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Posts Tagged ‘Bahama shutters’

windows too close for exterior shuttersIt is not uncommon to have a window somewhere on your home where there is physically not enough room for exterior shutters. It could be that 2 windows are too close like in the picture shown to the left. It could also be that the window is too close to a chimney, the corner of the house or even a porch post. Whatever the reason there are usually a few ways to work around this.

Functional Exterior Shutters or Decorative Only
The first thing you need to decide is how you will use your exterior shutters. Do you plan to install your exterior shutters on hinges, so that you can open and close them for storm protection or even for routine house maintenance? Or maybe you will bolt them to your house as decorative shutters only. If your exterior shutters will be for decoration only then not having enough room is not a major issue. With decorative shutters you can always go with narrower shutters to fit the wall space that you have.

If your exterior shutters will be functional you really will need to make sure that they can open and close without hitting anything. A good way to test this is to cut out a piece of cardboard to the size of your shutters? Next, go to any widows that you think might be tight for room and just pretend it is on hinges while you “open” and “close” the cardboard a few times to check for clearance.

Bifold Shuttersexterior shutters next to a chimney
If there is not enough room for shutters on both sides of your window one way to work around this is to hinge your exterior shutters together as bifolds. So instead of having 1 shutter on either side of the window you will have 2 shutters on one side only. You can see an example of this in the picture at the top. A Bifold application is also a great way to mount exterior shutters to cover a bay window.

Leaning Shutters
Some times the exterior shutters are so close to a chimney or where a wall takes a 90° turn to lay flat. It is traditionally accepted to hinge the shutters like normal and have the shutter on one side just lean against the obstruction. If you look carefully at the picture at top you will see the base support for chimney on the left hand side. To give you a better overall view the picture to the right is of the entire side of the house.

exterior shutters on a gable windowExterior Shutters on Gable Windows
With gable windows there is often not enough wall space for the full shutter to lay flat. There are 2 straight forwards ways to handle this layout. Like the picture to the left you can hinge your shutters like normal and just accept the fact that they will hang out a little bit. The alternate way is to mount the shutters at the top with hardware designed for Bahama shutters.

If you are still unsure how best to size or mount your shutters so that they can open and close, please ask us. Give us a call, send us an email or start an online chat. We are happy to help.

 

Aluminum Hurricane Shutters

Aluminum Hurricane Shutters

Hurricane Shutters
When it comes to Hurricane Shutters you need to know that they will indeed stand up to, well, a hurricane. Your Hurricane Shutters will be that first line of defense that keeps your windows, and the inside of your home, intact. To make sure that Hurricane Shutters will indeed stand up to their name the State of Florida requires independent testing and review by a Florida licensed professional engineer. Once they have verified that the shutters will indeed withstand a hurricane the product is approved.

What is the HVHZ?
While hurricanes strike all over the country, those with the highest winds hit Florida in the Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. These make up the High Velocity Hurricane Zone also known as HVHZ. Some hurricane shutters are strong enough to be approved for use within the HVHZ while others are not as durable and can only be used for hurricane protection outside the HVHZ.

I know that I need Hurricane Shutters. Now what?
When you are ready to add hurricane shutters to your home or business a good first step is to check with your insurance company. They will be able to give you any requirements for you location. When you are talking with a retailer of hurricane shutters here is some information that you will want to check.

FL# – This is the application number. It will start with “FL” and then the application numbers. When there are revisions there will be an “.R” afterwards with the revision number. Revisions can be a change in the design of the hurricane shutters or even a change in the way they are installed. It is important to note the revisions as while one might have passed another might not have.

Application Status – Just because there is an application does not mean the the shutters were approved. The Application Status will let you know whether these exterior shutters have been approved or not.

Limits of Use – This is the part to which you will need to pay special attention. This section will tell you if the shutters have been approved in the HVHZ or only approved in the rest of Florida but NOT the HVHZ. It will also give you the design pressure and let you know if they are impact resistant. You can sometimes also find size restrictions here.

Description – Here you can also find size restrictions for the hurricane shutters.

Installation Instructions – On the application report there will be a link to a PDF that gives the approved installation instructions. This is a very important section to read through. Even if your exterior shutters are approved for hurricane protection they will only perform properly if you install them as shown in the instructions.

When you are looking at a retailer for hurricane shutters make sure that they can provide you with all of this information, for the safety of your home and family.

You can follow this link for more information on our HVHZ approved Hurricane Shutters.

Bahama shutters

Bahama shutters

What exactly are Bahama Shutters?
Simply put, Bahama Shutters, also referred to as Bermuda Shutters, are shutters that are mounted at the top and propped out like an awning over a window. While mainly an exterior style of shutter they are some times used inside to give a more tropical feel to a room.  Bahama Shutter Hardware consist of hinges at the top and an arm to prop the shutter open.

