Hurricane Shutters in Port St. Lucie, FL

Hurricane shutters cover an existing window or door so that debris hits the shutter, not the glass. They are the lower-cost way to protect a Port St. Lucie home, and the right style depends on one honest question: who will close them, and how quickly? A retired owner home all season can live happily with storm panels. A family that travels, or a seasonal resident up north from May to November, usually wants something that closes in minutes or protects without any setup at all.

Shutter types compared

• Roll-down: a curtain of interlocking slats rolls out of a box above the opening and locks into side tracks. Manual crank or motorized. The fastest to close and nearly invisible when open.
• Storm panels: corrugated aluminum, steel or clear polycarbonate panels that bolt or slide into tracks before a storm. The least expensive per opening, but heavy to handle and slow to put up across a whole house.
• Bahama: a louvered awning hinged at the top that props open for shade and drops down and locks for a storm.
• Colonial: two louvered leaves on each side of the window that swing closed and latch in the middle. Decorative and permanent.
• Accordion: folding blades that slide across the opening from side storage. Covered on their own page because they are so common on lanais and sliders here.

Panels you already own

Some houses have a set of metal storm panels stacked in the garage from an earlier owner or the builder. If the tracks are still sound and every panel is there and labeled, they may still be serviceable. We can check them and quote only the openings that are missing protection, rather than replacing a working system.

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Permits and product approval

The City of Port St. Lucie has a separate Hurricane Shutter permit. Its checklist asks for two copies of the layout plan and the Florida Product Approval with installation instructions, and its application lists roll up, accordion, panel, plywood and motorized shutters. Motorized shutters also need an electrical sub-permit. A recorded Notice of Commencement is required on jobs valued at $5,000 or more before the first inspection.

What shutters mean for insurance

Wind mitigation inspectors grade the shutter itself, so it has to be an identifiable, rated product. Plywood counts only as the lowest category, and many insurers give no discount for it. A roll-down or panel system with documented approval can qualify for opening protection credit when every opening in the house is covered.

Bedrooms and exits

Shutters over bedroom windows should be operable from inside, or at least one exit route should stay open, so nobody is trapped during an emergency. We plan the layout with that in mind.