Aluminum Storm Panels

Hurricane storm panels also come in aluminum and the panels can be stored inside or outside until needed. Aluminum storm panels do not rust so it is ok to store them outdoors. When you feel a need to put them up you put them into the tracks that you have already mounted on the outside of your house...this way you can easily slide them into place. Some people don't like the look of those aluminum tracks but they can be painted to match the house. I prefer the permanently mounted hurricane shutters but they do cost more and you have to have room for them so you can slide them aside when not in use. Hurricane shutters that mount permanently are used alot on condos facing the ocean in Florida.

Hurricane Season is Approaching

This looks like it is going to be an early storm season as down here in the mexican caribbean tropics we have already gotten a large tropical storm on the east and west coast. I have a feeling that in Florida we will be seeing tropical storms in July and a very active hurricane season. Even though it was rather cool up until the end of May the oceans are still heating up and promise to send a few whoppers our way. This means preparing for hurricane season now is very important...don't wait until the last minute to have the tracks put on the outside of your windows for installing the hurricane storm panels. If you don't like having to store panels and put them up each year you may want to opt for something more permanent and easier to use like hurricane shutters. Hurricane Shutters do cost more and in some cases are not the right type of hurricane protection for some types of windows. On the condos facing the ocean they are required by your insurance company. If you live on a house facing the ocean they may also be required. Further inland they are not required but you should get some kind of shutter or put on fixed frames to slide storm panels onto.

Storm Panels for Hurricane Protection

Even though it has been awhile since I wrote about fiberglass storm panels I would like to clarify that the polycarbonate storm panels are the same thing...it is just hard for people to remember that word "polycarbonate" so that is why we call them fiberglass instead. Hurricane shutters that are permanently mounted to slide over to the side are the best because you don't have to think about putting them up before a hurricane but they are also more expensive. The fiber glass kind have tracks that you slide the panels into that you mount on the outside of your windows permanently. Then you store the polycarbonate panels away until you expect a storm and put them up well enough ahead of the storm. Fiberglass and polycarbonate both store equally well in your garage but it is best to set them up on end and not lean other things against them so they don't lose their shape or get bent. I live about 15 miles inland from the ocean so don't feel I need permanently mounted hurricane shutters but I do feel that I need some type of protection on my windows from time to time. We wait until a hurricane is for sure going to come our way before we start getting the storm panels out. Storm panels will not protect you from tornadoes but will offer protection from high winds throwing something thru your windows which can happen in the case of a tornado.