Overall, our top pick for doors and windows is the Alutech Barracuda Roll Shutter, which is extremely durable and easy to deploy and can be ordered in custom colors to perfectly match your home’s exterior. Here are the best hurricane shutters. These shutters come with end retention bolts that eliminate the need for storm bars. You can choose manual or motorized options; either are easy to deploy when a storm is going to hit. There are several locking options, as well. You can even have the shutters customized with light slits to prevent your home from feeling like a cave when the shutters are closed. Barracuda Roll Shutters have an efficient roll diameter that helps minimize the size of their housing, reducing any possible eyesore effect on your home’s exterior. They come in several standard colors, including white, gray, and brown, but you can also have them made in a custom color to match your home’s exterior. Price at time of publish: Dealer-specified One of these panels’ major benefits is that they’re extremely lightweight, weighing just 4 pounds, making them much easier to install than traditional plywood. But each panel needs to be individually installed, which can be time-consuming if you have a lot of windows and doors. Price at time of publish: $87 To fit most standard windows, the manufacturer makes these 1-inch-thick shutters, which can be installed in stucco, brick, or siding, in 28 sizes: 14 in 12-inch widths, and another 14 in 14.5-inch widths, with heights ranging from 25 to 80 inches. The quarter-inch-diameter fasteners are included with the two-to-a-pack shutters, which take minutes to install, requiring no other tools than a power screwdriver or drill. (Some users have reported warping if they failed to install the required number of fasteners for shutter sizes; we strongly recommend following the simple directions in the single-page installation guide.) Price at time of publish: $57 These shutters come in either full- or half-panel widths, and you can order custom lengths from 12 to 150 inches long. They can be installed vertically or horizontally, and they can sit on a track or attach directly to your home’s walls. It takes time to install each panel, but they’re much lighter than plywood, allowing one person to put them up. Plus, these panels stack nicely, making them compact to store when not in use. Price at time of publish: $12 These shutters are designed to resist fading, cracking, rusting, and mildewing, and they meet Dade County (Florida) and Florida building codes. If you’re located in the Palm Coast area, the manufacturer offers installation, but they ship anywhere in the U.S., and the shutters come with the necessary hardware. These shutters’ main shortcoming is that they carry only a 1-year warranty, which is fairly short compared with other manufacturers’ offerings. Price at time of publish: Dealer-specified You can choose from four basic colors—the manufacturer doesn’t offer color matching—and the shutters are backed by an impressive 10-year warranty. One major drawback is that while these shutters are extremely durable and provide a high level of protection, they have sizable housing units that have to be mounted above each window. They also block out the light when deployed. Price at time of publish: $471 One of AstroGuard Fabric Panels’ main benefits is they’re extremely lightweight, making them easy for anyone to put up. However, you have to put up each panel individually, which can take quite some time. The fabric comes in four colors, and you can purchase it with or without mounting hardware. Price at time of publish: $109 Because it’s made from fabric, these shutters roll up very compactly, allowing them to fit inside a compact housing. You can choose from a manual or motorized opening mechanism, and the fabric is designed to resist wrinkles, so it always looks neat on your home. You can choose from a few standard housing colors, including white, gray, or beige, and you’ll likely find that the hurricane screen is a more attractive option than metal shutters. Price at time of publish: Dealer-specified The HV Bertha Shutters are easy to open and close, thanks to their smooth-gliding design, and when they’re not in use, they stack neatly on the side of the door. (However, you can still see the slats, which some might consider unsightly.) These shutters also offer security if you aren’t home during the storm, as they meet code for forced-entry resistance. Also, you can order them with a rain guard to help prevent water from getting into your home. Price at time of publish: $151 Aluminum shutters protect well, are lighter than other metals, and shouldn’t corrode. Polycarbonate shutters are lightweight and high-impact; they also are clear, so they allow light to enter when they are closed. Fabric shutters generally are not as strong as aluminum or polycarbonate, but some fabrics, such as Kevlar, are more durable.
Type
There are several styles of hurricane shutters available, including permanent and temporary solutions. “Probably the most efficient and practical option is the rolling shutters that almost act like a blind for the outside of your window,” says Ray Brosnan of Brosnan Property Solutions. “This is a wholly effective option, and you don’t need to sacrifice on the aesthetic side." If you don’t want shutters on your house all the time, you can use panel-style shutters, which you simply put up when a storm is approaching. The National Weather Service has the following time lines for storm alerts: 48 hours for tropical storm and hurricane watches, and 36 hours for tropical storm and hurricane warnings.
Installation
Some shutters are DIY-friendly and can be installed by homeowners, while others, such as roll-down shutters, often need to be installed by professionals, increasing the initial cost. There’s also the matter of how challenging it is to deploy the shutters when a storm is approaching. Roll-down or colonial shutters can often be shut in a matter of minutes, while storm panels must be individually hung on doors and windows. “[Permanent shutters] are far less work-intensive than moving metal shutters out of a storage location and attaching them to the walls,” explains Dr. Anne Cope, chief engineer for the Institute for Business & Home Safety.
Why Trust The Spruce?
This article was written by Camryn Rabideau, a freelance writer for The Spruce. To get a better understanding of hurricane shutters, she interviewed Ray Brosnan of Brosnan Property Solutions, who has more than 20 years of experience in the contracting business and ample experience installing shutters, as well as Dr. Anne Cope, chief engineer for the Institute for Business & Home Safety, who offered insights on the benefits of hurricane shutters, as well as building code requirements. As she selected products for this list, Camryn considered the materials, sizes, and ease of installation for each shutters, as well as whether the shutters were stylish or at least discreet. She prioritized options that meet code for a variety of hurricane-prone locations, including Florida and Texas.
