FAQ

Which of the seven hurricane products stop water infiltration?

Hurricane Ivan crashed into Gulf Shores, Alabama in 2004 as a category 3 storm. The beachfront condo shown below had some units protected with Roll-a-way rolling shutters, while some left the unprotected patio doors to fend for themselves. Besides the high winds and driving rain, the first floor units of this condo also incurred a storm surge. The ocean’s forces were pounding the lower units and washed all the sand from under the building. Prior to Ivan, the foundation did not show and people stepped off their patios right onto the beach.

The units that did not have Roll-a-way™ Rolling Shutters experienced patio door failure when subjected to the storm's pressure. The protected condo only had a trickle of water seep past the sliding doors. Patio doors and French double doors are the most susceptible to water infiltration.

Water damage, causing mold and mildew growth, is the most common problem following a hurricane. Often the power is out for weeks and mold spores prosper in the non air-conditioned homes and condos. After hurricane Andrew, nearly 65% of the homes suffered extensive damage from water, not flying debris and winds. Roll-a-way's rolling shutter design uses end-retention to capture the curtain slats into the side rails, holding back enormous wind and water pressures. The shutter design pushes downward onto a gasket at the bottom of the curtain to help seal the opening from wind, sand, and water. Check out the Fire Hose Test video to see how casement and double hung windows performed both with and without a rolling shutter to protect them.

The problem with impact glass windows and doors is they still leak water. As long as a window or a door must be operable, they will leak water starting at just 40 mph driving rain. "Joe Lstiburek of Building Science Corporation likes to point out that there are only two types of windows and doors, 'Those that leak and those that are going to leak.' Since windows and doors are going to leak, he makes the point that the key is to minimize or manage the water intrusion. Keeping water from being driven against and building up on windows and doors is one way to try and minimize the water intrusion during a hurricane." (Source: www.floridadisaster.org)

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Which hurricane products are best for security?

The real answer is the products you will use every night and while you’re away. If the product’s not securely on the window or door, it obviously won’t work at all. For example, accordion shutters can be a pretty strong deterrent and are available with heavy duty locks. However, people never walk around their house every night closing and locking all the accordions. The same is true for colonial and bahama shutters; they can be locked from the inside and provide a pretty secure barrier, but those shutters just aren’t that convenient for daily use.

Roll-a-way Stainless Steel Screens and Rolling Shutters offer the most security protection and are the easiest to deploy each night.

The screens offer 24/7/365 protection since they are permanently mounted and constantly protect the windows and doors. The steel mesh is cut resistant, crow bar resistant, and has passed both small and large missile impact testing criteria for Miami-Dade. Rolling Shutters provide the strongest protection, but only provided the rolling shutter is rolled down. Roll-a-way tests its shutters against sledge hammers, crow bars, and 2x4’s. Take a look at the test video to see a 4-minute sledge hammer attack. Hint-they still didn’t get in.

Panels and plywood cannot be considered security as they are easily removed from the outside, plus; they are only used during a hurricane event.

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Which "hurricane protection" product is a fraud?

"Hurricane" film is misleading and it is illegal to promote for this use in some Florida counties. Angie's List published an article and states, "Window film will do many things for your house, but it won't protect against hurricane-force winds."

That's the consensus of government agencies and insurance companies. Even the window film industry is asking vendors to back off claims that the product provides "shutterless" hurricane protection. Homeowners need to know upfront that no residential film meets the Florida Building Code requirements for hurricane zones, McCright says. That means insurance companies won't give you a hurricane mitigation discount for it and Federal Emergency Management Agency funds can't be used to buy it. Pinellas County has the strictest window film rules in the Tampa area. It is illegal for a company to even use the phrase "hurricane film" in advertisements. Fines start at $500 per violation.

"What we object to is somebody saying, 'We will protect your house from a hurricane' and that isn't going to happen," says Rodney Fischer, executive director of the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board. "It gives somebody a false sense of well-being."-published May 12, 2010.

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How can you know for sure if your hurricane product is Florida or Miami-Dade compliant?

All Florida hurricane compliant products have an approval number. Some products on the market advertise "tested by Florida building commission." Someone could have a piece of plywood tested, but doesn’t mean it actually passed. Go to www.Floridabuilding.org then click on "product approval" and find the approval number for the product you are considering. It will be a number similar to FL13682. If it's not there, don’t buy.

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Which product best protects patio doors?

Patio Doors, such as sliders, french singles, or doubles should be looked at differently than the rest of the house. Even if the doors have impact glass, they still need protection. The wind pressures generated during a storm often pull the doors right off the house. A study following hurricane Hugo by John's Hopkins University found, "Windows, especially sliding glass doors, were very susceptible to failure from wind pressure and debris impact." The moveable design of patio doors makes them vulnerable, regardless whether they are made with impact glass or not. Additionally, as discussed in "Water Infiltration," patio doors need help to keep out driving rain.

