When you live along the coast, you need to be prepared for the risk of hurricanes. These storms can cause serious damage to your home, and most coastal homes have storm shutters installed to protect windows from this damage. Unfortunately, storm shutters are not invincible. They can suffer damage just as any other component in your home can. As a result, it's important to recognize the signs of damage and know what needs professional repair.

Surface Damage

Any kind of cosmetic or surface damage is fairly easy to address, and may not even need to be addressed, in fact. If the damage is merely cosmetic and has no effect or bearing on the operation of the shutters, you can overlook it unless it bothers you. 

When it comes to metal storm shutters, it's better to overlook the damage until such time as you are ready to replace them. That's because dents are not easy to remove from metal storm shutters without weakening their structural integrity or the condition of the track and hardware.

Structural Damage

Damage to the structural integrity of your storm shutters is serious. When the structural integrity of the shutters has been weakened, that means your shutters must be replaced. Once the shutters are weakened, they are far more vulnerable to complete failure in the event of another storm.

As a result, you should seek replacement services to have new shutters installed. That way, you can be confident that your shutters will protect your home when the next storm comes in. Don't try to do the replacement yourself. Working at any kind of height, as is required for upper-story window installations, can be dangerous without the necessary training.

Motorized Control Damage

Since motorized hurricane shutters are the easiest solution for storm preparation, most homeowners opt for this style. You can lower and raise the shutters at will by pressing the button on the remote control. This is ideal because storm shutters can be heavy and cumbersome.

If the motor fails on any of your shutters, you need to have it replaced as soon as possible. However, most motorized storm shutters also have a manual control option to ensure their functionality in such cases.

 Understanding the problems you can have with your storm shutters and when those problems need to be addressed is important to protecting your home and your family in the face of a hurricane or other severe storm. Talk with your local shutter installation and service contractor today for more information about how to care for your storm shutters.