With the 2025 hurricane season barely in the rear-view mirror, major windstorms aren’t always on our minds at this time of year.
But, as Island Glass general manager Jimmy Thatcher reminds us, it’s never too early to take steps to protect your home against the damage that can occur when the wind blows.
The company, which has supplied island residents with peace of mind for more than four decades, is holding its annual hurricane protection sale through the end of April, offering special pricing on roller shutters, accordion shutters and in-stock Lexan polycarbonate panels.
Roller shutters operate vertically, and accordion shutters operate horizontally; made of extruded aluminium, both are custom orders and typically take eight to 12 weeks from the date of ordering to installation.
Lexan panels are in-stock at the company’s Serpentine Road, Pembroke showroom – and are particularly popular with do-it-yourself homeowners when the time to protect a property is short.
Act now
Hurricane season in the north Atlantic Ocean begins June 1 and runs through November.
Of the sale, Mr Thatcher said: “We want our customers to be thinking ‘let’s get the protection going’. We also want to get the shutters here and get them installed before a storm comes.
“Some people say ‘it’s not even hurricane season yet’, but if you wait to order until June, the order is probably not going to be here until September.
“And then most likely, there’s a hurricane, the ship’s delayed, and next thing you know, the shutters are going up in October. And then you have a frustrated customer that has paid for protection but doesn’t have protection.”
Most hurricane protection products are made by Florida-based manufacturers, who also supply shutters for purchase by consumers in their home state, adjacent states in the US, as well as Caribbean islands that are often in harm’s way during hurricane season.
Mr Thatcher said: “It’s important to jump in now in a production schedule because the minute late spring rolls around, the manufacturers get busy. By ordering now, you’re trying to beat longer lead times.”
Island Glass was founded in 1980 by Jimmy’s father, Clive Thatcher, who had glass industry experience gained working for two other local outfits.
The company originally served the commercial glazing market but soon expanded its product lines to include hurricane protection products, sunshade products, and other lines that complemented the company’s original focus.
The entire industry was transformed after category five Hurricane Andrew hammered Florida in 1992.
Mr Thatcher said: “Beforehand, shutters were for hurricane protection and security protection, but hurricane protection was a second thought to security.
“But when Hurricane Andrew hit, the whole Florida market and the US insurance market opened up and started demanding, ‘hey, you need to have hurricane protection’.
“With that, the industry really took off. Products evolved, products got better, products got stronger.”
Options
Mr Thatcher said the price of hurricane protection is linked to the amount of human effort required to protect an opening.
“The least expensive option out there, a piece of plywood, takes the most human effort. You’ve got to go and get it, put it up, drill it. Because it’s such a pain to do, you usually end up leaving it up all season and you have got this big piece of plywood on your house until after the season, and then you take it down.
“Next up are the clear corrugated Lexan panels. You have to go pick them up out of storage, put them in place, anchor off the screws, and so on.
“The next one is an accordion shutter where you actually have to walk up and slide it back and forth.
“Then you have a manually operated roller shutter where you have to crank it up and down.
“Then you have an electric shutter where you just walk over to it and hit a button. Right now, with a lot of shutters that we are bringing in, people are going for the motorised option.
“The top of the line would be a hurricane impact door and window where you just have to make sure it’s locked. That’s probably the smartest investment.”
Customers who choose shutters are reminded to maintain them while they are not in use.
Mr Thatcher said: “Any product that moves requires maintenance. If there’s no hurricane, people won’t use shutters. Next thing, we get a call, and we’re pulling birds’ nests out of them. You’d be amazed.
“Being prepared is key. Check your shutters. Wind them up and down two or three times a year. That’s all you have to do.”
Service
Kim Powell, manager of human relations and payroll, added “Every quarter, oil the roller shutter, check it out, or call Island Glass to come and do a service for it. We will make sure the parts are working properly.”
Island Glass employs 26 staff, 25 of whom are Bermudian. The company has six trucks and crews on the road.
Mr Thatcher said: “We’ve got the most experienced crews on island as far as hurricane protection. We have staff that have been here going all the way back to the 1980s.”
In addition to hurricane protection products, the company sells commercial and residential doors and windows of all types, glass railings, skylights, bath and shower enclosures, mirror and glass work, sun shading products, drop down screens made of Kevlar, and more.
Aside from a 1,450-square-foot showroom with working product samples, the Serpentine Road location also includes a full glass shop and aluminium shop. The company also has a warehouse full of parts.
Mr Thatcher said: “Everything we sell, we service and we have parts for. We supply, install, service, the whole works.”
Roller and accordion shutters aren’t only effective during hurricane season, of course. As we’ve already seen this year, the winter storm season in Bermuda can also produce dangerously high winds.
Mr Thatcher says: “It is all about peace of mind. When a storm comes, whenever it happens, you’d rather be in your house and feeling calm as opposed to worrying about everything going on outside it.”
