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Windows That Withstand Anything

If you have never witnessed a hurricane in real life, picture this: extremely strong winds, strong enough to uproot a building

By Nishant KumarPublished 4 years ago 5 min read
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Windows That Withstand Anything
Photo by Aubrey Odom on Unsplash

If you have never witnessed a hurricane in real life, picture this: extremely strong winds, strong enough to uproot a building, rushing towards you. Park benches flying around, the oldest of the trees swaying with the prospect of being taken away with the wind and cars flying, not in the style we envisioned for the future. Do you think your windows stand a chance? Your door and windows are bleak resistance to these hurricane winds. And even if the hurricane isn’t strong enough to be a natural disaster, it is still going to damage your house considerably. So. how can one manage to prevent such damage to your house and its doors and windows? Let’s find out.

What Are Hurricane Windows?

Impact-resistant windows are, simply, known as impact windows and in common usage, hurricane windows. A common misconception amongst people is that impact windows are solely restricted to windows whereas impact windows are a combination of heavy-duty window and door frames with special glass which keeps you safe inside.

The glass used to make hurricane windows is laminated and glazed with synthetic silicon material which prevents it from breaking away from the frame. The process of making hurricane windows is a difficult one but since it is mostly just used in hurricane-prone areas that are where you would find the factory density to be maximum.

What Makes a Glass a Hurricane Window?

The windows are two-panelled. They are made to have some amount of space between them which is filled with a clear, viscous and synthetic fluid. This double-panelled structure of these windows allows the glass to not break off of the window frame. In addition to that, each glass panel is individually glazed upon and laminated with a synthetic material to increase their structural integrity. Hence, they not only prevent themselves from breaking off of the window frame by being in a double-panelled structure, but they also are stringer than normal window panels individually. Thus, even if the outer glass breaks, the second layer of the galvanised glass prevents debris and other particles from entering your house.

But the altering of windows doesn’t end here. Even a different window frame might help your house from having debris entering it. A vinyl, heavy-duty frame is advised which is aluminium painted with an electrostatic paint for a low maintenance finish since these windows are usually put up seasonally. The minimum frame depth which is considered ideal is 5.125 inches on sliding glass doors and 2.75 inches on windows. The adjacent walls’ thickness being 0.062 inches aids the system significantly in withstanding extremely strong hurricane winds. For even firmer protection from winds, moulded nylon anti-friction sash can be used to your advantage.

Who Needs Hurricane Windows?

Hurricane windows in Miami and Florida are popular in the USA. Parts of Asia who deal with floods and hurricane often also make use of the same very often. Any area around the world which is prone to strong winds, not necessarily hurricane, also can make use of the same. They are nowadays easily available anywhere and even online. The benefit of buying these online is that you may be able to customize it, however, it is advised that you take a professional person’s opinion.

How Are They Different?

Apart from the fact that the entire princess of the making of these kinds of windows and glass panels os different, it also has a different fitting method. There are professionals who are best at fitting these well. These windows also come with a change to your window and door frames. A specific wall thickness, although isn’t compulsory, is advised to aid these windows in resisting hurricane winds even more.

Options Available for These Windows

Hurricane or impact-resistant windows and doors come in a lot of design styles and designs nowadays as everything is customised to the user’s requirements. You can now have everything built to suit your needs. The windows are built of the same sturdy material but are available in multiple styles such as hung windows, single hung windows, roller windows, casement windows which are also known as projection windows, architectural windows, and French windows. You can find almost the same options for your hurricane doors as well. Design options include colonial and Brittany styles. You can have many additions to these designs such as mountings or fixings to personalise the area.

With the commercialization of every commodity, the competition has increased multiple folds. Hence, every service has multiple variants and you must make sure you are aware of all your options when you set out to choose for one.

What to Keep in Mind When I Buy These?

Although it would be your basic and natural instinct to go for an option that you can customize to suit your needs and requirements, after all, who wouldn’t want their house to look like something they have designed, but it is a better and wiser decision to choose quality over anything. Effective hurricane window solutions would not only keep you safe and guarded but also would save you quite a bit of money.

You must make sure you look for a heat-resistant and laminated glass to ensure high performance. In addition to this, low-E impact windows are the same effective windows with an added low-emissivity coating over your window panels, hence the name low-E. This coating helps with temperature regulation. It keeps the heat inside or reflects it outwards depending on the surrounding temperature. Hence, it keeps your house hot in winters and cold in summers. This saves you considerable electricity bills and conserves energy. To make it even better for you, there are impact windows which are available with a certain heat gain coefficient. These windows manage to capture and transmit solar radiation. During winters, it’s coefficient value if changed to 1, can be used as a passive heater and in hot weather can be used as a cooler. This reduces your energy consumption. You would not just be saving your wallet from a massive drain but also the environment.

Hurricane or impact windows are serious business but that can’t or shouldn’t stop you from experimenting and finding ways to make your house a more efficient system for you to live in.

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