Hurricane Screens in Punta Gorda, FL
Motorized hurricane screens for Punta Gorda and Charlotte County homes — installed and permitted by a Southwest Florida contractor.
Punta Gorda is the one town in this region that has already been through the whole cycle: destroyed, rebuilt to a better standard, then tested again. That history is not trivia. It changes what the right hurricane product is here, and it is the reason a quote written for a Cape Coral house can be wrong for a Punta Gorda one.
2004, and what the town did about it
Hurricane Charley came ashore near Punta Gorda on 13 August 2004 with sustained winds around 150 mph. Damage across Charlotte County came to roughly $5.4 billion, and much of the city’s building stock simply did not survive it.
The rebuild happened under Florida’s statewide building code, which had taken effect two years earlier — stronger roof attachment, better-fastened siding, and rated protection on exposed openings. The result is that a large share of Punta Gorda’s housing is newer and built tighter than the surrounding region.
Ian tested it in 2022. Punta Gorda came through visibly better than places with older stock. Codes work — but only for what they actually cover.
Here is the part that gets lost: a home built to post-2002 code has rated openings, not a protected lanai. Pool cages, screen enclosures and open lanais are not opening protection and never were. On a canal home with a wide western exposure, that lanai is the largest unprotected face on the building.
Punta Gorda Isles and the canal-front problem
Punta Gorda Isles is the city’s largest residential neighborhood — canal-front, built on dredged land along Charlotte Harbor, with nearly every home on direct water access. Add Burnt Store Isles and the harbor-front stretch along the waterfront, and you have a housing pattern with two consistent traits: long open water fetch, and lanai openings far wider than any panel system was designed to cover.
That is the opening a motorized screen exists for. One screen, one span, nothing to store in the garage and nothing to hang at 6 a.m. with a storm eight hours out.
The two systems we install
MagnaTrack Defender
Spans up to 30 feet wide by 20 feet high — enough for the large majority of Isles lanais in a single screen with no center post. Runs on a dual-pull neodymium magnetic track over a low-friction Keder interlock; the magnetic fields dampen wind and debris and hold the screen flat. Self-Adjusting Technology. Florida Building Code approval #30798, US patent 11,421,474.
UltraShield
Housing stays at 7 inches or under at every size — it does not grow with the span, which matters on a harbor-front elevation where the header is in the sight line. Patented four-sided end retention, heavy-duty self-tensioning track, and an adjustable aluminum base slat that self-levels to a pitched floor up to 1.75 inches. Florida product approval FL-42141.
Both are Florida product-approved for hurricane protection. Which one belongs on your house is an opening-by-opening decision — more detail on our motorized hurricane screens page. We also install rolldown shutters, accordion shutters and impact windows and doors where those fit better.
Permitting in Charlotte County
Two jurisdictions, and the line is the city limit. Inside the City of Punta Gorda, the city reviews the permit. Outside it — including Burnt Store and the unincorporated stretches toward Port Charlotte — it goes through Charlotte County Community Development.
Either way the product needs a current Florida Product Approval rated for the wind zone at your address, and the inspector verifies that number against what is actually on the wall. Permitting is handled as part of the job. Permitting is where this trade goes wrong most often, so it is worth confirming who is handling it before you sign anything.
Where we work in Charlotte County
Punta Gorda, Punta Gorda Isles, Burnt Store, Charlotte Harbor, Port Charlotte and Deep Creek.
Hurricane screens across Southwest Florida:
Cape Coral · Naples · Fort Myers · Bonita Springs · Estero · Sanibel · Fort Myers Beach · Port Charlotte · Marco Island · North Fort Myers · San Carlos Park · Babcock Ranch
Hurricane shutters in Punta Gorda, FL
Punta Gorda rebuilt under the post-2002 code, so most homes here already have rated windows — which changes what a shutter is for. On a rebuilt house the gap is usually the lanai and the openings added since. Accordion shutters cover the windows cheaply on the older stock around Charlotte Harbour, and roll-down shutters suit the canal-front homes in the Isles where an empty seasonal house wants closing up properly.
Shutters and screens are different products doing different jobs, and most houses in Punta Gorda end up with some of each. If you are not sure which your openings want, that is exactly what the call is for.
Product pages for Punta Gorda
Accordion shutters in Punta Gorda
On a house rebuilt after Charley, these cover what the code left out.
Bahama shutters in Punta Gorda
Shade on harbour-facing glass, and a fit for the historic district.
Roll down shutters in Punta Gorda
Close the house up in April and leave it shut for the season.
Storm panels in Punta Gorda
Cheapest rated protection – and why a seasonal town is the hardest place to use them.
Roll down screens in Punta Gorda
Rated windows, open lanai. That is the gap the rebuild left.
Impact windows in Punta Gorda
How to find out what the rebuild actually put in your walls.
Talk to us about your openings — Punta Gorda
Tell us what you are looking at and someone from our team will call you the same business day. We go through it on the phone first — your openings, the products that actually fit, what is involved — and if it is a fit we come out and put a written quote in your hand. No charge and no obligation.
Punta Gorda hurricane screen questions
My house was rebuilt after Charley. Do I still need opening protection?
Almost certainly for the lanai. Post-2002 code brought rated windows and doors, but pool cages, screen enclosures and open lanais are not opening protection. That is usually the largest unprotected area on a rebuilt canal home.
Do I permit through the City of Punta Gorda or Charlotte County?
It depends on whether your address is inside the city limits. Inside, the City of Punta Gorda reviews it. Outside, it goes through Charlotte County. We determine which and pull the permit for you.
Can a single screen cover a Punta Gorda Isles lanai?
Usually yes. The MagnaTrack Defender spans up to 30 feet wide by 20 feet high in one piece, which covers the large majority of canal-front lanais without a center post.
Will a hurricane screen stop storm surge off Charlotte Harbor?
No. Hurricane screens are rated for wind pressure and wind-borne debris, not flood. Surge is handled through elevation, flood openings and flood insurance. Be careful with anyone who tells you otherwise.
How long does an installation take?
The install itself is usually a day or two for a typical home. The permit review ahead of it is the variable, and it depends on the jurisdiction and the time of year. We give you a realistic timeline at the consultation rather than an optimistic one.
More questions? Our full hurricane shutter & screen FAQ covers products, service, permitting and financing.
Florida Screen & Shutter, LLC · 883 NE 27th Ln #5, Cape Coral, FL 33909 · (239) 409-0426
License #SCC131152867 · Fully Licensed & Insured Florida Contractor · MagnaTrack President’s Club, #6 in the country, 2025