November 2019 - McNeill Palm

Best Window Shutters for Hurricane Protection

April 21, 2023November 25, 2019 by McNeill Palm Team

Hurricane protection window shutters in Destin, FL come in several different styles. Hurricane season typically begins near the beginning of June and lasts until the end of November. With five months out of twelve in the potential crosshairs of these powerful and destructive storms, Florida residents should always look for ways to ensure their homes are as well protected as they possibly can be.

Window shutters are part of that protection. Some window shutters are better for protecting against the damaging effect of hurricanes than other window shutters are.

One type of window shutters that’s very effective for hurricane protection are rolling window shutters. Rolling window shutters roll up to open and roll down to close. When they are not being used to help protect your home from hurricanes, rolling window shutters also provide more privacy and insulation for your home.

Another type of window shutters that are recommended for providing protection for your home from hurricanes is fabric storm panels. These window shutters are installed as needed (i.e., when a hurricane landfall is imminent). They simply need to be measured to fit the windows, cut to size, and installed for the duration of the hurricane. Because these window shutters are made from fabric, they do allow some light in your home, so that the house is not completely dark during daylight hours. After the storm has passed, fabric storm panels can be removed, rolled up, and stored until needed again.

If you haven’t had permanent hurricane window shutters installed yet, and a hurricane is approaching, temporary storm panels ensure that your house has some protection from the winds that accompany hurricanes. Temporary storm panels are made from polycarbonate, steel, or aluminum. These hurricane protection window shutters will require hardware so that they can be mounted on windows and doors.

Colonial window shutters are installed on each exterior side of windows your home’s windows. They have hinges that allow you to open and close them. When the weather is clear, they can be opened, making them look like and function as typical exterior window shutters. However, when hurricanes are approaching, each shutter can be closed inward to cover the window and protect it from potential damage.

Another type of window shutters that offers good hurricane protection is Bermuda window shutters (also known as Bahama window shutters). These window shutters are comprised on a single shutter that covers the entire window. They are hinged at the top, so the entire shutter can be opened (much like an awning) upward when the weather is good, and shut tightly to protect windows when there are hurricanes. Because Bermuda window shutters function in a way that’s similar to a window awning, these shutters can be lifted to provide extra shade and keep sunlight from coming directly in through windows, keeping the interior of your home cooler during hot weather.

Accordion shutters can be used on windows or sliding glass doors to provide protection from the damaging effects of hurricanes. These shutters are permanently attached to the side of the window or sliding glass door. When accordion shutters are not in use, they are folded up beside the window or sliding glass door; when a hurricane landfall is imminent, they are manually unfolded across the window or sliding glass and secured. Since they can look a bit bulky when they are not in use, accordion shutters work best with oversized windows and wide, sliding doors.

If you’d like learn more about plantation window shutters in Destin, FL, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm. You can visit our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can contact us at (850) 613-6228.

The Right Window Blinds Can Help You Sleep Better

April 21, 2023November 18, 2019 by McNeill Palm Team

Having the right window blinds installed in Destin, FL is part of an overall solution to get better sleep each night when you go to bed. Less than one quarter of American adults get the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep every night. There are several things that we can do to make sure we’re getting, not only the right amount of sleep, but also good quality sleep.

One thing that can keep us awake at night is stress. We may have had a tough situation at work, a scary road rage incident on the commute home from work, an unexpected problem when we arrived home, or a deadline to be met or a critical presentation to do tomorrow. Any or all of these are stressful and can keep us from getting a good night’s sleep.

The solution to ease this kind of stress is to decompress before going to bed. Take a warm shower and sit down and relax with something that makes you comfortable and makes you feel good an hour or so before going to bed.

Another thing that can keep us from getting a good night’s sleep is the temperature of our bedroom. A cooler bedroom at night sends signals to our bodies that it’s time to go to sleep, while a warmer bedroom at night will tell our bodies to stay awake. A ceiling fan in the bedroom will help cool down the room without having to adjust the thermostat.

We sleep best when things are quiet. At least an hour before we go to bed, we should try to eliminate as much noise from our bedrooms as is possible. This includes outside noises, such as traffic, if we live near a busy street. A simple box fan beside our bed can create enough white noise (the good kind) to shut out all other noises and ensure a better night’s sleep.

