Tuesday, September 3, 2013

The Various Ways to Protect Your Home From a Hurricane

When a hurricane strikes, it is important to protect the people and possessions that you love.  Here at Shutter Shack, we give you the ability to do just that.  We provide you with a number of different protection options to fit your unique needs.  When the next super-storm strikes, no one has you covered better than Shutter Shack.  Here are just some of our hurricane protection products:

HURRICANE FILM:


Hurricane film is the most affordable way to protect your home from a storm.  With hurricane film, you can turn your windows from one of the most vulnerable to one of the strongest points in your home.  When a storm hits, windows are extremely vulnerable.  Once a window is shattered, it opens a whole new doorway for debris, sand, and water to enter your home and wreak havoc.  With hurricane film, this is not a worry.  The film is designed to hold together the pieces of shattered glass, preventing the window from being wide open and maintaing a barrier between the storm and your home.

HURRICANE FABRIC:


Hurricane fabric is the next step up.  Unlike film, which protects the house after glass is broken, the hurricane fabric prevents the window from breaking in the first place.  Not only is it safe, it is easy to deploy.  Simply fasten the fabrics clips into the wall with wing-nuts.  Easy, safe, and effective!

ROLL-DOWN SHUTTERS:



Roll-down shutters are the most effective way to protect your home from a franken-storm.  Although the most pricey of the three, nothing protects better!  They can be controlled with either a romote control or manually with a hand crank.  They can be placed above the window and can also be hidden within the house itself.  Check them out in action here.

As you can see, all three of these hurricane protection options have there benefits.  In case of a storm, it is a great idea to have one of these systems in place.  Before the next super-storm, be prepared with a hurricane system from Shutter Shack, we've got you covered!








Friday, August 9, 2013

Hurricane Checklist and Pla

Hurricane Checklist and Plan

Hurricane season is rapidly approaching, and now more than ever, it is important to be prepared for the next super-storm.  Shutter Shack’s Hurricane Checklist and Preparedness Guide is a perfect way to make sure you are ready in case of a disaster.



Developing your plan:

At the beginning of each hurricane season, you need to review, practice and update your family plan. Everyone should have a role in the plan, including children.

EVACUATION

Check with your county office of emergency management now to see if you need to evacuate.  If you do, decide if your family can stay with friends or relatives outside evacuation zones who live in a hurricane-safe house. Assign responsibility for food, water and must-have supplies. Another option is to evacuate to an inland hotel.

LEAVING THE AREA

Plan on leaving as early as possible, but consider evacuating 10s of miles not 100s.

Flying out: Be prepared for airport closings, full or cancelled flights.

Driving out: Tropical storms and hurricanes are notorious for changing direction. If you drive out, you may find yourself headed directly into a threatened area, or you could get trapped in traffic. Leave early and have an alternative evacuation plan.

LAST RESORT EVACUATION

A Red Cross shelter should be your last resort.  Do not go until you hear from officials that the specific shelter has opened. Shelters will be crowded and uncomfortable.  Be sure to bring:

• Pillows and blankets

• Food, water and prescription medicines

• Small toys, games and books for young children

• No pets, alcohol or firearms allowed

IF YOU DO NOT EVACUATE

• Retrofit your home prior to hurricane season.

• Install shutters or check shutters to ensure that they are operable.  

• Use the list of must-have supplies on page 4.

• Identify a safe room in your house. A safe room has no windows and will protect your family if your house should break apart during  a storm. Examples are a large interior closet, hallway, bathroom or stairwell.

• Designate an out-of-town emergency contact.

• Consider using the Red Cross website: www.safeandwell.org.

SPECIAL MEDICAL NEEDS

If you or someone you know requires non-critical medical support, pre-register with your county office of emergency management for a Special Care shelter. Bring supplies for three days including food, water, medicine, nebulizer and oxygen equipment. If you have a breathing problem, the American Lung Association
suggests getting a doctor’s recommendation for your special medical needs during a severe weather emergency. Keep extra medical items on hand in case of a severe weather emergency such as:

• Have a backup battery for ventilators.

