BajaNomad - Hurricane Window Protection?

Hurricane Window Protection?

pacside - 6-18-2009 at 11:15 AM

Does anyone know a place I can go to to purchase Hurricane window protection in Cabo or La Paz?

Any suggestions on what type of hurricane protection is best or offers affordability and value?

I heard of these new ArmorPanel soft material ones...does anyone have any experience with this type of protection?

My casa is on the ocean south of Todos Santos and has lots of windows.

btw in hindsight I would have incorporated Hurricane protection into the design and building of the casa.

Thanks,

pacside

Cypress - 6-18-2009 at 11:32 AM

You can get high dollar shutters. Or you can use plywood cut to size with corresponding anchor mounts in the window frames. Label/number the plywood panels to the windows. Tedious to put up and take down, but it'll save your windows and possibly your casa.

DianaT - 6-18-2009 at 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress
You can get high dollar shutters. Or you can use plywood cut to size with corresponding anchor mounts in the window frames. Label/number the plywood panels to the windows. Tedious to put up and take down, but it'll save your windows and possibly your casa.

This is what we did and we have the plywood covers stored in our Bodega.

We also have a standing arrangement with a local friend to put up the covers if we are not there and there is a problem.

But we do not have a lot of windows, and it sounds like yours might be quite large????

Will be interested to hear what you end up with.

Diane

wsdunc - 6-18-2009 at 12:45 PM

I reseached this a while ago, and it seemed that maybe the most functional solution is storm panels. Shutters can be very expensive, and plywood may not be strong enough? Anyhow, Google storm panels and see what comes up. Many are made from corrugated aluminum, some from plexiglass. I hadn't thought about it before, but closing yourself in to ride out a storm and having the power go out with all the windows covered would not be good, so a few plexiglass panels mixed in with mostly metal sounded like the right thing to me.
Steve

Russ - 6-18-2009 at 12:51 PM

I also made plywood covers and man does it get dark when they're installed. I like the plexiglass idea. My thought on store bought shutters is that if the plywood isn't strong enough it won't matter much cuz the roof would be gone too.

vandenberg - 6-18-2009 at 01:04 PM

Several outfits in Cabo advertise hurricane protection in the Gazette. Contact them (Google Gazette) and maybe they can give you a pricing idea by e mail.

I do know that roll up shutters are expensive, but probably the best.

[Edited on 6-18-2009 by vandenberg]

Paulclark - 6-18-2009 at 01:47 PM

After years of using plywood we changed to fabric shutters 2 years ago and couldn't be happier. It is relatively easy to install the anchoring system and they are easy to put up when a storm is coming, even in a light breeze. They are rated for the worst conditions in Florida, especially flying debris. The other plus is that they are somewhat transparent so you can see through them and light still gets in. We have large windows on our second floor and I have no trouble istalling them at the end of a 20 ft. ladder.( 5 ft. by 22 ft. of glass) The cost is between the cost of plywood and the cost of aluminum panels. We ordered them over the internet and they were delivered in 2 weeks. Go to: http://www.hurricanefabric.com/index.php
The only negative is that they do not help secure your house from burglars.
Paul

pacside - 6-18-2009 at 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paulclark
After years of using plywood we changed to fabric shutters 2 years ago and couldn't be happier. It is relatively easy to install the anchoring system and they are easy to put up when a storm is coming, even in a light breeze. They are rated for the worst conditions in Florida, especially flying debris. The other plus is that they are somewhat transparent so you can see through them and light still gets in. We have large windows on our second floor and I have no trouble istalling them at the end of a 20 ft. ladder.( 5 ft. by 22 ft. of glass) The cost is between the cost of plywood and the cost of aluminum panels. We ordered them over the internet and they were delivered in 2 weeks. Go to: http://www.hurricanefabric.com/index.php
The only negative is that they do not help secure your house from burglars.
Paul

Paulclark
thanks for this info. did you purchase directly from this website? Do you have permanently installed anchors on the outside? if so, are they unsightly or minimal? do you know if this material is similar to what some are calling armorpanel (sp?)?
thanks
pacside

pacside - 6-18-2009 at 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by vandenberg
Several outfits in Cabo advertise hurricane protection in the Gazette. Contact them (Google Gazette) and maybe they can give you a pricing idea by e mail.

I do know that roll up shutters are expensive, but probably the best.