Light inside our homes can disrupt our sleep as well. Blue light, such as that found on digital devices, interrupts melatonin (needed to induce sleep) production and prevents our bodies from sensing that we’re tired and need to go to sleep. Bright lights also have this effect on our bodies.

At nighttime, we should stop all digital device use at least two hours before going to bed. We should also use warm light bulbs and dimmer switches at night to lower the overall amount of light in bedrooms, so that our bodies are encouraged to wind down and go to sleep.

If we have to get up during the night, we should have nightlights installed around the house so that we don’t have to turn on the regular lights. Even a brief exposure to bright light can stop melatonin production and decrease the quality of sleep we’ll get for the rest of the night.

Light shining into our bedrooms can be another detriment to getting a good night’s sleep. Unless we live in a more rural setting, most of us live in areas that are artificially well-lit at night for safety purposes. Some of that outside light can come into our bedrooms and make it difficult to sleep.

An excellent solution for this problem is to have blackout window blinds installed in our bedrooms. Blackout window blinds completely block out any outside light, such as streetlights, headlights, or even moonlight, giving us a completely darkened bedroom, which is optimal for good sleep.

If you’d like to learn more about blackout window blinds in Destin, FL, you can speak with our experienced staff at McNeill Palm. You can come to our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can call us at (850) 613-6228.

Window Coverings Can Help Beat Summer Heat

April 21, 2023November 11, 2019 by McNeill Palm Team

The right window covering will be part of your overall strategy to keep your house more comfortable and your electric bills lower during the hottest months of the year. Summertime in Florida comes early and stays late, so using these ways together to keep your home’s interior temperature cool without ever touching the thermostat will make you and your wallet happier.

One way to ensure that your home stays cool during hot weather is to make sure your home is well insulated. Exterior doors and windows should have weatherstripping applied properly to keep hot air out during the summer. You should also have adequate insulation installed throughout your home.

Another way to keep your home comfortable during the summer is to limit the use of appliances and electronics to a bare minimum. Dryers and ovens are two kinds of appliances that generate a lot of heat. Consider hanging your clothes outside to dry instead of using your dryer, and make meals that either don’t have to be cooked or that can be done easily using an outside grill, the stovetop, or microwave.

You might be surprised to find out that the outside of your home has a lot to do with its internal temperature. By making some simple and inexpensive changes outside, you can keep the inside of your home much cooler. For example, you can install awnings or exterior window coverings over doors and windows to provide constant shade around the house. You can also paint your home a lighter color, which will help deflect heat away from the house.

For long-term exterior changes, consider planting trees or tall bushes to help reduce the amount of sunlight that comes into your house through the windows.

High humidity is a perpetual contributor to summertime heat in the South. In fact, humidity is the factor that determines the heat index: the higher the humidity, the hotter it’s going to feel inside and outside. Dehumidifiers are a great solution to remove extra moisture from your home. This will make it feel cooler and everyone will be more comfortable, even on the hottest days of the year.

Another great way to help keep your home cooler during hot weather is to use fans in addition to your HVAC system. Ceiling fans and floor fans help move cooler air around the house, and they will keep your HVAC system from running continuously to try to keep the house cool. A tip for ceiling fans is that they should run counterclockwise in the summer and clockwise in the winter to work at their maximum effectiveness.

Another way to stay cooler during the day in your home is to work or stay in cooler parts of the house while the sun is at its hottest (between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.). Since heat rises, the lower you go in your house, the cooler the air will feel. So, if you have multilevel home, try to spend most of your time on the first floor or in the basement, if you have one. Also avoid being in rooms where the sun is directly shining in.

A final way to beat the summer heat is to have insulated window coverings installed on all your windows. Not only will the window coverings give your home an upgraded look and feel, but they will also provide privacy and maximum temperature control around the windows. Cellular window coverings create a thermal buffer between rooms, so they are an excellent choice for beating the heat.

If you’d like learn more about a window covering in Destin, FL that can help make small windows seem bigger, you can talk with our knowledgeable team at McNeill Palm. You can visit our showroom at 655 Grand Blvd Ste 106D, Miramar Beach, FL 32250, or you can contact us at (850) 613-6228.