Fabric Storm Panels: Hurricane Protection for Your Home
Doors and Windows, Featured, Safety and Security by Joe Cuhaj
To minimize damage to your home during a hurricane, windows and doors should be boarded up with 5/8” plywood or covered with approved storm shutters. However, putting up plywood or storm shutters is time consuming and may require more than one person to lift heavy panels into place. Taking the time to board up your home when a hurricane is approaching and evacuation is imminent is not always wise. That’s where fabric storm panels come in.
About Fabric Storm Panels
Fabric storm panels, also known as wind abatement screens, are touted as an effective alternative to traditional plywood or shutters. They consist of a strong, lightweight layer of woven fabric that is coated with a geo-synthetic PVC material. This reinforced material is then used to cover windows and doors, providing a barrier from flying projectiles and wind blown rain.
You might find it hard to believe that fabric can provide sufficient protection against storm debris hurtling at over 100 miles per hour, but coverings are available that meet or exceed state building codes in Florida and Texas as well as the standards set byASTM International for hurricane protection.
Grommets and bolts are used to secure fabric panels to windows
Advantages of Fabric Storm Panels
Fabric storm panels have many advantages over traditional plywood or metal storm shutters, including:
- Lightweight and easy to handle.
- Can be put up and taken down quickly by one person.
- May fold or roll up for easy storage.
- Translucent material allows light to illuminate home.
Fabric panels allows you to see out and light in
What’s Available
There are several fabric storm panel systems available, such as:
- Grommet – The easiest to install for the do-it-yourselfer. The material is fastened to your windows or doors with grommets. Panels are easy to put up and take down and roll up for storage.
- Rolling Screen – Permanently attached device located above your windows or doors that can be lowered at a moments notice either manually or by electric motor.
- Slide Screen – Panels slide into brackets that are mounted to your home.
- Strap and Buckle – Straps and buckles are sewn into the screen and fit around eyehooks or are strapped to columns. Allow easy exit in case of emergency.
Straps with buckles secure fabric panels to columns
Fabric storm panels are available from:
Bottom Line
Fabric storm panels can protect your home from flying debris in the event of a hurricane. They are lightweight, easy to install, and allow light to enter your home in the event of a storm.
Photos courtesy of Storm Catcher, a product of Storm Smart Industries, Inc.
September 25th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
ImpactShield offers the same technology at a lower costs, and tighter weave, which withstands wind speeds brought about by a Category 5 Hurricane. It also offer a consumer friendly website… I love this product and think it’s more competitive than Wayne-Dalton’s Fabric-Shield, which was developed AFTER impactshield…
September 26th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Fabric is the newest segment of the hurricane protection industry, but grommets and strap-and-buckle systems are old technology…they cause pointloading to the fabric and are potential failure points. StormWatch, makers of fabric hurricane shutters, has developed a proprietary border clamp that is 4X stronger than grommets, and not subject to UV degradation as the stitching is on straps. Additionally, StormWatch products are the most attractive products out there, check out the photo gallery on our web site: http://stormwatchinfo.com. All of our products are approved for use in Miami-Dade. We also offer a CLEAR (yes, clear!) fabric shutter for windows.
November 30th, 2008 at 4:08 am
Greentings all! Ths impact statments made by the above comments are slightly misleading. The continuous contact of a clamp system on fabric is a sure fire failure if the screen has a windload on it while recieving an impact. All lab impact testing is done without a windload–but objects don’t fly withot wind behind them. The lowest cost fabric is made by http://www.HurricaneFabric.com was tested at 80 PSF with a 120 PSF structural load. The fabric with impact tests the highest is AstroGuard http://www.HurricaneProtection.net and is about $6.00/ per square foot installed.