• Have a backup oxygen cylinder(48-hour supply).

• Ask your medical supply vendor about services they provide in the event of a hurricane and/or power failure.

IN GENERAL

• Check with your employer for any special job responsibilities when a storm threatens. Make sure they understand that you will require time to prepare your home and family.

• Assign an emergency meeting place in case your family gets separated.

Protecting Your Property
 storm damage from Hurricane Sandy
Before hurricane warnings, find out what storm damages your home insurance covers and whether you need to add more protection. If a hurricane destroyed your home, would your insurance cover the cost to rebuild?

• Don’t wait until a storm is threatening offshore to find out.

• If you’re like most people, you probably don’t have more than a vague idea about what your policy covers and what it doesn’t. The danger is that you may think you’re adequately protected when you are not. By some estimates, close to two-thirds of U.S. homes are underinsured.

• How does it happen? Sometimes people make home improvements without telling their insurance agents. Or, policy limits simply haven’t kept up with rapidly escalating building costs. Sometimes policies have special exclusions or restrictions that homeowners don’t realize are there.

• Florida law now mandates that insurance companies include an easy to understand coverage checklist with every homeowner’s insurance policy. Among other things, the list will show costs, coverage limits and exclusions. It will also detail how much the policyholder would receive [and for how long] if the home were destroyed.

• Your overall insurance limit is the first thing to check since that could come into play with a destructive storm. Ideally, you want a limit high enough to cover the cost of rebuilding your house on the same site, not including the value of the land. If you have a mortgage on your home, your lender may require you to carry enough insurance to replace your home, but cannot require more than that even if your mortgage is for a higher amount.

• If your limit looks too low, ask your insurance agent to evaluate your situation. The market value of your home might be twice the limit, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the limit is wrong. Property values are changing rapidly and it can be very difficult to separate the replacement cost of the building from the cost of the land.

• If you disagree with the agent’s estimation of replacement value, you can get a second opinion. There are valuation sites such as www.accucoverage.com or www.bluebook.net/products/insure-to-value, where (for a nominal fee) you can obtain an online report. If you have an expensive home, with many custom features, it may be worthwhile to pay for a professional appraisal.

• You’ll also want to review your policy’s limitations and exclusions. Peripheral structures such as pool sheds, detached garages, pool screens, and fences may not be covered at all.

• Your policy also may limit or exclude coverage for items such as boats, cars, aircraft, cash, guns, silverware, jewelry, furs, antiques, electronics, business equipment and records. If you want adequate coverage for those items, you’ll probably need to buy extra coverage or a separate policy.

• The biggest exclusion in homeowner policies is flood damage, which has been a huge issue for homeowners in Louisiana and Mississippi whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Even if wind drives the waves, homeowner policies won’t cover flood damage.

• If you live in a flood hazard zone, your mortgage lender will require flood insurance. If you own your home free and clear, or you live outside the hazard zone, flood coverage is optional, but flooding is still a real risk. Many homes flooded during Katrina were not in hazard zones.

• Something called “law and ordinance” coverage is optional for everyone, but without it, your policy won’t pay the extra cost of rebuilding to meet current building codes.

• A safer way to save money is to increase your deductible, particularly for non-hurricane coverage. If you’re still at $500, raising it to $1,000 is a good idea. If you’ve got an expensive house, you might want to opt for $2,000 or higher. The hurricane deductible - most likely 2 percent of the insured value - can also can be increased if you could afford to pay more out of pocket for storm damage.


• The best way to prepare for higher deductibles is to maintain an emergency reserve in a bank or credit union account or a money-market fund. Savings bonds less than a year old can also function as an emergency fund since they can be cashed at any time.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

SHUTTER SHACK; NOW AND THEN.

Best of L.I. 2013 

  SHUTTER  SHACK  

  Best of:  Storm Protection Store 




The entire Shutter Shack staff is proud to announce we are the 2nd place winner of the "Long Island Press" award for Best Storm Protection Store on Long Island.

