Plylox Clips

[cctxhurricanewatcher]

How well do they do with your plywood shutters for those that have used them? I have a whole bunch on standby and if Rita keeps on her current track, I may have to use them in a few days.

[Robert]

How well do they do with your plywood shutters for those that have used them? I have a whole bunch on standby and if Rita keeps on her current track, I may have to use them in a few days.

I have never used them, but they look like they would work well.

I built shutters shortly after I built my house. What I did was cut plywood (5/8 inch) to fit the frame of the window (pretty tight, slight overhang on the top and bottem (about 2 inches), and fitting inbetween the shutters on the sides. I added one extra piece of plywood on the bottem, and up the middle if I felt it needed it. Each board got 4 one inch holes drilled in it (for pressure changes, to have a little hole to see out, and to put your fingers through to help lift them into place). Once they were cut and almost ready, each got two coats of "Bin" primer (and then I did paint the outsides with a tan that is a pretty close match to the house, that was not necessary, but I had the paint).

For the top I bought a double male screw. On one end it was pointed and the other end was flat (so it was like a threaded rod with one end pointed). On the bottem I found a male/ female piece (male end was pointed, female end was built to receive a bolt). I drilled 4 holes in each board that lined up to the two male holes on the top and two female holes in the bottem. I installed all the hardware that would stay on the house trying to hit studs. Before I installed them I squirted a generous amount of liquid nails into each hole (until the hole was full and it was squirting out), and also to the threads. This left a bead of liquid nails on the outside of the house around the bolts.

When the time comes to hang them, I lift them into place and "hang" them on the top male screws. Once hung, these each get a washer and wing nut. On the bottem I bought "sidewalk screws" which are just little screws (they come in a couple lengths) with a very large, flat head. These fit through the boards and screw into the female part. Both of these (for the bottem) were found in the "hurricane shutters" section of Lowes (with the metal pieces) Everything gets tightened up, and then I go onto the next one.

I ended up hanging most of them for Ophilia. I have two windows on a porch which I did not think would get much wind, and it would take a whole lot of wind to get a branch either of those windows, so those I did not cover for this storm. For the remaining 12 windows (all first floor, but requiring a ladder to reach) I spent just over an hour hanging.

I am not sure if they would hold up to really, really strong winds, but didn't move at all for Ophelia (I can hang on the top of them and they do not move, so I think they would stay in place), but if we get a really, really strong storm I am not going to be here to see how they do anyway. If a really, really strong storm is coming, I may add a few extra screws into the edges, but do not expect my house to stand up to a Cat 4, so any extra screws I add would proably not do any good.

I think the total cost was around $300 - $350. Everything was purchased at Lowes (except they ran out of the double male bolts, so I had to get a few of those in a local hardware store). I built these mainly at night and in my spare time, and it took about 12 hours in total.

I consider myself fairly handy with a hammer, but not an expert by any means. If you can use a table saw (or circular saw), tape measure, caulking gun, cordless drill, plyers, and screw driver, you should be able to do this. My wife asked me to teach her how to install them, and she is able to get them all installed herself (she will let me do it if I am around, but if I am away, she is able to do it herself). If you have any questions, I am willing to answer them and even send pictures.

Robert

[mango man]

I looked at them last year and decide I would rather trust tapcons.

seems like there where a lot of limitations if you read the fine print , also I think you are limited on the size of shutter you can use .

If Im going thru the effort to put up shutters I want to know they are going to be the last thing standing if ti gets bad.

[TampaBay]

They are not approved for use in the Florida HVHZ.

http://www.plylox.com/TestReports/testreport2.pdf

The test was done with a 4 lb missile and with 2 x 4 reinforcement on the panels.

Given these test conditions and per ASTM E 1886 and 96 they can only be used in coastal applications of 110 mph or less or 1 mile inland and wind speeds of 120 mph.

[mango man]

as I recall they are designed to use plywood thinner then whats recommende , that was one of the resons I put the bag back and headed for the tapcons