[Edited on 6-18-2009 by vandenberg]

thanks vandenberg. yes i have seen those ads. i was just wondering if anyone had a recommendation on material type and/or company someone has used personally down there. yea the toll up shutters seem to be expensive. i like the hurricane fabric idea paulclark mentions. i'm not a big fan of the plywood. i don't want unsightly anchoring system on outside.
pacside

Paulclark - 6-18-2009 at 10:06 PM

Depending on the opening size the anchors are placed on the top and bottom or two sides. Our 22 ft. by 5 ft. openings have anchors every 12" on the top and sides and were not required on the bottom. The anchors are permanently installed, are flush with the wall and leave a 3/8 inch hole. I have painted over them and they are not obvious. The material is similar in texture and appearance to trampoline fabric and comes in grey, brown and black. The web site I noted has a simple order form and calculation sheet. The fabric comes without anchors attached to the fabric, so the first step was to attach the anchors to the fabric, which was simple once you got a system going and then holding the fabric in place and marking the wall anchor locations and drilling and installing the wall anchors. We have 3 windows that are 22 ft. by 5 ft. each plus 5 windows that are 5ft. by 5 ft. and it took me 2 days to do the installation. When a storm is coming it takes me about 1 1/2 hours to put all the shutters up -- and that is up a 20 ft. ladder.
I am impressed with them and like the ease of storage. Your welcome to come and look at them installed if you are out my way. I did purchase them directly from the web site and my neighbor did too. Paul

pacside - 6-18-2009 at 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paulclark
Depending on the opening size the anchors are placed on the top and bottom or two sides. Our 22 ft. by 5 ft. openings have anchors every 12" on the top and sides and were not required on the bottom. The anchors are permanently installed, are flush with the wall and leave a 3/8 inch hole. I have painted over them and they are not obvious. The material is similar in texture and appearance to trampoline fabric and comes in grey, brown and black. The web site I noted has a simple order form and calculation sheet. The fabric comes without anchors attached to the fabric, so the first step was to attach the anchors to the fabric, which was simple once you got a system going and then holding the fabric in place and marking the wall anchor locations and drilling and installing the wall anchors. We have 3 windows that are 22 ft. by 5 ft. each plus 5 windows that are 5ft. by 5 ft. and it took me 2 days to do the installation. When a storm is coming it takes me about 1 1/2 hours to put all the shutters up -- and that is up a 20 ft. ladder.
I am impressed with them and like the ease of storage. Your welcome to come and look at them installed if you are out my way. I did purchase them directly from the web site and my neighbor did too. Paul

Thanks Paul...we will be your way in a couple weeks. I'll u2u when we are down there as I would like to see them.

oladulce - 6-19-2009 at 01:26 AM

Husb and i have been doing a lot of research latley on this very topic to determine what type of windows and window protection we'll be importing for the construction of our BCS home.

We had roll down shutters made for our small guest casita by Wheatbelt in Kansas and they are a high quality product and have worked out well.

But the cost of shutters for multiple larger windows and patio doors on our main house would be way over the top.

We looked in to using laminated impact/storm glass on the windows we'll be bringing down but the major window manufacturers who offer "storm or security" glass only offer it on their East Coast products.

So we're leaning towards using an impact/security window film by 3m that's applied to the interior side of the glass. It's supposed to be the best of it's kind, is invisible, requires no special care and has a long life expectancy. It's not reflective and doesn't have the mirror look of the old fashioned window films.

They test the product by shooting 2x4's out of cannons and have guys wacking the windows with sledge hammers. The outside of the glass may shatter but the film holds the pieces together so it stays intact and in place in the window and a potential intruder can't break through.

You can purchase the 3m film and install in yourself but since I can't even apply shelf paper without messing it up, we're going to let professionals do it after the windows are built and before we ship them to BCS. The 3m film is not cheap but I don't have an exact quote yet.

The hurricane fabric is an interesting option for the upstairs window storm protection-thanks for the tip.

oldlady - 6-19-2009 at 04:38 AM

Pacside, check your U2U. My neighbor in Centenario does custom installations of the trampoline fabric screens. Wonderful.

tripledigitken - 6-19-2009 at 08:17 AM

Paulclark,

Would you post some pictures of the fabric window protection?

thanks

Paulclark - 6-19-2009 at 08:39 AM

I don't have any pictures of my shutters -- and I won't be putting them up until a storm is on its way. If you go to: http://www.hurricanefabric.com/hurricane_protection/hurrican...
you will see some good photos which accurately show the shutters installed.
During high season we undo one side or the top and roll them up between storms.
Paul

tripledigitken - 6-19-2009 at 08:41 AM

Thanks Paul.

storm protection

msawin - 6-20-2009 at 09:27 PM

Well I'll tell what I am doing for huricane protection. I am in the window / glass business and I have windows in my Baja home. I have some Kolbe & Kolbe wood aluminum clad windows in our bedroom and a gable shape "angle top" large area of glass in storefront aluminum that faces south and a huge exposure to storm winds......

