5 Reasons to Choose a Professional Hurricane Shutter Installer in Myrtle Beach

In Myrtle Beach, installing hurricane shutters is one of the smartest investments you can make. But the investment isn’t just in the shutters themselves—it’s in the installation. You can buy the most expensive, highly-rated shutter system on the market, but if it’s installed improperly, it can fail at the moment you need it most.

When searching for “hurricane shutter installers near me,” it’s tempting to find a general handyman or even consider a DIY approach to save money. This is, without question, one of the biggest mistakes a homeowner can make. Your home’s protection against a Category 3 hurricane is not the place to cut corners.

As a Myrtle Beach shutter company that has been family-owned and operated since 2007, we’ve seen the devastating results of failed installations. That’s why we’re outlining the 5 critical reasons why a professional hurricane shutter installation is the only choice to protect your home and family.

1. Code Compliance: The Difference Between “Covered” and “Protected”

This is the most important reason. South Carolina has stringent building codes for coastal areas like Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, and Pawleys Island. These codes dictate not just the *type* of shutter you can use, but *how* it must be installed. This includes:

• Anchor Type and Spacing: The specific type, length, and embedment of fasteners used to attach the shutter tracks to your home (e.g., concrete, brick, or wood frame).
• Substrate Requirements: How the shutter attaches to different wall materials. An installation into brick veneer is completely different from an installation into solid concrete.
• Wind Load Calculations: A professional installer calculates the specific wind load your home will face and ensures the shutter system and its anchoring meet that requirement.

A general contractor or DIY-er will almost certainly get this wrong. If your shutter isn’t installed to code, it’s not a “hurricane shutter”—it’s just a decoration. When a 120-mph gust hits, an improperly anchored track will rip right off the wall, often taking part of your wall with it and leaving your window completely exposed.

At American Hurricane Shutters, our in-house teams are experts in local codes. We ensure every single installation, whether it’s our Bertha HV Storm Panels or our top-tier Rolldown Shutters, meets or exceeds all wind-load and impact requirements. We handle the permitting process so you know the job is done right.

2. Insurance: The $2,000,000 Reason You’re Not Covered

When you hire a professional Myrtle Beach shutter company, you are not just paying for their skill. You are paying for their insurance. A legitimate installer must carry, at minimum:

1. General Liability Insurance: Covers damage to your property or your neighbor’s property during the installation.
2. Workers’ Compensation Insurance: This is the big one. It covers the installer’s employees if they are injured on your property. This protects you from all liability.

Ask for the insurance certificates. Not just a “we are insured” sticker on a truck. Get the actual policy documents. At American Hurricane Shutters, we provide them with our quotes. We carry full General Liability, Workers’ Compensation, and Auto Insurance, plus a $2,000,000 umbrella policy. This level of insurance is non-negotiable and is the hallmark of a true professional.

3. The “No Subcontractor” Guarantee: Who is Actually at Your Home?

Many hurricane shutter companies in the Myrtle Beach area are just sales offices. They sell you a system and then “sub out” the installation to the cheapest crew they can find. This creates a massive gap in accountability.

• The subcontractors are paid by the job, not the hour, so they are incentivized to work as fast as possible, not as *well* as possible.
• They may not be trained on the specific shutter system you bought.
• They are often not covered by the company’s Workers’ Comp policy, re-opening that liability gap for you.
• When something goes wrong, the sales office blames the sub-crew, and the sub-crew is long gone.

This is a core principle at American Hurricane Shutters: We never, ever use subcontractors.

The team that shows up at your home is our team. They are full-time employees, trained by us, and covered by our insurance. The owner, Matthew Burns, is personally on-site for countless jobs, ensuring the quality of work meets his standards. This direct line of accountability is the only way to guarantee a professional installation. You can learn more about our commitment to this by seeing our installation process.

4. Product Expertise & Warranty Validation

Hurricane shutter systems are highly engineered. An Alutech StormTex screen has different installation requirements than a Bertha HV Bahama Shutter. A rated accordion shutter must have its tracks anchored with perfect alignment, or the blades will bind and fail.

A professional installer is factory-trained on the specific products they sell. They know the precise tolerances, the right fasteners for the right materials, and how to troubleshoot common issues.

More importantly, the manufacturer’s warranty is almost always voided by an improper installation. That 10-year warranty on your new rolldown shutters? It’s worthless if you can’t prove it was installed by a certified professional according to the manufacturer’s exact specifications. A professional installation is your only way to protect your product warranty.

As a family-owned business serving the Grand Strand since 2007, we have built long-term relationships with top suppliers like Eastern Metal Supply (ASSA) and Alutech. We are experts in their entire product lines and our installation validates their powerful warranties.

5. The Right Tools and Materials for a Coastal Environment

A professional shutter installation in Myrtle Beach requires more than a drill and a level. It requires specialized tools for cutting aluminum tracks, setting anchors in concrete block, and safely working on second or third-story windows.

Even more critical are the materials. The single biggest point of failure we see in old installations is rust. An installer who uses cheap, zinc-coated screws from a big-box store has just doomed your shutters. In our salty, humid air, those screws will rust and fail in just a few years. When the wind load hits, the rusted screw heads will snap, and the shutter will fail.

A professional installer knows that our coastal environment demands superior materials. At American Hurricane Shutters, we use 18-8 stainless steel fasteners as a standard. These corrosion-resistant screws are designed to withstand the salt air for decades, ensuring your shutter tracks remain securely attached to your home. This is a small detail that makes a massive difference, and it’s one a handyman will always skip to save a few dollars.

Comparison: Professional Installer vs. “Handyman” or DIY

Conclusion: Your Home’s Safety is Not a DIY Project

When you look at the evidence, the choice is clear. The few dollars you might save with an un-insured, non-professional installer are not savings at all. It’s a gamble—a gamble with your insurance, your warranty, and your family’s safety.

Your search for “hurricane shutter installers near me” should end with a call to a proven, local, and fully-insured expert. Your hurricane shutters are a complete system, and the installation is the most critical part. Trust it to the professionals who have protected thousands of homes in your community.