Hurricane Screens Designed for a Wide Range of Applications
Home Envelope
At Cat 5 Hurricane Screens LLC in Brooksville, FL, we believe that preserving your home envelope is paramount in hurricane protection. Once a window or door is breached, the envelope is compromised. Surging winds can lift your roof or blow out your walls. Covering these openings with Cat 5 Hurricane Screens reduces the wind and rain to small amounts of air and moisture while safely deflecting debris.
In situations where we can establish anchor points away from the side of the house, we do a tent-mount to provide the screen with flex room. We construct a screen that attaches above and below the patio door two feet from the house. The screen wraps around at the sides to enclose the triangular openings
Lanais
For storage, this screen is rolled and left under the 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, improves the appearance, and provides ease of storage. Notice that the screen rolls quite tightly without obstructing the view. The crisp and clean application makes this product visually appealing from the outside and inside.
Entryways
Entranceways are considered as one of the weaker points of a 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 most difficult openings to protect especially those with unusual architecture.
With rigid protection products, you will need frames, hurricane bracing, and install tracks. When you deploy a Cat 5 Screen, your entry points will be protected.
Windows
Although our screens were designed with large openings in mind, windows can be easily covered as well. Cat 5 Screens can be made with a hood or made to be removed with a storage bag to be kept elsewhere. This is an inexpensive way to cover your windows without the need for heavy plywood or awkward metal panels. As an added bonus our screens allow light to come through while allowing you to see outside, no more claustrophobia!
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 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.
If the glass breaks, the screen preserves the envelope of the building. Approximately, 95% closure of the weave allows a small amount of air. However, it stops the damaging surges of wind, which could blow out the walls or lift the roof. The screen can prevent catastrophic flooding that could otherwise occur.
Deployment
Deployment and storage require minimal strength, so they can be performed by almost anyone 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.
Mounting
Our screens are designed with convenience in mind. They can be installed as a permanent mount with a built in storage hood or made removable with a separate storage bag. Mounting on the inside is a typical application for a lanai or entryway, with a built in storage hood it allows the screen to be rolled up and out of sight when not in use. Windows are generally mounted on the inside, they can also store above the opening in a hood when not in use. All opening types can be made removable at the end of the season. The whole assembly is light in weight, so it's easy to handle. The rolls are very compact and require only a small amount of space in the garage.
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. The dismounting of the screens is simply done by pulling out the wing nuts attached to the wall. The whole assembly is light in weight, so it is easy to handle. The rolls are very compact and require only a small amount of space in the garage. The homeowner will not struggle anymore with heavy and warped plywood.
Rather than individually covering each of the three sliding doors and two windows of this lanai with metal panels, two roll-down 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.
Mounting
Our screens are designed with convenience in mind. They can be installed as a permanent mount with a built in storage hood or made removable with a separate storage bag. Mounting on the inside is a typical application for a lanai or entryway, with a built in storage hood it allows the screen to be rolled up and out of sight when not in use. Windows are generally mounted on the inside, they can also store above the opening in a hood when not in use. All opening types can be made removable at the end of the season. The whole assembly is light in weight, so it's easy to handle. The rolls are very compact and require only a small amount of space in the garage.
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. The dismounting of the screens is simply done by pulling out the wing nuts attached to the wall. The whole assembly is light in weight, so it is easy to handle. The rolls are very compact and require only a small amount of space in the garage. The homeowner will not struggle anymore with heavy and warped plywood.
Rather than individually covering each of the three sliding doors and two windows of this lanai with metal panels, two roll-down 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 more than 188 mph.
Measurement Instructions
Window Mount
For Mount Without Hood – top to bottom or side to side
- Add 8” to height and width (example: buck measurement 36 x 36 = finished 44 x 44)
- If horizontal mount, make sure that there are no obstructions on each side.
- Make sure there is 4’ clearance on each side with no obstructions on top and bottom. If there are any obstructions, the product can be notched to accommodate.
For Mount With Hood – top to bottom only
- Add 14” to height and width (example: buck measurement 36 x 36 = finished 50 x 44)
- Make sure there is 4’ clearance on each side-no obstructions on top and bottom.
For Mounting to Floor
(lanai, entryway, porches, garages)
For mount Without Hood – top to bottom
- Add 8” to the width of buck opening.
- Add 6” to the height (The bottom bar makes its own angle.)
For Mount With Hood
- Add 11” to 13” to the height of buck opening (to accommodate the hood).
- Add 8” to the width (unless trap opening).
***If mounting screens together for large opening we have options for inter-connectivity
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Verify the number of openings to be covered (proper number of panels and openings).
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Standard Cat 5 screen installation needs to be done from bottom up. Normally, inside and outside mount windows can be done from top to bottom.
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Reroll the screen if needed and allow the bottom bar to be up.
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Use a chalk line to snap a guideline for the bottom bar.
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Measure 2” off the edge of a wall, column, or other building material (this is to start fastening)
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Make sure that the screen panel is even on each side or centered properly on a trapped opening.
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Starting from one side, temporarily attach the screen to the floor with tapcons in every other pre-drilled hole.
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Drill each hole out through the bottom bar to mark and easily install sidewalk bolts.
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Once the bottom is done, you may now unroll and stretch the screen panel to its full height (panel should be pulled tight and use speed square for leverage).
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Drill and mount top bar with tapcons and studded panel mates (panel mates are needed to hold the hood in place). The panel mates are pre-marked on the bar to match with grommets for the hood.
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If your Cat 5 screen is removable, all top holes will require panel mates.
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Proceed with the installation temporarily with tapcons like what you did at the bottom.
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Drill out all holes for panel mates, remove tapcons, and install panel mates.
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Hang the screen using studs with wing nuts.
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While the panel is up, you should match tabs or grommets on the side of each screen if necessary.
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Remove tapcons on the floor and hang the screen in the hood.
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Roll the screen panel tightly and tuck in tabs as you roll (one person can roll even the longest screen with practice).
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Drill out holes through the floors and walls.
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Remove all the dust from the holes using a vacuum.
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Install leads and sidewalk bolts (wood walls will require panel mates or brass anchors).
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An outside mount is easily done by installing the top first (it will be easier to level the top bar than the bottom one).
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Remember to carefully measure 2” for holes in concrete and 1” in the wood wall.
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Like any hurricane protection product, it won’t provide full protection if not properly attached.
When using a pulley system, the screen typically does not have a hood. For best results, the pulley should be mounted above the top bar at approximately two inches. Pulley System is not recommended for Cat 5 Hurricane Screens that are trapped on both sides. It can be done, but it requires one more pulley and a 2” x 2” angle mounted on the sidewall to move ropes around the screen-roll.
- Use tapcons to mount the top bar of the screen.
- Use panel mates to mount pulleys above the screen.
- The screen size will determine the number of ropes needed to make the system work.
- Remove tapcon four to five holes from the end of the top bar.
- Loop rope from the back and drive tapcon through the loop.
- Run rope under the screen and up to the pulley, then over to the main side pulley.
- Leave enough rope to reach the cleat location.
- Repeat all the steps for the other pulleys.