Impact Windows in Bradenton, FL

Bradenton is one of the older cities on this stretch of coast, and impact windows here often go into houses that were built long before Florida adopted its statewide building code in 2002. Bradenton was incorporated in 1903, became the Manatee County seat in 1887 when the county was reshaped, and has a downtown that still includes buildings from the 1890s and 1910s. Many of the surrounding neighborhoods were built out in the decades after that.

The 25 percent question

If your home was built before July 1, 2001, the date Manatee County's form uses, there is a rule worth knowing. Manatee County's door, window and shutter disclosure describes an exception for older one- and two-family homes in windborne debris regions: in any 12-month period, you can replace glazed openings without adding opening protection only if the replaced glass totals no more than 25 percent of the home's glazed openings. Go past that and the replacements need protection. In plain terms, replacing a couple of windows is one thing; replacing most of them means impact products or shutters.

What the county form asks for

Manatee County's disclosure lists the contractor's name and license number, the permit number and, for every product, its Florida product approval or Miami-Dade NOA number. It also notes that replacement windows and doors are size for size, and that swapping vinyl or acrylic panels for glass needs an engineer's letter kept on the job site. Check whether your address is inside Bradenton city limits or unincorporated county, since that decides which building office reviews the permit.

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Hurricane shutters for older homes

Not every Bradenton homeowner wants to replace every window at once. Hurricane shutters are a solid path:

• Accordion shutters fold to the sides of the opening and close across it on a track. They stay on the house, so there is nothing to store.
• Storm panels are the simplest and need storage and labor before a storm.
• Roll-down shutters cost more but close fastest.

Older block homes often have the solid masonry around openings that shutter anchors need. Older frame homes need a closer look at what the fasteners will bite into.

Wood bucks and old frames

In older houses the window often sits in a wood frame, or buck, set into the block opening. Over decades those bucks can rot. We check them during the measure, and if they are soft, we replace them as part of the job, since a new impact window is only as strong as what it is fastened to.

Rain off the river

Bradenton averages about 56 inches of rain a year, and the Manatee River runs along the city's north side. A 1926 hurricane damaged the old Victory Bridge enough that a new one was built in 1927. Wind and rain from the river side test the seal around every window. Call (941) 390-3550 to set up a visit.