Storm Panels in Fort Myers, FL
Fort Myers has three different housing stocks, and panels are an excellent answer on
one of them, a workable answer on another, and a poor answer on the third.
Which house do you have?
| Stock | Panels? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-century block — Whiskey Creek, Villas, Cypress Lake, Iona | Excellent | Single storey, every opening reachable, mostly owner-occupied year-round. This is panels at their best. |
| Newer east side — Gateway, Verandah, Portico | Workable | Windows are often rated already, so panels only need to cover what is left. Two-storey openings are the catch. |
| Historic core — McGregor, Dean Park | Awkward | Openings are rarely square or standard. Tracks and panels have to be made to fit, which erodes the price advantage. |
That is the whole decision, and it is about your house rather than about the product. Anyone
quoting panels for a house without asking which of those you live in is not paying attention.
Steel or clear
Steel is the default and 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 or a normal room. Aluminum exists, is occasionally painted to
match a house, and buys less strength for more money — rarely worth specifying. The usual
answer is a mix: steel on bedrooms and side elevations, clear on the living space.
The lanai, again
No set of panels closes a wide covered lanai, and on the mid-century stock that lanai is the
largest exposed opening on the building. This is where a panel budget quietly fails: every window is
protected, the biggest opening is not, and the house is still exposed where it matters most.
The specification that actually works is panels on the windows and a
roll down screen across the lanai. It also matters for
insurance — the wind mitigation form asks whether all glazed openings are protected,
so an unprotected lanai undoes the rest. More on that on our
wind mitigation page.
Be honest about the labour
Panels are the cheapest rated protection because you supply the labour. Hours rather than
minutes, two people on anything above head height, and it has to happen before the weather rather
than during it. On a single-storey Whiskey Creek house that is a manageable Saturday. On a
two-storey Gateway house it is the plan falling apart on the day.
Test-fit a few every June. Hardware that turns freely means you are set for the season; hardware
that has seized is a cheap fix in June and an impossible one in September.
City or county?
Many Fort Myers addresses are in unincorporated Lee County rather than the city, and they are
separate submittals. We establish which applies to you. Permitting is handled as part of the job.
Talk to us about storm panels in Fort Myers
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 a good idea for my house?
It depends which Fort Myers you live in. On single-storey mid-century block with someone home year-round they are outstanding value. On a two-storey house, or on the historic stock where nothing is a standard size, the case is much weaker.
Steel or the clear ones?
Steel on bedrooms and side windows, clear Lexan on the rooms you would actually be sitting in. Steel is stronger per dollar; clear is the difference between a dark house and a normal one for three days.
Will panels get me the insurance credit?
Rated, permitted panels count as opening protection the same as anything else. But the wind mitigation form asks whether every glazed opening is protected – so if the lanai is left bare, the rest of the work does not tick the line.
More questions? Our full hurricane shutter & screen FAQ covers products, service, permitting and financing.
More in Fort Myers: accordion shutters · Bahama shutters · roll down shutters · storm panels · roll down screens · impact windows · everything we do in Fort Myers
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