As of May 8th, the United States experienced 7 weather or climate disasters in 2022. The financial toll of these catastrophic events? More than $1 billion, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
If you live in Florida, these statistics hit especially close to home. Because while Florida is an excellent place to live for many reasons, it’s also a hotspot—literally and figuratively—for extreme weather events, including hurricanes, tornadoes, and waterspouts.
The takeaway for Florida homeowners? If you haven’t taken steps to fortify your home against hurricanes and other potential dangers, you’re putting your home, yourself, your loved ones, and your belongings at risk.
When we think of weatherproofing, we often think of boarding up windows and piling up sandbags. However, there are much more efficient and effective ways to safeguard your property—starting with high performance, impact resistant windows and doors.
Read on to learn more about the many benefits of impact French doors and sliding glass doors for hurricane protection and more.
Beyond Impact Windows for Hurricane Protection
Your walls aren’t the only thing protecting you and your home from the elements. So are your windows. And when extreme winds start to blow and landscaping materials and other objects start hurtling through the air toward your home, this can quickly turn into a dangerous situation.
As a Florida property owner, you may already be aware of the importance of impact windows for hurricane protection. Made with impact-resistant glass and durable aluminum or vinyl frames, impact windows are engineered to be stronger and more shatter-resistant than their vulnerable counterparts, thereby defending your home’s interior from wind, rain, and other storm elements.
Even if impact windows do splinter from high winds and wind-borne debris, they’re designed to break in a way that keeps the glass in the frame and doesn’t result in large, sharp shards of glass acting as projectiles in and around your home.
Finally, while preventing water, wind, glass shards and other flying objects from entering your home may seem like the main advantage of impact resistant windows and doors during a hurricane, they also guard against another catastrophic threat: Sudden differential pressure changes that occur during storms can comprise your home’s building envelope and completely blow out windows and doors. The catastrophic result? The collapse of your home.
While the value of impact windows may already be on your radar, many homeowners overlook an even bigger point of entry: doors. Patio doors, in particular, are often a home’s largest opening.
Just like windows, patio doors can either be a vulnerability or a defense during a hurricane or another extreme weather event. The differentiating factor? Impact glass.
This is why many coastal regions require the installation of impact windows and doors with all new construction projects. But even if these requirements don’t apply to you, experts agree that impact windows and doors are a wise move for homeowners in light of the increasing frequency of extreme weather events.
The Many Benefits of Impact Patio Doors
Patio doors are one of the most proactive preventative measures homeowners can take. Especially if you live in Florida or another storm-prone area, this is reason enough to invest in upgrading from non-impact to impact patio doors.
However, impact patio doors—like impact windows—offer a multitude of other benefits, including the following:
Energy efficiency
Did you know that heat gain and heat loss from windows are to blame for up to 30 percent of a home’s heating and cooling energy usage? Glass doors are also culprits. Because of their durable design, thick multi-layered glass, and tight seal, impact windows offer excellent energy efficiency.
In addition to reducing energy usage and helping you keep your energy costs low, they also support more comfortable living environments by keeping cool air in on sweltering days and warm air in when temperatures plummet.
Safety and security
Weak windows and doors aren’t just potential entryways for bad weather during storms. They’re also prime opportunities for intruders. Because of their extraordinary strength and sophisticated locking systems, high performance impact windows and doors are an invaluable line of defense against burglaries, home invasions, and other crimes.
Noise reduction
Tired of loud traffic disrupting your quiet evenings or your neighbor’s barking dogs waking you before the crack of dawn? Impact resistant windows and doors do an excellent job of keeping out these and other unwanted sounds.
UV protection
The same factors that make impact windows and doors less penetrable to weather, air, noise, and intruders also make them less penetrable to the sun’s UV rays. In addition to being harmful to humans, solar rays can also damage furniture, finishes, fabric, and flooring.
Designed to block many of these rays, impact glass can keep your home’s inhabitants, furniture, window treatments, and other belongings safe.
Higher home value
Impact windows and doors don’t just save money in the form of everything from lower utility bills to enhanced safety to reduced damage during weather emergencies, they can also make your home more desirable to potential buyers—not only in terms of their functionality, but also in terms of the curb appeal they can add to your home.
Speaking of savings, many insurance carriers offer reduced rates for homes with impact windows.
With all of these savings factored in, upgrading to an impact French door or sliding door more than pays for itself—not just in dollars, but also in peace of mind.
Explore Impact Patio Door Options at CGI
We often think of hurricane-proofing in terms of its functionality. After all, boarded up windows hardly add aesthetic value to your home.
However, while impact patio doors are inherently purposeful, they also have the potential to be a beautiful design element within your home while also offering more expansive views and easier egress—especially when you factor in the many sizes, styles, colors, and designs available from leading manufacturers like CGI.
Whether you’re interested in hurricane impact sliding glass doors, French doors, or another type of high performance impact glass product, CGI can help. To start improving your home (and your views!) with CGI’s impact resistant windows and doors, get a free quote today.
