You may have noticed a new form of hurricane protection stretched across windows, doors and porches around the island.
This hurricane screen looks like a shiny dark bullet proof vest-like material.
The aptly named Armor Screen is distributed and installed by Bermuda Brickyard .
They are made of a lightweight polypropylene, woven monofilament-geotextile fabric, the screens are extremely strong, see-through, easy to install, and protect against wind driven water vapour and debris.
Used by many government bodies and individuals in the United States as well as Bermuda, this product has taken the hurricane protection business by storm.
See through protection
“One of the most unnerving aspects of sitting through a hurricane is being barricaded behind metal shutters or plywood sheets in the heat and darkness,” Bermuda Brickyard’s Pete Schindel said.
He added: “The beauty of Armor Screen is that you can sit safely on your porch or in front of your living room window and watch the storm.
“These screen barriers are engineered to reduce wind speed and water penetration by 90 per cent while still allowing you to see outside and have cool fresh air. We have had customers call and say they watched the storm while smoking a cigar on their front porch.
“Others have said they were able to light a candle on the porch despite 60 mph winds raging outside the Armor Screen.”
As well as providing extreme protection against wind driven projectiles Armor Screen also protects against projectiles, like tree limbs, better than regular plywood.
“We have seen tests in which 2-in x 4 -in pieces of wood were shot from an air cannon at both an Armor Screen installation and a piece of plywood.
“The objects bounced off the Armor Screen but caused the plywood to splinter,” said Mr Schindel.
Miami-Dade certification Armor Screen products are certified by the Miami-Dade County and they meet Florida Building codes. Florida Insurers give insurance discounts for home-owners who use Armor Screen.
Easy installation
Armor Screen products are easy to install and extremely lightweight.
They come in a variety of installation options including completely removable screens with unobtrusive and removable anchors, roll-ups, and I-Beam screens which slide like a drape.
They fit almost every type of opening and can be modified to fit a variety of architectural situations.
Quotes
“We have been asked to quote and install many large and small jobs in the last few years. From start to delivery of your finished screen usually takes about four weeks,” said Mr Schindel.
“We have also designed and now stock pre-packaged screen kits in two sizes, 4-ft x 8-ft and 3-ft 8-in x 5-ft for do-it-yourself installation. n
Peter Schindel can be contacted for a free quotation or site visit at Bermuda Brickyard, 441-333-3003.