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Q. Is ArmorPanel™ a panel or a product made by DuPont?
A. No. ArmorPanel™ panel material was designed by and is made by the NBI Corporation. We use DuPont KEVLAR® aramid fiber as a component of the ArmorPanel™ material.
Q. Is ArmorPanel™ actually bullet proof?
A. No. Although we incorporate a ballistic material in the construction of ArmorPanel™ material, the product is not designed to be and has not been tested to be bullet resistant or bullet proof.
Q. Has ArmorPanel™ been tested as a hurricane protection solution by independent laboratories?
A. Yes. ArmorPanel™ and the hardware needed to affix ArmorPanel™ panels to structures have undergone and passed the exact same Florida Building Commission required tests that are required for steel, aluminum and polycarbonate hurricane panels. The State of Florida Building Commission has approved ArmorPanel™ for state wide use and assigned the Florida Building Commission number of FL 7343.
Q. Do all hurricane prone states have building codes for hurricane protection products?
A. No. Most states that are hurricane prone recognize the Florida Building Code expertise on the subject of hurricane protection but not all states have a hurricane protection product code per se. You should check with your local building permit/code department to see if your area has a code or requirement for hurricane protection products.
Q. Does NBI have a quality program for ArmorPanel™?
A. The State of Florida Building Commission requires that all manufacturers of hurricane protection solutions maintain a quality program for hurricane protection products. NBI Corporation has such a quality program and that program is monitored by Underwriter Laboratories.
Q. Do I need a building permit to install ArmorPanel™?
A. You should check with your local building department for that answer but a good guideline for you to follow is to assume that you need a building permit to install any hurricane protection.
Q. Is ArmorPanel™ easy to install?
A. ArmorPanel™ was designed specifically to be easy to install regardless if you are a professional installer or a Do-It-Yourself person. In test after test, we have proven that it takes about half the time to properly install ArmorPanel™ than it does to install steel, aluminum or polycarbonate panels. We suggest that you review the Installation Guide document on this web site to see if you are comfortable installing ArmorPanel™ or if you prefer a professional undertake the job. A note of caution here: proper installation is paramount in obtaining the protection you are seeking regardless of what hurricane protection solution you select.
» View our Installation Guide
Q. Why does ArmorPanel™ only have grommets on two sides instead of all four sides?
A. ArmorPanel™ is designed to have grommets on only two of the four sides of a panel. Think of ArmorPanel™ more as a device that acts like a 'safety net that catches the falling trapeze artist' rather than a trampoline that bounces objects off its surface.
Q. Can I mount or hang ArmorPanel™ in either direction?
A. Yes you can. That is one of the unique aspects of ArmorPanel™; so when you are measuring your openings [windows and doors] make certain that you decide which way the grommets will run at each opening [they can run horizontally or vertically; your choice].
Q. Where can I mount of hang ArmorPanel™?
A. Any place you can mount a 'hard shell' hurricane panel is likely the right answer. If your structure is wood or masonry it is almost a given that you can use ArmorPanel™. We have found that due to our mounting system, ArmorPanel™ can indeed be mounted to some of the newer manufactured homes where typical hard shell solutions simply would not fit.
Q. Is ArmorPanel™ better than steel, aluminum or polycarbonate panels?
A. All Florida Building Code approved hurricane protection provides good protection and all of the Florida Building Code approved hurricane protection must pass the tests required by the State of Florida. ArmorPanel™ passed the exact same tests as steel, aluminum and polycarbonate panels. That said, it is subjective to say that one protection is 'better' than the other but we believe that ArmorPanel™ provides excellent protection and a host of features not offered with 'hard shell' solutions.
Q. How can a soft sided polymer material offer the same protection offered by 'hard shell' materials like steel or aluminum?
A. Florida requires that ASTM tests be conducted by independent laboratories to determine resistance to flying objects [shooting 2x4s at the material]; tests to determine the amount of wind load a protection product can withstand [how hard/fast is the wind blowing at the protection]; test on how long a protection product will last under fluctuating wind loads [how long will the protection stand up in a storm before it fails]. As it was with automobiles, so is the progression in hurricane protection. First came the steel body, then the aluminum body and today car bodies are virtually all polymer based. So if you think about car bodies being made of polymers today [rather than steel or aluminum], it is easier to see why polycarbonate, which is a polymer, and ArmorPanel™ can be as strong or stronger than steel or aluminum. That said, steel panels, aluminum panels, polycarbonate panels and ArmorPanel™ panels all must undergo and pass the exact same tests to be approved by the Florida Building Commission.
Q. Is ArmorPanel™ easy to store and easy to deploy prior to a storm?
A. Those are two of the hallmarks of the design criteria of ArmorPanel™. Weighing about 6 ounces per square foot, ArmorPanel™ is rugged yet lightweight and easy to install for people of varying ages and relative strengths. ArmorPanel™ can be rolled, hung or stored flat when not in use.
Q. Why does NBI offer ArmorPanel™ in both Custom and Standard sizes?
A. The majority of the panels we create fall under the classification of 'standard' size but every once in a while, standard sizes simply will not work if you are 'trapped' in a corner or if you require a trapezoid configuration. Generally speaking, our customers find that it is easy and less expensive to cover 'a little more house' with panel material than create custom sized panels that will fit to some imaginary set of exacting dimensions. Please » View our Installation Guide for minimum distances that panels can be mounted from the edge of your structures opening and remember that those are minimums not absolutes. Often you will find that if you extend those minimums to accommodate standard sizes, you will save money.
Q. My windows have sills that stick out and I have door knobs on my doors, how can I use ArmorPanel™ panels.
A. ArmorPanel™ panels make it easy to handle window sills and door knobs. Simply wrap the panel material over the sill or around the knob by allowing for enough material. For more information on installation » View our Installation Guide.
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