We can now pride ourselves as being Storm Protection EXPERTS being that we have endured the wrath of Superstorm Sandy. 


We have personally witnessed the devastation that our neighbors as well as us have been subject to.  While conducting business, we were shocked to witness the destruction a storm of this magnitude can inflict.
Here are a few more pictures of some of the damage that Sandy did to our beloved Long Island . . .


Shutter Shack has helped homeowners and businesses become more proactive should we ever have to deal with another storm the likes of Sandy.  Our Storm Protection Products now have become a necessary component of many  NY/Metro area structures.  We have personally witnessed the destruction from the " Rockaways", Long Beach, as well as many area's of the South Shore and beyond.  We offer Hurricane Roll Shutters, Storm Panels, Hurricane Fabric, Laminated Storm Film, as well as many other protection products.



We have heard many stories of the severity of Sandy; those who had five feet of water in their homes, to those who had homes totally destroyed. While our products may not be a absolute guarantee of abating damage, in many cases our products would of helped.



In an effort to enhance our Storm Protection Line, we now have introduced a new type of " Indoor Solar Generators ."

Our personal experience has educated us that gasoline to power generators may be hard if not impossible to obtain. Also noted, is if you have a natural gas generator, the gas company may turn off the gas due to the fact that if a line should rupture, it can cause a fire.  Our new Solar Generators have rechargeable batteries that can power your home for a few days. Then you can add a portable Solar Panel which will recharge the batteries, even when the sun is not shining.  The solar generator is also "noise free", so it will not bother neighbors. Another huge benefit of the the Solar Generator is it does not give off any dangerous fumes. Additionally, we have encountered thieves trying to steal generators because they are easily heard and locatable.  Here is a photo of our indoor generator . . .


Indoor Generator w/Portable Solar Panels

At Shutter Shack, we pride ourselves in being a progressive family owned and operated business.  We always look to upgrade our business with innovative, current, progressive and beneficial products.  We have been in business since 1970, and look forward to many more decades of providing quality products for our customers.
During the Hurricane, I (Bruce) was forced to take shelter in my basement.  During that time I located many articles and advertisements for yesteryear.  Here are a few of those ads . . .


Above is one of our first ads, from the Five Towns Herald circa 1970.  It features Drapery Panels, a product that was one of our first "best sellers."


This ad is from 1980, and promotes our most popular product which still remains to be today's most popular interior window product specifically;  Custom Interior Shutters. The images to the right are jobs we did over 30 years ago and still looks like it could of been done yesterday.  Shown is Ruth Salzman, Shutter Shack's first consultant for which we still utilize her innovative design basics.
  
                                                                                                                                                                     
                                                     Here is one more from 1972, note the products that were popular then . . . Some of these products scream 1970"s, such as Laminated Shades, Verticals, Macrame, Mylar, and Track Lights. While most of these products would make us cringe today, once again we see Shutters and Woven Woods.  Funny, but once again what comes around, goes around. Woven Woods are another product which is very popular in today's home's.  We will however pass on the Lucite Shelves, and Levelors.

Finally, I found an article written in 1985 that tells the Shutter Shack story.  Specifically all the above products mentioned as well as other services we offer.  It was great to find these archived ad's and articles.  To our own amazement, we could not believe how much Shutter Shack has evolved through the year's.

The future is our main goal. . .
to provide those hard to find, quality home and business improvement products. Those products that makes our lives a bit more safe, esthetically pleasing, energy saving, beautifying, and makes our personal space more livable and enjoyable.

By the way, here is a YouTube Video of  Bruce on the David Letterman Show,  from 1982. 
Dave says, "Paul and I get all our Shutters at The Shutter Shack!" ;)

In closing, if you would like any information on any of our products, or if you have any suggestions pertaining to products you would like us to offer, please feel free to call us at 877-913-3100, or use our Contact Form.  We welcome customer suggestions. 
Remember, at Shutter Shack, "You Conceive It, We Achieve It!"