Quote:
Originally Posted by NJblue
When we were looking at houses in TV, our sales rep said that all homes built in recent years complied with the new Florida building codes to improve their resilience to hurricanes. Included in this added protection, according to him, was a new standard that windows must adhere to in terms of resisting breakage from blown debris.
We just had a window film salesman give us a pitch for a 3M product that will keep the window from shattering into flying pieces if struck by a projectile (in addition to providing protection from heat gain and UV penetration). He claimed that all windows in TV have no inherent shatter resistance - i.e., that they are no better than they were 20 years ago. When I told him what our sales rep said about the Florida building code that pertains to windows he said that our sales rep was wrong/lying.
Does anyone know for sure which sales person was telling the truth? If the TV sales rep was correct, can anyone point me to the building code that specifies this?
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Hurricane iimpact resistant windows are very expensive. We have a designer built in 2006, and it does not have hurricane resistant windows. Here is a link that descriibes how a true hurricane impact resistant window works:
http://www.fhaproducts.com/windows.php
When you read it you will understand why the windows are so expensive.
This is some info I read regarding films on windows for hurricane impact resistance: "Window films make several claims, primarily impact resistance, solar and UV protection. While certainly better than no protection, films often provide the least protection of the options currently available. One advantage film offers is that glass is held together after an impact. Films main problem is that often window are not fastened properly in the house frame or the glass is not fastened securely into the frame of the window so that no matter how effective the film is, the glass comes out of the window frame or window itself comes out of the wall. Your hurricane impact protection is only as strong as the weakest link. Film has the advantage in price - it is generally the least expensive of the options. If you are sure that your windows and window glass are securely fastened and/or this is the only option you can afford, some protection is better than no protection. "
Hope this helps.