Actually, all the Roll-a-way products (except Bahamas-since they don't open far enough) could be used for most doors as they all provide impact protection. Stainless Steel Mesh and Colonials do have size limitations and won’t work for all doors. Accordion Shuttters and Clear Panels provide good protection, but the ends are exposed to rain and wind pressures. Panels, however, can not be used for daily protection since their deployment impedes your access through the door, leaving accordions and rolling shutters. If a tidal surge is a possibility, the accordion is out as it does not seal at the perimeters. Accordions are a nice second choice, but are a bit clumsy to operate. If you do choose accordions, have the stack made off center so you can lock the shutter from the inside through the open patio door.

In conclusion, the roll shutter provides the best protection. Roll shutters also provide sun, security and noise control for those same patio doors, so you get multiple benefits with rolling shutters. Patio doors are also the highest security breach point, so adding shutters there makes sense. (Yes, a broomstick in the patio door track is better than no stick) If you are just starting to protect your home and your budget doesn't let you protect the whole house at one time, starting with the patio doors is really in your best interest.

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For the seven different hurricane products, what do they cost?

The protection products you benefit from every day cost less than the products (panels and plywood) you hope never to use. It's like the shirt you bought on sale that you never wear versus the shirt that was "too much," but you wear it almost every week. That "sale" shirt certainly had the highest actual cost. So first, you have to define "COST." Let's refer to cost as dollars per use. If you buy Clear Panels for 10 windows and 2 doors for $4,000 and you put them up twice in 4 years, your "cost" is $2,000 per use. Plus, you have the pleasure of storing them somewhere and assembling the panels when needed.

The same 10 windows and 2 doors protected with Rolling Shutters may have an initial investment of $15,000. If you use these every day for security, sun control, and hurricane protection (twice) for a four year period, you have a cost per use of $10.27. (Roll-a-way has completed simulated use tests of 68 years, so expect much more than four) If you factor in the energy savings every day plus the annual insurance discounts, your real number is closer to $5/day. And, it’s difficult to put a real dollar value on the security protection-so factor in that value as you see fit.

Bahama or colonial shutters on the same 10 windows plus rolling shutters on the 2 doors (best way to do it) might run you closer to $12,000 for the initial investment. Not only do you get the daily satisfaction of a more attractive home due to the beautiful shutters, you probably just raised the selling price of your home and set yours apart from the neighbors. You'll probably realize most of your initial investment back someday when you sell your home; plus you have easy to deploy storm protection and energy savings for many years to come.

The Stainless Steel Mesh share a similar initial investment as the bahama example. The mesh also cut down on cooling costs and reduce the sun's UV damage. The 4-year example drops to $8.22/day less energy savings, less insurance discounts, plus 24/7/365 security protection. Stainless Steel Mesh too will last much longer than just 4 years.

Accordion Shutters on all 10 windows plus the two doors might be around $7-8k. The initial investment is getting lower, but now we get into the cost per use equation? If you travel quite a bit and would like to easily secure your window and doors for storms, energy, and security for weeks or months at a time, your value for the accordions goes up. If, however, you live there full-time and know you only will use the accordions when a hurricane threatens, then your cost per use will go up significantly and you should have a lower value for this choice.

The real cost is determined by how YOU value these products. Ask yourself these questions:

1. How often will I use the product?
2. Does it add to the eventual sale of my home?
3. Am I concerned about, or would I like more, security for my home?
4. Will this product save on energy bills?
5. Do I have room to store these products?
6. Do I like the way they look?
7. Does it provide protection from impact, water, and wind pressures?
8. The insurance company doesn’t care what they look like. They have the same discount regardless of product. But, what do I save on insurance?

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Which products meet Miami-Dade hurricane compliance and is that really important to those who live in Tampa or Jacksonville?

Without getting technical, the main difference between Florida Building Commission (FBC) and Miami-Dade is that Miami-Dade product approval compliance does not allow the glass to be broken. FBC verifies that (measured) projectiles do not penetrate into the home through the protection products, but does allow the product to deflect into the glass.

Per the chart above, all Roll-a-way products meet FBC requirements. Tampa Bay and the entire west coast of Florida is held to FBC standards and Miami-Dade compliance is not required by the State, insurance companies, or any west coast or north Florida municipal building department. While only three of the four Roll-a-way™ Rolling Shutter models are listed as Miami-Dade approved, the other FBC model offers excellent protection and may have features home-owners desire such as a smaller box housing, manual push-up/pull-down operation, or color choices. The Roll-a-way™ AL7 shutter is designed primarily as a security shutter and outperforms the other two Dade-approved shutters for security testing. The AL7 Rolling Shutter has survived 20+ shots from an air cannon launching 2x4’s at 40mph. Only surviving one shot at 30 mph is necessary to pass the FBC. The AL7 shutter’s flexibility absorbs multiple impacts from 2x4’s, sledge hammers, or crow bars. Bottom line: all four of the Roll-a-way Rolling Shutters are acceptable for the Tampa Bay area.

Regarding the fabric hurricane protection, some applications are acceptable or necessary in the Tampa Bay area, but it is very rare that flat fabric fixed or rolling fabric mesh for an entire home would be recommended. Debris won’t penetrate the fabric mesh, but the deflection of the fabric is quite significant and even small debris will cause the glass to break. The tented Strap & Buckle (Miami-Dade compliant) solution is good for garages and large openings.

