If you’ve installed impact windows in your home as a measure of hurricane protection, you may have heard that question more than once. It’s hard for some people to believe a window is capable of surviving the wind-tossed debris of such a storm. If you live in an area prone to hurricanes, they are certainly worthy of investment!
In fact, as of 2002, the FBC (Florida Building Code) requires all new construction, both residential and commercial, to meet strict hurricane resistant standards. Regulations include installing impact resistant windows if you live within a set distance from the coast.
The manufacturing process
The destruction left behind in Hurricane Andrew’s wake prompted Miami-Dade County officials to call for stricter building standards. In the process, they challenged window manufacturers to invent a window that could withstand force.
Manufacturers looked to the history of the auto industry for inspiration. The industry began using laminated glass in automobiles soon after it was invented in the early 1900s. They added tempered glass to the mix after its invention in the 1930s.
Scientists got to work and soon came up with an impact resistant window that manufacturers stood behind. Impact windows are built by using two (or more) sheets of tempered glass adhered to either side of a sheet of high-tech polymer. The polymer in no way obstructs your crystal clear view, but, wow, does it beef up your window!
The FBC implemented rigorous testing procedures for classifying a window as hurricane resistant. The entire window unit is inspected afterward right down to the glazing. Its rating depends on how well it survived the test as a whole.
Testing and more testing
The window unit submitted for testing undergoes impact tests as well as wind and water tests likened to that of a hurricane.
The large missile test involves shooting a 2×4, weighing approximately nine pounds, from a cannon. It smashes into the window end on. After the large missile test is complete, the unit moves on for the small missile test. Steel ball bearings are projected from the cannon and strike the window simultaneously.
To move further through the testing process, the glass may crack or spiderweb but can’t fly apart. How well the window unit remains intact after completing the wind and storm-driven rain tests determines its impact rating.
Your investment benefits
So, we’ve determined that impact windows can take on wind and debris, thereby, strengthening your home’s structural integrity during a storm. However, that isn’t the only benefit these windows provide you.
Home invasion protection
If these windows can take a punch when hit with flying debris, have you considered what that can mean to your family in the event of an attempted home invasion?
Intruders consider a home’s windows to be the easiest point of entry. Even if they are wired with alarm sensors, it takes awhile for the police to arrive. Someone desperate enough to break in to a home may well risk a screeching alarm banking on being in and out before police arrive.
The shrieking alarm coupled with the sound thud of your impact window withstanding the attempt to smash it is likely to send them scurrying away.
UV protection
We wear sunglasses and sunscreen to protect ourselves from the sun’s damaging UV rays. Did you ever think about your home’s windows providing protection for your stuff?
They can.
Impact windows can block up to 90% of the sun’s damaging rays. That means you can open up your drapes, curtains, or shades and let that gorgeous Florida sunshine in all day long. You’ll never worry about fading furniture or carpets again.
Environmental protection
That’s right.
Impact windows do their part to protect the environment because they are extremely energy efficient. The high-tech polymer keeps air from passing through the window on either side. Your air conditioner will actually shut off now and then after installing impact windows.
You’ll see a savings in your energy bill and reduce your carbon foot print to boot.
Sound protection
We mentioned the safety factor already, but these windows can easily handle the description of “safe and sound.”
Impact windows provide you and your family with the added value of noise reduction. No more barking dogs waking the kids at night! Installing replacement windows in your home alleviates or eliminates neighborhood noises that often detract from relaxation.
You might even decide to nap on a lazy afternoon.
In the event of emergency
So, which side of the glass are you standing on now?
Storm and home invasion protection allow your family to sleep soundly at night. Energy efficiency keeps them cooler in the summer and warmer on those winter nights that get a little nippy. Noise reduction and UV protection are added values that last.
No, impact windows aren’t indestructible. Should a Category 4 or 5 hurricane be barreling down upon you, unfortunately, your home is likely to suffer damage. They pack wind speeds of 130-157 mph or more!
However, we believe the points made above make the cost of impact windows a worthy investment indeed.
Things can change in an instant as far as a hurricane is concerned. Moreover, if your home is in an area that is prone to flooding, it can be another threat against your home entirely.
Always stay tuned to local weather forecasts. If there is an evacuation order issued for your area, please, follow the advice of local officials and go! Seriously, grab your family and pets and get out of there! It’s just not worth the risk of staying put to weather the storm.
We hope that’s never a moment you have to deal with, of course. You may never discover if impact windows enabled your home to withstand a hurricane. However, provisions you take to strengthen your home’s ability to stand strong is in no way all for naught.
Your family looks to you for protection. Providing a safe and secure home for them is number one on the list. When you go above and beyond to make sure they are safe in the “just in case” scenarios of life, you’re assuring them that you’ve got their back.
Always.
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