Hurricane Screens in Bonita Springs, FL
Motorized hurricane screens for Bonita Springs and Estero Bay homes, permitted and installed by a Lee County contractor.
Most hurricane companies sell Bonita Springs as a beach town. Anyone who lived through 2017 knows the water here does not only come from the Gulf — it comes down the Imperial River, and it arrives in neighborhoods that are nowhere near the sand.
What actually happened in 2017
Hurricane Irma hit as a Category 3 in September 2017, less than two weeks after another system had already soaked the watershed. The ground had nowhere left to put it. The Imperial River crested and flooded the neighborhoods along it, and in places the peak water from the two events combined sat about 6.5 feet above where it had been before. The federal government later funded a buyout program for some of the worst-hit homes.
So let us be straight about what we sell. A hurricane screen is rated for wind pressure and wind-borne debris. It will not hold back river flooding and it will not hold back surge. If a company tells you their product solves your Imperial River problem, walk away. Flooding is an elevation, drainage and insurance problem. Screens solve the other half — the half that takes your lanai, your slider and then your roof.
Three different Bonita exposures
Bonita Beach and the Gulf side
Open western exposure, salt in everything, and elevated homes with tall openings. Wind and debris are the daily design problem; corrosion is the ten-year one.
The river corridor
Old Bonita along the Imperial River. Flood risk is the headline, but the wind damage above the water line still needs solving — and often gets ignored because everyone is focused on the flooding.
East Bonita and the gated communities
Newer construction toward I-75 and Bonita Grande. Large lanais, screen cages, and an HOA with a view on exterior changes. Screens generally clear architectural review more easily than visible shutter tracks.
Why a screen instead of panels
A motorized hurricane screen rolls down from a housing above the opening and closes the whole span in one piece — no panels to store, no tracks to hang, nothing to carry in the dark. On a lanai wider than about fifteen feet, it is usually the only product that covers the opening without a post in the middle of the view.
We install two: the MagnaTrack Defender, which spans up to 30 feet wide by 20 feet high on a dual-pull neodymium magnetic track whose magnetic fields dampen wind and debris and hold the screen flat, under Florida Building Code approval #30798 — and UltraShield, Florida product approval FL-42141, whose housing stays 7 inches or under at every size and gives the clearest view out in the industry.
Detail on both is on our motorized hurricane screens page. Where shutters fit better we install rolldown and accordion systems, and impact windows and doors.
Permitting in Bonita Springs
Bonita Springs is an incorporated city with its own building department, so a job inside city limits is reviewed by the city rather than by Lee County. Lee County’s design wind speed places the entire county inside the Wind-Borne Debris Region, which under Florida Building Code Section 1609.5.2 means exterior openings require impact-rated glazing or code-compliant shutters or screens.
Every product needs a current Florida Product Approval rated for the wind zone at your address. If you are in a deed-restricted community, budget time for architectural review before the permit — that approval is usually the long pole, not the county.
Where we work
Bonita Springs, Bonita Beach, Estero, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples and Sanibel.
Hurricane screens across Southwest Florida:
Cape Coral · Naples · Fort Myers · Punta Gorda · Estero · Sanibel · Fort Myers Beach · Port Charlotte · Marco Island · North Fort Myers · San Carlos Park · Babcock Ranch
Hurricane shutters in Bonita Springs, FL
Bonita splits between the beach side and the river corridor, and the shutter answer splits with it. On the Gulf side, salt decides everything and roll-down shutters that retract into a housing spend most of the year out of the weather. Inland along the Imperial River, where the flooding gets the attention, the wind damage above the water line still needs solving — accordion shutters on the windows are the cheapest way to close that gap.
Shutters and screens are different products doing different jobs, and most houses in Bonita Springs 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 Bonita Springs
Accordion shutters in Bonita Springs
Most openings protected per dollar – and a neighbour can close them while you are north.
Bahama shutters in Bonita Springs
Almost nothing on them to corrode, plus permanent shade on a west elevation.
Roll down shutters in Bonita Springs
They spend eleven months inside a housing, out of the salt.
Storm panels in Bonita Springs
Cheapest rated protection there is. Steel, or clear if you want the light.
Roll down screens in Bonita Springs
One clear span across the lanai – and the no-see-ums gone from March on.
Talk to us about your openings — Bonita Springs
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.
Bonita Springs hurricane screen questions
Will a hurricane screen help with Imperial River flooding?
No. Hurricane screens are rated for wind pressure and wind-borne debris, not water. River flooding and storm surge are elevation, drainage and insurance problems. Screens protect the openings against wind and debris, which is a separate failure mode above the water line.
Does Bonita Springs permit its own jobs or does Lee County?
Bonita Springs is an incorporated city with its own building department, so work inside city limits is reviewed by the city. We determine the correct jurisdiction and pull the permit.
My HOA has an architectural review committee. Is that a problem?
It is a step, not a problem. Screens tend to clear review more easily than visible shutter tracks because the housing is the only permanent visible component. We provide the product data and specifications the committee asks for.
How wide an opening can one screen cover?
Up to 30 feet wide by 20 feet high with the MagnaTrack Defender, in a single screen with no center post.
Does salt air near Bonita Beach shorten the life of these?
Coastal exposure is hard on every exterior product, which is why the installation details and the finish matter as much as the screen. We will talk through the exposure at your specific address rather than quoting a generic lifespan.
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