact windows or install a suitable shutter system ASAP. Keep in mind that the beginning of hurricane season is the busiest time for most installation companies. DO NOT wait until a Hurricane Watch is issued for your area to start contacting shutter or window installation companies.
We ship and perform installation of hurricane shutter systems throughout the Caribbean Islands.
