In Florida, it is now officially hurricane season. I am in the market for aluminum hurricane shutters. However, I do have some questions. Home Depot offers aluminum shutters that are either 48 inches or 96 inches in height. Can the shutters be cut to the size of the window opening? Also, my windows are sunk into the opening with a concrete sill on the outside of the house showing. So it does not allow for a completely flat surface on the outside of the house on the bottom part of the window with the concrete portion that juts out. How can I secure these windows knowing that the bottom track will be difficult to mount on this jutted portion? All of my windows are like this.
Choosing Hurricane Shutters
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I think I have figured it out. I have to measure the width of my sill, but I think I will need a H and F track with build-out. A description of tracks was located here.
If you want to use a screw I would use Tapcon® Concrete Screws. They hold very well and are fairly easy to use. The only draw back is that they are a bright blue and you will have to countersink them and caulk or plugged the hole. 3/16 inch will be strong enough, you will want about 1.5" of penetration. To install you just drill a hole matching the size of the screw (needs to be exact size required) and screw them in. Using a screw is helpful because its about the only concrete anchor you can easily remove.
The other option is Metal Hit Anchors. These are a nail in a sleeve. you pre drill the hole and hammer the anchor in and the nail expands the sleeve.
Any time you drill into masonry you should be using a hammer drill, and a masonry bit that is specifically designed to be used with a hammer drill.
On most brick homes anchoring into the brick is going to be stronger. But it is only shutters and you could get away with drilling into the mortar. This way if you ever want to take the shutters down you can fix the hole in the mortar, unlike if you were to drill directly into the brick.
Best Answer
My shutters attach horizontally over the window. No track required. You may have to see a specialty hurricane shutter shop for these though. 1 tip from personal experience, spend the extra money to get aluminum shutters, they make installation much easier. It would also be in your best interest to see what types of shutters are recommended by your insurance company, and check your local municipality for permit requirements.