Remember – homeowners or businesses; any Florida area where the basic wind velocity is 120 mph or above is subject to the hurricane shutter code. All the areas within one mile of the coast, with wind speed above 110 mph, also come under the same category. Hurricane season in Florida lasts from June 1st to November 30th so it’s important to be prepared.
Basic Requirements for Hurricane Shutter Code
According to the Florida building code, high-quality hurricane shutters must be used to protect all exterior glass surfaces of a building. This includes windows and doors. These hurricane proof aluminum shutters must be designed to take a certain pressure and load in order to ensure its durability during a hurricane or weather disaster.
Hurricane shutters that comply with the codes must be designed by an engineer or a qualified architect registered in Florida. The supervising professional must provide a seal of approval that customers must demand to see before buying those hurricane aluminum shutters.
There is no particular requirement on the style of the hurricane shutters or the material. Both anchored and removable ones are used. However, in the case of removable shutters, there are certain guidelines regarding storage that must be followed to ensure safety.
As for material, aluminum supply, due to its durability, strength, and affordability is the most preferred material when manufacturing hurricane shutters in Florida and around the southern gulf coast.
The need of hurricane shutters is only not necessary in case where a high impact glass is used according to the building code requirements in the region. While such impact glass is great in term of performance and safety, they lean on the expensive side when it comes to cost and replacement if disaster occurs. You can read more about impact windows vs hurricane shutters at our blog post.
Specification Regarding Installation and Size
Shutters must be chosen and installed to ensure that there is at least one inch gap between the surface of the glass and the shutter and its components. This one-inch gap must be there during maximum deflection, and this means, it must be a little wider under normal conditions.
The requirement for this distance changes if the glass used in the window or door meets a certain load and pressure requirement set. There must be ¼ inch of maximum side clearance between the wall and the shutter, and all the openings must be completely covered.
Exceptions to the Florida Shutter Code
The code holds for all buildings with a few exceptions that include non-residential farm properties, modular or mobile homes, electric utility structures, temporary sheds or sets, and wooden huts built by Miccosukee Tribe of Indians.
If your home or building does not fall under the exceptional category make sure it is well protected by the most durable hurricane shutters. Take a look at AMD Supply’s “Miami Dade Building Code” approved, Supernova Shutters and find out why they are the best hurricane shutters you can buy in Florida.
Hurricane shutters that are installed in a high velocity zone in South Florida are given a pass or fail grade and may be installed in Broward County and Miami-Dade County. All hurricane shutters are tested at 175 MPH and requires a large missile impact resistance at 50 MPH, along with a positive and negative pressure test at 9000 cycles.
Supernova Shutters
AMD Supply is the manufacturer of the Supernova Shutters, an accordion hurricane shutter system recently awarded, “Best Accordion Shutters“, in 2022 by the Spruce. Call us today at (786) 621-6706 or feel free to visit one of our four locations in Florida: Boynton Beach, Port St. Lucie, Miramar, Deerfield Beach to learn more about our hurricane protection products.