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What about those insurance discounts everyone promises?

Florida Statute 626.0629 requires insurance companies to offer Florida homeowners "discounts, credits, or other rate differentials..." for construction techniques that reduce damage and loss in windstorms.

Wind Mitigation discounts are applied to the "wind" only portion of your insurance premiums. The "wind" portion of your total premium may vary from 20% to 70% of your total homeowner insurance costs. Ultimately, you'll need to contact your insurance agent to calculate the specific savings. Wind discounts also apply to roofing, roof decking, secondary water resistance barriers for roofs, and hurricane strapping. Having these additional measures will affect your total available wind insurance discounts.

The following is from a May 16, 2005 article in Business Wire, "To receive discounts, insurance companies require documentation be completed by a design professional, building inspector or certified inspector who evaluates the home to determine the presence of wind resistant features. In addition to shutters and impact rated glass, discounts are offered for roof-to-wall connections, roof deck fastening, Florida Building Code equivalent roof covering and hip roof shape.

"I pushed off having the inspection because of the $150 fee, but now wish I would have made it a priority," said Braica. "From our $150 investment, we're saving almost $400 a year. Long term, that can add up to thousands. "Discounts received in the first year often exceed the inspection fee and savings accrue each subsequent year of the policy," said York. "Homeowners should expect to pay about a $150 inspection fee for a home under 5,000 square feet."-Business Wire

The Wind Mitigation Inspection must be performed using the Uniform Mitigation Verification Report Form (OIR-B1-1802) – This is the form developed by the Office of Insurance Regulation and may only be completed by a Certified Wind Mitigation Inspector. Roll-a-way and other manufacturers and installers cannot approve or certify this form and any form signed or a promise to approve the OIR-B1-1802 form by someone other than a Certified Wind Mitigation Inspector would be fraudulent.

For the discount to be applied, ALL window and door openings must be protected by State of Florida tested and compliant products INSTALLED in accordance with the approval documents. If the documents require 2-1/2” long ¼" Tapcon masonry screws every 8" into concrete masonry units (CMU) and the fasteners were drilled every 12", then that product will not pass the insurance inspection. In this example, it shouldn't have passed the building department permitting inspection process either. The product approval documents must match the homes structure. If all product approval documents are certified for CMU and your home is wood frame, then that product on your home is likely to fail and will not be approved for an insurance discount. During the Hurricane Ivan storm at Gulf Shores, example after example was discovered where rolling shutters (non-Roll-a-way) were installed without the proper number, size, and spacing of fasteners to the building structure and the storm just ripped the entire shutter systems right off the buildings.

Lastly, the insurance Wind Mitigation Inspection approvals don’t exactly match the Florida Building Commission (FBC) and your local building departments. Even if your FBC certified shutters were installed per approvals and permitted and inspected by your local building department, there may be additional requirements for your home to receive discounts. Gable vents and some roof vents have come under scrutiny and caused a home not to receive the Wind Mitigation discount without additional coverage. This GRAY area is confusing and companies like Roll-a-way try their best to understand the insurance requirements, but all certifications and permits are through the FBC and those are the standards which are set and followed.

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The hurricane protection company: how important is that selection?

During the Hurricane Ivan category 3 storm at Gulf Shores, Alabama; example after example was discovered where rolling shutters (non-Roll-a-way) were installed without the proper number, size, and spacing of fasteners to the building structure. The storm just ripped the entire shutter systems right off the buildings. There were intact shutters in the down position still attached to the perimeter build-out tubes lying on the beach following the storm. The installation company used ample fasteners attaching the shutters to the build out, but only used 2 screws per build out tube into the building structure. At least 10 screws per tube were actually required. It’s very unfortunate, but we’ll only discover which companies cut corners once the next hurricane comes through and gives them a test. Companies like Roll-a-way have installed products along the east and gulf coast which have been hurricane tested and have successfully passed live tests time and again for more than 40 years. Here are a few things you’ll want to ensure your installation company includes:

1. Workman's Comp insurance
2. Liability insurance (at least $2M)
3. Manufacturer product warranty (min 1 yr install and 2 yrs product)
4. Building Permits (with municipal inspections)
5. FBC product approval documents-this will also show you the installation requirements for your home. You can count the number of fasteners per foot to ensure it meets the approval documents and building codes.
6. Lien Waiver upon final payment-this is a big one often overlooked. There are a lot of companies right now on the edge of bankruptcy and many have not paid their vendors. Those vendors could attach a lien on your home even if you paid your contractor.
7. Contractor’s License-it's a requirement in Florida and the installation company must be able to present their license certification number. Roll-a-way has a General Contractor License # CGC1518149.

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What's next?

If you've read this far, you should have an idea what products interest you, the general investment required, and you've begun to determined how you value each product. Then, what does your house require? Every home has different wind loads and pressures. The size and shape of your building and how close the windows are to the corners of the building will affect the hurricane protection design requirements. Roll-a-way product specialists are trained to calculate your home's requirements and that has to be done on-site. Roll-a-way also has a licensed contractor and certified engineer on staff to review your project if needed.

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