What we install · French & Specialty Openings
Shapes That Approvals Do Not Always Cover
French doors, arched heads, round and other non-standard openings, where the approval may not cover the shape.
Your address and a list of openings. We will tell you what each one actually has to resist before anybody quotes a product.
Not HVHZ
Tampa Bay is outside the High Velocity Hurricane Zone
FL approval
Statewide Product Approval is the path here
Design pressure
Set by your address and your opening, not by a brand
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
The approval covers standard configurations
Product approvals cover tested sizes and configurations. An unusual shape may fall outside every approval a manufacturer holds, which means either a different approach, a custom-tested unit, or reframing the opening to a standard size — and that is a decision to make before ordering.
Lead times compound the problem. Anything outside standard configurations is made to order, and a shape discovered to be outside every available approval after the rest of the house has been ordered leaves one opening unresolved while everything else waits. It is worth checking the awkward openings first rather than last.
What to establish
- Whether any approval covers the shape and size.
- Whether reframing to a standard opening is acceptable.
- Structural implications of changing an opening.
- How the opening will actually be permitted.
- Lead times, which are longer for anything unusual.
Reframing as a solution
Where no approval covers an opening as it exists, squaring off an arched head or adjusting a proportion to a standard size is frequently the practical answer. It is structural work, it affects the appearance, and it is usually cheaper than a custom-tested unit.
The decision is easier made early. Reframing during the main installation is straightforward; reframing after everything else is fitted means returning to a finished house and disturbing work that is already done.
How we handle it
- 01Check approvals against the actual opening before quoting.
- 02Propose reframing where no approval covers the shape.
- 03Handle structural changes to openings properly.
- 04Provide documentation the permit process accepts.
- 05Flag long lead times early.
Check the approval against the actual opening shape before ordering anything. An arched head or an unusual proportion can fall outside every approval available, and finding that after ordering means starting again.
Said plainly
Where we stop
Where no approval covers an opening as it exists, the honest options are reframing or a custom-tested unit. We will not fit something outside its approval and call it rated.
FAQ
Common questions
- Are arched openings covered?
- Sometimes not. Check the approval against the actual shape before ordering.
- Can we reframe to a standard size?
- Frequently the practical answer, with structural implications to handle.
- Are lead times longer?
- For anything unusual, considerably.
- Can you fit something outside its approval?
- No.
Tampa Bay specifics
Tampa Bay Is Not HVHZ
The High Velocity Hurricane Zone covers Miami-Dade and Broward. Tampa Bay is outside it, and works under statewide Florida Product Approval.
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The Wind Zone
Design wind speeds in the Tampa Bay area are generally lower than in south-east Florida, which changes the pressures products have to meet.
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Surge & Water
The Tampa Bay area has significant surge exposure, and impact windows address wind and debris rather than water rising from below.
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Older Housing Stock
Much of the Tampa Bay housing stock predates current requirements, and what the wall is actually made of decides the installation.
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How We Work Here
We are based in Fort Lauderdale and licensed in the state of Florida. Tampa Bay work is scheduled around that, and we would rather be clear than imply otherwise.
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More what we install
Impact Windows
The core product. What matters is not the brand but whether the specific unit is approved for the pressure your specific opening has to resist.
Read more →
Sliding Glass Doors
A large sliding door is the biggest single opening in most homes and the one with the highest loads.
Read more →
Entry Doors
An impact entry door is a rated assembly — slab, frame, hardware and any glazing — approved as a unit.
Read more →
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.