Conceptual illustration of an accordion between a window with roller shutter and shutter window; storm in the sky,
Wilmington, North Carolina

Accordion Hurricane ShuttersWilmington, NC

$38/sq ft installed. The rated system that closes a whole Wilmington house in about ten minutes, by one person, with no ladder and nothing to carry up from the garage.

$38/sq ft
Installed Price
Wilmington NC
Location
~10 minutes
Whole House
ASTM E1886/E1996
Rated To
Permit Included
New Hanover Co.

Wilmington, New Hanover County

What accordion shutters cost in Wilmington, and the houses they suit

Accordion hurricane shutters in Wilmington are $38/sq ft installed. That rate covers the housings, the tracks, the stainless anchors, the New Hanover County permit and a design pressure calculation done on your openings rather than to a county minimum. A house with twelve openings averaging fifteen square feet comes to around $6,840.

Wilmington is not a town of empty houses. Forest Hills, Sunset Park, Ardmore and most of the streets between Market and Oleander are full-time addresses, and the person closing the shutters is usually the person who lives there. That single fact decides more of these quotes than price does. A system somebody has to carry, lift and bolt on is a system that gets skipped when the forecast is uncertain.

An accordion closes from outside at ground level, by hand, with no tools. Twelve openings take one person about ten minutes. Just as important here, it reopens. Storms on this stretch of coast stall over the Cape Fear more often than they pass cleanly through, and a house that is shut for three days in August is a house nobody can live in. Each unit unlatches and folds back, so a room can be opened between bands and closed again.

The housings are the trade. They sit permanently at both sides of every opening and they are visible all year, which matters on a front elevation and matters a great deal downtown. On the back and sides of a house almost nobody notices them. On a reviewed elevation in the historic district they are frequently the reason an application comes back.

We measure and install ourselves from the shop on Castle Hayne Road, which is fifteen minutes from most of the addresses on this page. There are no subcontractors on your house, and a Wilmington measure is usually the same week you call.

Insurance is the part people ask about last and should ask about first. A certified assembly on every opening is what a wind mitigation inspection is looking for, and the credit applies to the wind portion of the policy rather than to the whole premium. We supply the product approval and the mitigation documentation with the job rather than charging for it afterwards.

ProductAccordion shutter, extruded aluminum interlocking blades
Installed price$38 per square foot
LocationWilmington, NC (New Hanover County)
DeploymentAbout ten minutes for a whole house, one person
OperationUnlatch and fold, from outside, no tools and no ladder
StorageNone — permanently mounted at the sides of each opening
RatingASTM E1886/E1996, qualifies for wind mitigation credit
IncludedNew Hanover County permit and per-opening design pressure analysis
Ten minutes, not an afternoon
The number that decides this product is not the price per square foot. It is how long the house takes to close. Twelve openings, one person, about ten minutes, nothing carried up from the garage. That is the difference between closing up on the morning a storm turns and deciding it is not worth the trouble.

When accordion shutters are the wrong choice in Wilmington

They suit most houses here. These are the cases where we say so and quote something else.

The window you bought the house for
Housings sit at both sides and the leaves meet in the middle. On a wide river-facing opening at Landfall or along the Intracoastal, a roll-down at $52/sq ft covers the same span in one curtain and leaves the view alone.
A front elevation under historic review
The housings stay visible year-round, which is usually what preservation review objects to. Downtown, a rated colonial at $60/sq ft or a clear polycarbonate panel at $30 often passes where an accordion housing does not.
A budget that will not reach every opening
Half a house in accordions is worse than a whole house in aluminum panels at $22/sq ft. The rating is identical. What you trade is an hour of labor before each storm.

Questions we get in Wilmington

How much are accordion shutters in Wilmington?
$38 per square foot installed, including the New Hanover County permit and the design pressure analysis. A house with twelve openings averaging fifteen square feet is around $6,840.
How long do they take to close?
About ten minutes for a whole house, by one person, working from outside at ground level. No tools, no ladder and nothing to carry up from the garage.
Can I reopen them partway through a storm?
Yes, and in Wilmington that matters more than people expect. Systems stall over the Cape Fear rather than passing cleanly through, and each unit unlatches and folds back, so a room can be opened between bands and closed again.
Will they pass review in the historic district?
Sometimes, and not reliably. The housings are visible at the sides of every opening all year, which is what review tends to object to. We prepare and submit the documentation either way, and if we think the elevation is the problem we will say so before you order.
Do you handle the New Hanover County permit?
Yes. The permit and the per-opening design pressure analysis are inside the rate, not added to the invoice afterwards.
Will accordion shutters lower my insurance?
They can. Certified opening protection on every opening is what a wind mitigation inspection looks for, and the credit applies to the wind portion of your policy rather than the whole premium. We supply the product approval and mitigation documentation with the job.
How long does the installation take?
Most Wilmington houses are a single day. A larger house, second-story work or masonry anchoring can run into a second day, and we tell you which at the measure rather than on the morning.

Why Wilmington homeowners call AHS

Founded in 2006 by Michael Burns. We fabricate and install ourselves — no subcontractors on your house.

OSHA-30 Certified
The only OSHA-30 certified hurricane shutter company in coastal NC and SC.
Design Pressure Analysis
Calculated per opening on your house, not to the county minimum.
7-Year Workmanship Warranty
If anything fails because of our installation, we come back and fix it.

Accordion Shutters for YourWilmington Home

Send the opening count and rough sizes and we will give you a number before we visit. Wilmington measures are usually the same week.

(910) 256-1288
Available 24/7 · Free estimates
Request Free Estimate
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