Storm Panels on Fort Myers Beach, FL
The cheapest rated protection you can buy, on the island where it is hardest to
actually use. Both halves of that are true and you should hear both.
Three things working against them here
- Height. Nearly everything going back up is elevated. Panels on a living level a
storey above grade mean a ladder, outside, before weather. - Storage. The code restricts what can be enclosed at ground level under an
elevated house, so the garage bay full of steel that panels assume often does not exist any more. - Salt on the fixings. Tracks, studs and wingnuts corrode quickly a few hundred
yards from the Gulf. The panel is fine; the wingnut is what seizes.
None of that makes panels bad. It makes them a poor match for a tall, storage-poor, salt-exposed
house that is often empty — which describes a lot of this island now.
Where they are still right
Ground-level and secondary openings: storage rooms, pool baths, workshops, the enclosed area
under an elevated house. And as a deliberate stage one on a long rebuild — every opening
legally protected now for the least money, upgraded an elevation at a time later.
Steel or clear
Steel is the strongest thing per dollar. Clear Lexan polycarbonate
costs more and lets daylight through, which decides whether three days without power are spent in a
dark box. Aluminum exists, is occasionally painted to match, and buys less strength for the money.
If you already have a set
Test-fit a few every June. Hardware that turns freely means you are ready for the season;
hardware that has seized is a cheap fix then and an impossible one in September. On this island it
will seize faster than you think.
Permitting through the Town of Fort Myers Beach
The Town runs its own building department, and post-Ian it is dealing with an extraordinary volume of work — which means submittals get looked at properly and timelines are what they are. We specify to the current requirements rather than to what used to pass. Permitting is handled as part of the job.
Talk to us about storm panels on Fort Myers Beach
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
Are panels realistic on an elevated house?
On the ground-level and secondary openings, yes. On a living level a storey up they mean a ladder outdoors before a storm, which is where the plan usually falls apart.
Where would I keep them?
That is the honest problem. The code limits enclosed space under an elevated house, so the storage panels assume frequently is not there any more.
Are they proper protection?
Completely. Rated, permitted panels count as opening protection like anything else. The question is only whether they get fitted in time.
More questions? Our full hurricane shutter & screen FAQ covers products, service, permitting and financing.
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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