Installations
For storage this screen is rolled and left under the eave. With its white cover the screen is barely noticeable between the pale yellow wall and the white eave. The cover and coordinating screen are available in several colors making it easy to blend with the surroundings. The cover protects the screen from the elements as well as adding to its appearance and ease of storage. Notice that the screen rolls quite tightly as to not obstruct the view.
Deployment
The screen will be anchored by lifting the 1/2 inch nylon anchor hole covers from the floor and turning in the anchor bolts. After the hurricane has passed, the anchor bolts will be removed, the hole covers replaced, and the screen rolled up. The cover will be closed by pulling hood over and securing it onto the panelmates through the grommets and then fastened with the wingnuts.
Deployment and storage require minimal strength so they can be performed by almost anyone and in just a few minutes. The screens can be deployed at the last minute – there is no need to install them a day or two ahead of time, before the winds pick up.
Mounted Inside
CAT 5 Screens ability to cover and protect large areas gives you the convenience of expensive metal rollup/rolldown and accordian shutters, but is simple, inexpensive and maintenance-free. The Cat 5 has an unconditional warranty for five years.
This home has the Cat 5 Hurricane Screens mounted on the inside of the lanai. At the end of the hurricane season the owner stores the screens in the garage. Dismounting of the screens is simply a matter of turning off the wingnuts that attach it to the wall. The whole assembly is light in weight so is easy to handle. The rolls are very compact so they require only a small amount of space in the garage. No more struggling with heavy and warped plywood and 2×4s for this homeowner.
Deployed From inside of Lanai
When the screen is deployed, you are able to view the outside. Eliminating that “closed in” feeling like with other hurricane protection products.
Entrance ways are frequently one of the weaker points of the home. Without reinforcement the doors can be blasted open by wind or flying debris. If they contain glass the problem is compounded. Entranceways are also one of the more difficult openings to protect especially those with unusual architecture. With rigid protection products you may need to construct frames, bracing, install tracks, etc.
With our products we can adapt the screen to the architecture. With a Cat 5 Screen deployed this entranceway is secure.
A Cat 5 Screen can eliminate the need to replace or reinforce a garage door. Even with a reinforced or hurricane grade garage door, the door panels may still receive impact damage which will require repair or replacement. A Cat 5 Screen can prevent the impact damage.
For homes with a cement driveway we construct the screen for a tent-mount. With the tent-mount we attach the top of the screen to the wall above the garage door and the bottom into the cement driveway two feet out from the house. This gives flex room for the screen in case a heavy object hits it. The screen wraps around at the sides to enclose the triangular openings.
“Approximately 80 percent of residential hurricane wind damage starts with wind entry through garage doors.”
Cat 5 Screens are made from a woven fabric consisting of polypropylene threads. The threads are combined in a basket weave to form the fabric. The weave has approximately 5% open space. This open space allows light to get through the fabric lighting the room behind the screen and providing visibility to the outside. This open space also allows small amounts of air and moisture to move through the fabric.
This homeowner is using flush-mount to secure his window areas. The inconspicuous anchors along the sides of the window are barely noticeable closeup and not at all noticable at a distance.
Implications of flush-mounting a flexible fabric screen over windows and doors that contain breakable glass:
The screen stops heavy flying debris but flexes during the process. Depending on the size of the opening and the force of the object the flex in a category 5 hurricane could be from a few inches for a narrow span to nearly 20 inches for a 10 ft span. If the glass of a window or door is within the flex range it could be broken.
Notice how well the screen rolls up for storage directly on the building.
In situations where we can establish anchor points away from the side of the house we do a tent-mount to give the screen flex room. For a sliding door leading to a patio, for instance, we construct the screen so that the top of the screen attaches above the patio door and the bottom attaches into the patio floor two feet out from the house. The screen wraps around at the sides to enclose the triangular openings
Rather than individually covering each of the three sliding doors and two windows of this lanai with metal panels, two rolldown Cat 5 Screens were mounted to cover the front and side lanai openings. When deployed the lanai becomes, in effect, a hurricane safe-room. Everything inside the lanai is protected including the windows, doors, furniture, grill, pool toys and plants. At most a slight breeze and a fine mist will come through the screen even with winds to 188+ mph.
In this picture the screen has been deployed using our rollup/rolldown system which lets it unroll to the floor. The screen has been anchored by lifting the anchor hole covers from the floor and turning in the anchor bolts. Total time needed to deploy — a few minutes.
An added bonus — you can see outside and light comes in, no more claustrophobia.
“Home Envelope”
Preservation of your home envelope is paramount in hurricane protection. Once a window or door is breached the envelope is compromised and surging winds can lift your roof or blow out your walls; driven rain can flood your home.
Covering these openings with Cat 5 Hurricane Screens reduces the wind and rain to miniscule amounts while safely deflecting debris. Your home envelope remains intact.
Nothing will get near the door of this house, it is safe behind the screen.
