Safeguard tax, financial records during storm season
June 5, 2012
Dig-in with Sumar Leslie set for Friday
June 6, 2012
Linda and Greg Eschette not only grew up together, having known one another since seventh grade, but built a life and established a business that has become known as an industry standard.
People around the Gulf of Mexico refer to Nu Code as the name for window shutters, just as the brand name Kleenex is often used as the standard identity for facial tissue.
After 15 years of operation, Nu Code Shutters offers a variety of products, both factory and custom made, for residential and commercial property protection from hurricanes and other strong storms.
“When we started the business, we trained with a friend of ours in Florida, who has a manufacturing facility,” Linda said of their business’ name. “His wife and I were having a conversation on what the business name should be. During that time a lot of new building codes came into effect and the key phrase was ‘new code’. So we went with that.”
Shutters being used by this business couple already met federal strength standards, and Louisiana was expected to adopt those rules at some time. That did not take place until eight years later after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
All Nu Code shutters are made from various strengths of aluminum and designed for maximum aesthetic appeal. One design of plantation-style shingles is often confused with being wood.
Nu Code products are hurricane rated. The plantation-style louvered shutters include center stiles and faux tilt rods to make them appear more traditional in design. “If you put wood shutters on a house, in a couple of years they are warping and sagging,” Linda said. “These will not do that.” The same goes for board and batten-styled shutters.
Accordion shutters are the best selling and least expensive among Nu Code products. In addition to storm protection, they provide privacy and can be locked with a key for security. “This is good if you evacuate and are gone for awhile,” Greg said. “It helps protect you from theft.” Accordion shutters exceed wind impact tests and meet all building codes.
Bahama shutters have gained popularity in terms of appearance, and the shutters that are hinged at the top to open outward are fully adjustable and can be made with louvered panels for use as equipment enclosures as well as window protection.
Roll-up panels offer top-of-the-line protection. The unit is installed on the window’s exterior, but controls to raise and lower the shutter itself is done from inside.
Removal storm panels are included in the Nu Code product line as well as hurricane screens and garage door braces.
Price and installation costs range from approximately $1,500 to $30,000. “A lot of it depends on how much work you want to do, or if you just want protection that is at the level of plywood,” Greg said.
Nu Code has not only tested its own products, but as a member of the International Hurricane Protection Association, Linda was involved in testing storm grade plywood that many homeowners continue to use for protection.
“We tested plywood that meets hurricane codes by the type of plywood, the thickness, the way it is fastened,” Linda said. “We installed it to meet the codes. We [simulated] 40 mile per hour winds and it fell off the house. We’ve installed where homeowners used plywood and not only did it come off, but it damaged the house. We were able to prove it didn’t work.”
Greg said that installation is a critical element even for their products. With up to 6-inch screws, installation requires fastening a shutter into the structure’s frame, not just the exterior façade.
Impact glass has been introduced to the hurricane-vulnerable market, but Greg said although the glass is designed to meet building codes, any cracks will compromise its integrity. “If the window cracks, it is going to leak during the storm,” he said.
In addition to standard residences – which constitute 90 percent of their business – and commercial business buildings, Nu Code this season installed shutters on a structure over water at the New Orleans Yacht Club.
“The most unusual job we did was at this business that had an opening that we had to be cut around,” Linda said. “It was a big opening where they would drive in trucks and unload them with a crane of some sort. In order to keep the roof from blowing off the building they needed to cover this giant hole.”
Linda and Greg noted that having shutters installed on homes and businesses can reduce insurance costs and could easily pay for themselves in one season.
“A lot of people think they can’t afford it, but it is a matter of what you are looking for,” Linda said. “It is not a matter of if a hurricane is going to hit, but when. This is the way we live.”
Nu Code Shutters co-owner Linda Eschette demonstrates the solid strength of roll-up shutters on her home. Controlled from inside, roll-up shutters not only offer storm protection, but an element of privacy and security while being positioned at any desired position to control light.
