Hurricane Protection Guide Ś Why You Need Hurricane Shutters

Why Hurricane Shutters Should Be Used To Protect Your Home

Protecting your home's doors and windows from high winds and windblown objects is the single most important step you can take to protect your home from hurricane damage. If a window or door fails during a hurricane and the wind gains access to your home's interior, the roof may "take flight", leading to the total destruction of the structure.

When your home is in the track of a hurricane the wind blows across the roof line initially blowing the front edge up (soffit overhang) while simultaneously causing pressure on the central facing side as the rising contour of the roof forces the wind up the roof line. This compressed wind is then released on the back slope, causing a vacuum which, in turn, attempts to lift, or suck, the rear roof line into the air, similar to the way wind passing over the contoured wings of a moving airplane results in the aircraft's flight. With modern construction methods, most homes can withstand this phenomenon, known as the 'Venturi' effect. But when an internal lifting effect is added to the mix--that is, when the internal wind pressure increases suddenly through failure of a window or door--the roof is more inclined to break away from its wall supports.

Hurricanes whirl around a central area of low pressure called the eye. North of the Equator, hurricane winds revolve counterclockwise around the eye, and south of the Equator, clockwise. Because the direction of the wind is circular, homeowners need to protect all windows and doors, not just those in the direction of the approaching hurricane.

Many products and systems are available to protect your home's openings but it is critical that any product or system be both tested and approved for wind load ( pressure and high speed oscillation) and windborne debris. Barrier Island Shutters' screens are made from an extremely strong, woven, high tech fiber that has been reviewed, tested and received Federal and State test lab approvals.

The following You Tube video clip is the Diamond Screen product tested in its commercial application known as "Force 12":

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mlire-a-QhI&mode=related&search=)