Hinges for Bahama Shutters
There are 2 main types of hinges for Bahama Shutters, both of which are mounted at the top. There are continuous hinges (figure 1) running the width of the shutter and single knuckle hinges (figure 2) similar to a door hinge. The continuous hinges are stronger and more often used where the shutters will be fully functioning. The extruded continuous hinges we offer are the same ones supplied with Aluminum Hurricane Shutters. The single knuckle hinges can also be used on functioning exterior Bahama Shutters but are best situated where the shutters are propped open permanently like an awning.

Extruded Hinges for Bahamas Shutters

figure 1 - Extruded Hinges for Bahamas Shutters

Knuckle Hinges for Bahama Shutters

figure 2 - Knuckle Hinges for Bahama Shutters

Arms for Bahama Shutters
There are also 2 types of arms that are used to prop Bahama Shutters open. You have adjustable arms (figure 3) and stationary arms (figure 4). The adjustable arms are telescoping so that you can adjust the angle at which you prop open your Bahama Shutters. This is very helpful in getting your exterior shutters positioned just right so that you have a view to the outside while blocking the sun and afternoon showers. The stationary arms are used usually to prop open Bahama Shutters like an awning. These come in a few different lengths and are less expensive than the adjustable arms.

Keep in mind that depending on how wide your Bahama Shutters are you may need more than 2 arms per shutter.

Adjustable Arms on Bahama Shutters

figure 3 - Adjustable Arms on Bahama Shutters

Stationary Arms on Bahama Shutters

figure 4 - Stationary Arms on Bahama Shutters

What do I need if I am using them on Hurricane Shutters?
If you are using your Bahama Shutters for hurricane protection then I would strongly recommend our continuous hinges. They are not only much stronger than a knuckle hinges but are fastened more securely to your home to insure the best protection. As far as the arms go, since both are removed during a hurricane there is no real benefit one way or the other.

If you are not sure which type of hardware for Bahama shutters is best for you please ask us. Give us a call, send us an email or start an online chat. We are happy to help

Click here to order your Bahama Shutters Hardware.

Here is another terrific outdoor project. This customer made great use of Kestrel Exterior Shutters and Louvered Doors when designing their outdoor dining area and kitchen for their coastal home.

To allow for both air flow and privacy an Operable Plantation Louvered Door (style 6212) was used for the bathroom. All of the outer windows were fitted with awning style Bahama Shutters. Operable Plantation Louvered Bahama shutters (style 1010) were used where privacy was needed while the other windows had Plantation Fixed Louvered Bahama Shutters (style 2010) to provide constant air flow. The exterior shutters and door were custom sized and built from Spanish Cedar using traditional pegged, mortise and tenon joinery.

Beach house with operable louvered doors and operable louvered bahama shutters

Below you can see the Operable Louvered Doors and the exterior view of the Bahama Shutters.

Bermuda Shutters overlooking the beach




Here from the inside you can see how the Bahama Shutter Hardware is mounted to prop the shutter open creating an awning which is quite effective at screening the sun. We installed Bahama Shutters on the exterior of our Southerly facing office last year. The temperature inside was significantly reduced and the shutters also provided our Geranium packed window boxes just under each shutter a bit of sunscreen.

This project turned out great!

A naturally beautiful and renewable choice- Wood shutters and doors by

Kestrel Shutters & Doors, Inc.   www.DIYShutters.com   1-800-494-4321 / sales@diyshutters.com

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From a simple sketch on a piece of scrap paper to completion, our office remodeling project has been a long job.  Both inside and out we have remodeled to turn this old police station built around 1940 – 1950 into a working office and showroom.

Just this past week our awning style Bahama shutters and window boxes were installed and today the window box planters were filled with beautiful ivy geraniums from a nursery close to us called Miller’s Greenhouses.  Millers has a wonderful selection.  Still family owned, they have been in business since 1835!  The geraniums for our flower boxes will be wintered over inside the office windows for us to enjoy.  Come next Spring all we will need to do is pop them back in the planters.

The Bahama Awnings were a smart solution in helping to keep our office a bit cooler to save energy during the hot summer months since the Southern full sun exposure bakes the building and the pavement that surrounds-  And with flowers at the windows and shrubbery by the entrance we have heat absorbing benefits but best of all they are simply beautiful.

We still have a bit more to go but the neighbors are already giving us a thumbs up!

bahamas shutters

Kestrel’s Bahama Awning style shutters provide our office shade keeping it cooler inside.  The view of the window flower boxes is enjoyed from both inside and out- for more information please contact us.

Many neat things happen in July…

With just the right amount of sun and rainfall, corn stalks are knee high by the fourth of July…

County Fair evenings end the day…

And of course, Red White and Blue flags & fireworks for July 4th picnic celebrations for Independence Day are fun for all…

American Kestrel and United States Flag

Have a great and safe celebration.

-JAF

Happy Birthday America!

Kestrel Shutters & Doors, Inc. www.DIYShutters.com sales@diyshutters.com

Now in our 20th Year
May 4, 1989

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