Buying hurricane shutters in Fort Myers Florida or elsewhere is an investment. It may seem overwhelming trying to determine the type of shutter to pick and which company to use. In this article we provide some tips and guidance on what to look for when buying your shutters. You can also use this to compare different shutters from different suppliers.
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Key things to look for in hurricane shutters:
Below we provide some key things to look for when buying your shutters:
- Meet Florida Building Code – make sure the shutters are hurricane-rated, which means they have Florida Product Approval and meet the current Florida Building Code.
- Meet Florida product approvals for your specific area/zone, such as if you live in a high velocity hurricane zone (HVHZ).
- Warranty – you will want to understand the warranty of different products/brands. A warranty will differ in terms of years and coverage. So make sure you review the language of the warranty to understand what is covered, what is not covered, and for how long.
- Operation – compare different models by the ease of use, control options, and other features that make them more convenient.
- Styling, options, customization – you should look for a supplier that offers the style of shutter you want as well as the color and any customizations.
- Availability – can you get the shutters within a reasonable amount of time, or are the shutters on backorder for 12+ months? You most likely want to get your shutters in a reasonable time. This can be helpful to narrow down different products.
- Value vs price – hurricane shutters are an investment, and you want to pick the best investment you can. So it is important to pick shutters that will provide the most value vs just the cheapest cost. Picking the cheapest option may also lead to low quality, problematic shutters that don’t last very long and/or require constant maintenance and repairs.