Going south the end of July and have gotten my metal materials ready to fabricate/ install at that time.

1" sq tube with cross support. welded top hinges. welded slab at base with cut out to bolt/ lock bottom. expaneded metal mesh covering the frame.

lift for window awnings, shade, lower and bolt down and no problems. I know this will more than take care of the needs..

if you want some info just send me a note.

marty

Polycarbonate Corrugated Storm Panels

submarine_dbk - 7-18-2009 at 06:08 AM

We have been looking at the 16mm Polycarbonate corrugated storm panels manufactured by Gallina. Very strong, lightweight, allow a lot of light to penetrate, Dade County Certified as well. Also like the idea of the glass films, but I don't believe they will do much to slow down wind driven rain.

toneart - 7-18-2009 at 12:37 PM

Three homeowners in The Orchard in Mulege fabricated plywood coverings with weatherstripping and bolts anchored into the frames. They can be unbolted, leaving the anchors in place.

In Mulege, our damage is caused by the river flooding. The hurricanes are usually downgraded to TS status by the time they reach that far north and wind damage is usually minimal, but they still bring lots of water with them.

The hope is, that they will seal and make the house water tight. They were big projects by these guys. Each window and door opening is slightly different. The houses were custom built. No such thing as a standard opening.

They were all built this spring and haven't been tested. Hopefully they won't be. The coverings were built and anchored really well and look to me like it will work. As I see it, they'd better hope that water doesn't get in and then not have an outlet except for the shower drain. There is also the question of unequal water pressure if all the water is on the outside and none on the inside. I have joked with them that they'd better round up two of each species because that sucker is going to float. Seriously though, I hope they work as intended.

For the rest of us, we will watch and see what happens. We have gotten pretty good at cleanup.

Hurricane protection.jpg - 5kB

vandenberg - 7-18-2009 at 03:13 PM

Common sense says "this will not work"

Cypress - 7-18-2009 at 03:24 PM

toneart, It'll work against wind and wind driven rain. Flood water from the river? You'll get seepage, but not as much silt.

toneart - 7-18-2009 at 04:33 PM

I am not one of the guys trying this experiment. I too have my doubts, but they really have the houses sealed up pretty well. I hope it works for them.

bajario - 8-26-2011 at 05:09 AM

Every window manufacturer in business should be able to supply laminated glass. We install it daily on the local and not so local bases to comply with the ATFP (Anti Terrorist Force Protection) guidelines. Most of our manufactured windows come from Kansas or Perris CA.

I wouldn't bother with the film. With all the sand and cleaning its bound to scratch up.

Hurricane Shutters

C-Urchin - 8-26-2011 at 09:56 AM

I am researching this matter too, from what I read the worst case scenario is the wind getting inside your house and lifting your roof.

It appears that the best protection is something that will stop debris coming in the house even if gets banged up and the glass gets broken AND still stop the wind from coming in. I would like to know how this is possible with the fabrics panels and film on the glass?

A huge plus is the burglar repellent effect. After a storm the power is out and there is only so much battery life to the house alarm, or the patrol cannot come because of debris in the streets...

I saw a consumer testing news report from Florida and the "accordion" type shutter did the best. Plywood was not very good.

Any recommendations from anyone with experience?

Cypress - 8-26-2011 at 12:38 PM

Does being from the Mississippi Gulf Coast count as experience? Been thru countless hurricanes. Look 'em up if you want. Raised with one foot in the gulf and the other in the marsh. Plywood works. I'm sure the "accordion" works also. The storm surge is the killer! All the plywood, accordion shutters and anything I know of will be to no avail. Picture a 20' surf knocking on your door.

hurricane shutters

C-Urchin - 8-26-2011 at 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cypress
Does being from the Mississippi Gulf Coast count as experience? Been thru countless hurricanes. Look 'em up if you want. Raised with one foot in the gulf and the other in the marsh. Plywood works. I'm sure the "accordion" works also. The storm surge is the killer! All the plywood, accordion shutters and anything I know of will be to no avail. Picture a 20' surf knocking on your door.

I am in La Paz and I have elevation, if the surf makes it up to Avenida Revolucion near the Sanctuary, we are all hopelessly lost. All my neighbors are locals so there is a wee bit of ...huhm..."debris" that can get airborne.

