Hurricane shutters are used in hurricane mitigation to protect houses and other structures from damage caused by storms. They are frequently constructed from steel oraluminum, but homeowners sometimes use the low-cost alternative of plywood. The shutters are affixed to the outside of the building with screws or a track system.
Advanced shutters may be motorized, and they may fold away when not in use.
Three major types of shutters are known alternatively as panel systems. They are usually made of plywood, metal (aluminum or steel), or a new variety of hurricane panel
made with General Electric's LEXAN sheet or other polycarbonate plastic with lesser impact resistance. LEXAN panels are transparent, and may be flat or have been heat-
formed into a corrugated shape to further increase impact resistance. Panels must be attached to the structure via screws in a direct mount or on tracks. When not in use,
storm panels are stored in an easy to reach location. They can be quite bulky, and dangerous to put up.
Another type of shutter is an accordion shutter. Accordion shutters are made from interlocking vertical blades which slide into place horizontally on a track; to operate,
simply pull each curtain toward the center of the track, latch the curtains together and lock the handle.
The most advanced hurricane shutter is a Roll-Up or rolling shutter. They are comprised of a series of slats that form a curtain with both sides of the curtain being inserted
into guide rails. The curtain is then rolled onto an axle which is covered by a housing. Rolling shutters can be operated manually by gear, by pull strap or can be motorized
independently or in conjunction with a manual override. Motorized shutters can be operated by either a switch or remote and can be controlled either individually or in groups.
Note that when there are blackouts caused by hurricanes, motorized shutters must be operated manually, requiring either access to the motor (which can be difficult) or a
pre-installed manual override. Most often, a manual override is operated using a gear.
Panels, Accordions & Roll-ups are the most well known as far as shutters go, but Bahamas and Colonials are other forms of Hurricane shutters approved for hurricane
protection. Bahama shutters are mounted above the window creating shade when they are open, and when in use, they are brought down and secured over the window.
Colonials, just as it sounds are the new and improved version of the wooden shutters used to "shutter" up the house for winter, etc. They are now made out of aluminum and
like the original colonials, they hinge on the side of the windows and swing shut to protect the opening.
Hurricane shutters are used to prevent windows from being broken by flying objects during a storm. The presence of windows during a storm is considered crucial; when a
window is broken, the air pressure may rise inside a building, causing the roof to break apart, especially in lightweight timber frame construction typical in North America.
This, in turn, weakens the walls of the structure, causing the walls to fall and the entire building to collapse. Hurricane shutters stop this chain reaction from happening by
shuttering the openings with a strong, durable, waterproof material.
The most comprehensive standard of hurricane building material product approval is the International Building Code (IBC) and the International Residential Code. These
codes use the criteria set forth in ASTM E1886 & E1996. These test method norms describe the standardized tests to measure the impact resistance of a shutter and its
resistance to cyclic wind pressure. The IBC is considered to be a more comprehensive code than other norms, since the requirements are adaptable to all levels of required
wind speed. The Florida Building Code (enacted in March, 2002)is in most aspects similar to the IBC in regard to the testing and approval of hurricane shutters. The Miami-
Dade County norms, often considered the most stringent requirements for hurricane shutters, rely on self-developed testing methods TAS201, 202 and 203. Passing the
tests prescribed by the TAS norms is required only for shutters approved for use in the Florida HVHZ (High Velocity Hurricane Zone). The Florida Building Code will accept
testing performed by TAS methods for inclusion in the FBC Database of approved building products. Both Miami-Dade County and the State of Florida maintain web-
searchable databases of products approved for use as hurricane protection. These typically include not only actual test results from certified independent testing
laboratories, they also contain "Product Approval Drawings" or "Installation Instructions" which describe exactly how a rated hurricane shutter is to be attached to a building.
Both the product and installation method must be shown to be in compliance with these drawings in order for a shutter to be considered "hurricane protection" or "code-
rated".