Roll Down Shutters on Sanibel Island, FL
On a barrier island the question is not which product is strongest on the day. It
is which one still works after eight years of salt.
Out of the weather, most of the time
Everything mounted outside on Sanibel is under constant, low-level attack. Not dramatic —
just relentless, on tracks, fasteners, wheels and motors, every day of the year.
A roll down shutter answers that better than anything else we
install, because for eleven months the shutter itself is rolled up inside a housing. The slats are
out of it. The moving parts are out of it. What is exposed is the box and the side tracks, and those
are the parts that are straightforward to rinse and straightforward to service.
It is also the product that leaves the least on the wall, which on an island that reviews
exterior alterations closely is a practical advantage as well as an aesthetic one.
Elevated houses and the ladder problem
A great deal of Sanibel is elevated, and more of it every year. That puts the living level a full
storey up and the openings beyond comfortable reach from the ground.
Which is the real argument for motorizing: a shutter needing a ladder is a shutter that does not
get closed, and on an island where you may be leaving in a hurry that is not a theoretical problem.
Every motorized system we install has a manual override — if the power is already out you
crank it down by hand.
Rebuilding? Decide now
If the house is coming back up or being reworked, specify the shutters during design. Structural
backing and the electrical run cost almost nothing while the wall is open and a great deal
afterwards, and a recessed housing is only simple before the finish goes on.
| Profile | Slat | Goes on |
|---|---|---|
| FSS 55mm | Double wall | Wider openings and longer spans. FL22558, including HVHZ. |
| FSS 63mm | Single wall, wider profile | Windows and smaller openings. FL31658. |
Both manufactured in our Cape Coral shop on a box sized to your opening. The bigger slat is not
the stronger one — the double wall on the 55mm is where the capacity comes from.
Sanibel permits its own work, strictly
The City of Sanibel runs its own building department and the island is known for holding a tighter line than anywhere else in the county — on what may be attached to a building, on vegetation, and on lighting. Anything fixed to an exterior wall is reviewed properly rather than waved through. We specify to that rather than submitting and hoping. Permitting is handled as part of the job.
Talk to us about roll down shutters on Sanibel
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.
Questions we get asked
Do they last on a barrier island?
Better than anything else we install, because the shutter spends most of the year inside its housing rather than in the salt. Rinse the tracks a few times a year and clear the sand.
I am rebuilding. When do I decide?
During design. The backing and the electrical run are nearly free while the wall is open, and a recessed housing is only straightforward before the finish goes on.
What if the power is out?
Manual override on every motorized system we install – you crank it down by hand. Losing power is the one thing you can count on.
More questions? Our full hurricane shutter & screen FAQ covers products, service, permitting and financing.
More in Sanibel: accordion shutters · Bahama shutters · roll down shutters · storm panels · roll down screens · impact windows · everything we do in Sanibel
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