Main house is 3 stories and guest house is 2 stories, lots of glass. TALL glass. Trying to figure this out. Any advice is really appreciated. :light:

Cypress - 8-26-2011 at 01:15 PM

Check out the elevations. How many feet above sea level etc.

Pescador - 10-5-2011 at 02:48 PM

We did the cloth on a really large porch at my girlfriends house in Punta Chivato and it is the coolest thing you have ever seen. First of all, it lets in light so you do not have the dark hole to deal with. Second, flying debris will make a major hole in the plywood and you do not have the repelling quality that you have with hurricane fabric. She leaves it rolled up next to the ceiling and it only takes a few minutes to roll down and secure the screws on the sides in the event of a hurrican. Finally, it works very well in the winter time when down and has made a new room on the front porch that adds a large dining area to the house. It does let a small amount of air bypass the cloth but it works very well to put up in the wintertime when we have the howling north winds to deal with.
Be sure to check out the videos.

J.P. - 10-5-2011 at 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by C-Urchin

Quote:

I also spent a good part of my life on the Gulf Coast and lost a home in 1983 . My advice would be secure the place best as you can then GET THE HELL OUT OF DODGE. as it was the hurricane did a lot of dammage. but the TORNADO That proceded the Hurricane did the real damage. If I am ever agian faced with the same situation I will RUNNNNNNNN.

Pompano - 10-5-2011 at 03:40 PM

Hurricanes & Chubascos! Love 'em and hate 'em.

Proof is in the pudding. Over the years at 3 Baja homes, I merely used heavy gauge hurricane clips from all the stringers/rafters to the heavy roofing sheets. Spaced them about 2 feet apart for the entire roof. The houses were built to breathe....and sometimes snore.

My low single story Casa Coyote below has been there in every hurricane and chubasco since 1970. Still standing, no roof loss, and have lost zero windows out of ? Carmen says ..."Too many P-nche ventanas!"

I doubt I just got lucky, like when fishing....or in those college days.

At another beachhome in Costa Rica, I will be a little more elaborate because of the multi-level architecture...and most likely use similar protection as mentioned in the previous posts. No blocking out the light, though...If I gotta go, I wanna enjoy the final view.

Hurricane protection

C-Urchin - 10-5-2011 at 10:36 PM

Quote:

I contacted the company in Florida, they could not answer my questions about my glass. I have LOTS of large windows, angles, etc...I wanted to know how in the world is fabric going to protect the glass??? I know from the studies that plywood is useless against fast coming sharp projectiles, roll shutters are expensive. How does one protect the integrity of the windows? How is the fabric going to keep the wind out when the glass is gone?

mtgoat666 - 10-5-2011 at 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by C-Urchin

Quote:

sounds like a good question to have asked when your architect was designing house.
i am surprised that architects and builders in hurricane country don't spec brackets/covers for protecting windows.

Cypress - 10-6-2011 at 05:12 AM

The Baja hurricanes are minimum storms, most only rate as tropical storms. The bulk of the damage is caused by water run-off, not wind.

Pompano - 10-6-2011 at 05:33 AM

Pretty much so. The strongest winds recorded at my place in Coyote Bay were 90mph from a sudden chubasco (unnamed) back in 1979.

Rainfall? Well, that's an entirely different threat....like a monsoon at times.

sully242 - 11-19-2014 at 06:32 PM

What worked best through Odile?

Gulliver - 11-19-2014 at 07:23 PM

I can tell you some things that didn't work well for me here in Mulege.

Keep in mind that I'm talking about 9' of water and a 10-15 kt. current!

Plywood screwed to the windows held well TO THE WINDOWS. The big windows with the plywood still attached were lying about here and there in the yard. The hinges and latches failed. Next time, attach the plywood to the house!

Doors were just ripped off of the jambs. Next time, the doors get removed ahead of time. The house contents are all stored elsewhere for the Summer. Let the bats fly through and eat the stinking mosquitos.

A couple of frame walls with insulation and drywall. Forgeddaboutit. Next time, More concrete blocks and/or stone so that the shovels and pressure washers will have an easier job. 8" of mud takes some doing to remove.

We've been at it for under two weeks and except for the mud removal and inside pressure washing, we (71 and 64) have done it all ourselves. We are living in the house in reasonable luxury and peace.

Things I hadn't planned on were that the fancy ceiling fans were submerged. Bad news, they were seized up. Good news, they take ordinary car alternator bearings at $6 u.s. a pair.

You wouldn't believe how much mud can get deposited in those flushing water spaces in a toilet base.

That said, the wind wasn't that bad I'm told. I had the good sense to be a couple of thousand miles away during the storm.

Ah, well. Climate change? What's that?