If you live in Florida, you know how common hurricanes are. If you’ve just moved into a new home, you want to protect your investment from those dangers. Windows have to be protected in order to avoid hurricane damage. Do you have Fort Lauderdale impact windows? You may not even know for sure. Here are a few details to help you judge what you have—and what you need.
Standard Windows And Hurricane Windows
These two types of windows are hard to tell apart based on appearance alone since they look pretty much the same. The difference is in the glass. Regular windows are made of what’s called float glass. When the glass breaks if something hits it, it breaks into shards. Those shards are dangerous in a storm, but they also let the winds and rain into your home, which can be even more dangerous. For impact windows, panes of glass are bonded together with a membrane. Even if the glass breaks, the glass sticks to that unbreakable film and the window remains intact. Even a crack won’t expose the home to the wind and water that nasty storms bring around. The specialized glass is usually paired with a stronger frame as well.
So what do you have on the home you just moved into? Here are a few ways to tell if you have an impact window:
Look For The Permanent Mark
Tempered glass has a label in one of the corners to identify the glass with the manufacturer who made it. Laminate glass, or impact glass, doesn’t always have that mark. If you see a mark, you might have breakable glass.
Check The Label
Impact glass has to be cut to size so that permanent mark might not be there, but there should still be a label somewhere. That label will tell you the date of manufacturing, the thickness, and other certification details that the glass meets. It will also designate the window as an impact window.
Check Your Reflection
When you look into the glass, inspect the reflection. Impact glass has two (or more) sheets of glass so you should see two or more reflections looking back at you.
Call A Professional
If you can’t find the label and just aren’t sure what you have, it never hurts to call a professional. You don’t want to find yourself worrying about your house the next time a hurricane rolls through.
If you want to install new Fort Lauderdale impact windows, or you’d like to see what your home already has, contact the professionals at High-End Impact Windows & Doors by calling (954) 782-7100. We’re here to help you protect your home from nasty storms, intruders, and even the regular weather elements. We want efficiency and comfort for you and we’ll help you reach those goals with just the right windows. We’re located at 1472 S Dixie Hwy E, Pompano Beach, FL 33060 and we’re here to help you with every step of the process throughout the entire project.
