FSS 55mm Rolling Shutter System
Our double wall slat — the profile for wider openings and longer spans. Built in our own shop, with a box made for your opening rather than a box you have to design around.
Most hurricane companies in Southwest Florida are resellers. They take an order, send it to a factory, and fit whatever comes back on the truck. We do that too for some products, and we say so plainly on those pages. This is not one of them — the 55mm is ours.
What that actually changes
- No standard box. Every 55mm we build gets a box made for the opening it is going on. Off-the-shelf boxes come in fixed sizes and the opening has to live with whatever that means for the header, the soffit and the sight line. Ours does not work that way.
- The awkward openings stop being awkward. Round columns, mitered corners, in-soffit installs, mullion and post work — when you make the box, an unusual opening is a fabrication question rather than a reason to say no.
- Lead time is ours to control. We are not waiting in a factory queue behind every other dealer in the state.
- Service is straightforward. We know how it went together because we put it together.
Approvals and testing
Florida Product Approval FL22558. Evaluated as compliant with the current Florida Building Code including the High Velocity Hurricane Zone — the Miami-Dade and Broward standard, which is the most demanding opening-protection requirement in the country. Most of Southwest Florida does not require HVHZ compliance. This carries it anyway.
- Large missile impact rated — tested to TAS 201-94, TAS 202-94 and TAS 203-94, along with ASTM E1886, ASTM E1996 and ASTM E330
- 6063-T6 aluminum
- Quality assurance audited through the National Accreditation and Management Institute (NAMI), FBC organization #QUA1789. Florida Screen & Shutter holds its own NAMI quality assurance license
- Design pressures and maximum sizes are specific to configuration and are confirmed against the approved installation instructions for your opening at the consultation
Where a rolling shutter is the right answer
A rolling shutter is a solid barrier that rolls down from a box above the opening. Compared with a hurricane screen it gives you more: complete blackout, a meaningful sound reduction, and a physical security benefit when you are away for the season. Compared with an accordion it is far less visually intrusive when open, because it is inside a box rather than stacked at the sides of the opening.
| Choose a rolling shutter when | Choose something else when |
|---|---|
| You want blackout, sound reduction and security, not just storm protection | You want to keep the view and the light with the protection down — that is a hurricane screen |
| The house is empty for months and you want it closed up | The opening is very wide and you want a single unbroken span |
| The opening is unusual and needs a custom box | Budget is the deciding factor on standard windows — look at accordion shutters |
55mm or 63mm?
We build both. The 55mm is a double wall slat — two walls of aluminum per slat — and the 63mm is a single wall slat in a wider profile. The 63mm is the bigger slat; the 55mm is the stronger one, which is why the 55mm is what goes on wide openings and long spans and the 63mm goes on windows and smaller openings. They differ in the spans and pressures each is approved for. Which one goes on your opening is determined by the opening — its width, its height and the design pressure at your address — not by preference. We work that out at the consultation and tell you which one your house needs.
Motorized or manual
Both are available.Raise it at the consultation so it is scoped into the quote rather than added later.
Talk to us about your openings — Southwest Florida
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 about the FSS 55mm
Do you really manufacture this yourself?
Yes. The FSS 55mm is fabricated in our own shop under Florida Product Approval FL22558, with quality assurance audited through the National Accreditation and Management Institute. It is one of the products we build rather than resell.
What does HVHZ approved mean, and does Southwest Florida require it?
The High Velocity Hurricane Zone is the Miami-Dade and Broward standard, the most demanding opening-protection requirement in the country. Southwest Florida is not in the HVHZ and does not require it. The 55mm is evaluated as compliant including the HVHZ regardless.
What is a custom box and why does it matter?
The box is the housing the shutter rolls into above the opening. Standard boxes come in fixed sizes, so the opening has to accommodate the box. We build the box for the opening, which is what makes round columns, mitered corners and in-soffit installations straightforward rather than impossible.
How do I know whether I need the 55mm or the 63mm?
It is decided by the opening — the width, the height and the design pressure at your address — measured against the approved size and pressure schedules. We determine it at the consultation rather than asking you to choose.
Do rolling shutters need a permit?
Yes. Any hurricane protection on an exterior opening requires a building permit, and the inspector verifies the Florida Product Approval number against the installation. Permitting is handled as part of the job.
Manual or motorized?
Manual is fine on anything you can reach easily and do not mind closing by hand. Motorized makes sense on second-storey openings, wide sliders, and anywhere you would realistically skip closing it because it is a hassle. Motorized systems have a manual override.
Do rolling shutters help with heat and noise?
Yes, and it is why a lot of people keep using them outside storm season. A closed aluminum shutter gives you a dark, quiet, secured room — noticeably cooler on a west elevation and noticeably quieter on a road.
What maintenance do they need?
Keep the tracks clear and rinse them with fresh water a few times a year. Cycle the shutter occasionally rather than leaving it up for years. Salt-air addresses want looking at more often — twice a year normally, four times on the coast.
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