I'm building a house in a part of Asia where typhoons are common. The houses (including mine) are all built from reinforced concrete. When a typhoon comes, people typically hang nets in front of any large exposed windows, to protect them. The nets are hung from hooks that are built into the concrete. My architect wants to add eaves all over the place so that there's some place for the hooks. I don't like the look of the eaves, and it seems ridiculous to have them if their only purpose is to support the hooks/nets.
So, I'm looking for alternatives. Maybe a different way to hang the nets, or (ideally), some approach that won't even require the nets. Y'all may not have any experience with typhoons, but hurricanes are similar — just strong winds and heavy rain. Any ideas?
Best Answer
I've seen the nets & in your case without eaves, which I agree with. You'd have to have deployable locking arms to swing out in order to catch whatever, but nets have very large gaps & therefore I wouldn't be sure of any success claim's credibility.
But, are you sure it's a Real Architect? It doesn't sound like one to me. See if they've heard of Shutters. There are Shutters of every kind for everything & yes they're hurricane or typhoon resistant & even proof. You just shut & lock them, this also works for when you evacuate, I mean go away on vacation.
There are hinged door swing type Shutters, that even come in bi-fold & tri-fold sizes for 6-foot & more openings. There are slide Shutters for just smaller window sized openings. There are roll-down style shutters that are the same as what you see when a store closes for the night for all sizes of openings.
Shutters are better because they don't have gaps nor flex like a net & don't have to be stored anywhere or installed in a panic. They can even be motorized & bulletproofed & painted.