WB Marta, First a clarification - 5/16 and 7/16 refer to laminated glass which is two lites bonded either side of a plastic interlayer, those thicknesses are not the actual thickness of individual glass lites. 5/16" laminated glass consists of two 1/8" lites and 7/16" laminated has two 3/16" lites so that the 1/8" difference is really 1/16" x 2. Different glass thickness does not mean different frame thickness, it doesn't even affect the width of the reglet or glazing channel in the sash. Because the vast majority of glass that goes into the sash is going to be a dual pane package that will be the same width (or depth depending who you are talking to), even when different glass thicknesses are used by changing the width of the spacer between the two lites, the overall IG width doesn't change. In other words, if window company xyz has an overall glazing channel of 1" for their dual pane units, then that's what the IG unit has to fill. Depending on the window company the tolerance for the IGU width might be as little as 1/64". Available options might be two 1/8" lites with 3/4" space between, or could be one 1/18" plus one 1/4" with a 5/8" width spacer/airspace. Or if they were manufacturing an impact window with 5/16" laminated and 1/8" mono glass then they would use a 9/16" spacer to once again come out at 1", and so on. In your case Marta, you are being told 5/16 and 7/16 but are they selling a single laminated lite in a frame or are they going to be IG (dual pane) units? Either option is available in Florida, but IG is more common. This part is a bit more complicated..... The advantage of thicker laminated glass in an impact window has to do with wind resistance and potentially the DP rating. Simply thicker glass generally has higher load tolerance (wind and otherwise) than thinner glass, but thinner glass that has been heat strengthened or tempered has a higher wind loading tolerance than does non-heat treated (annealed) glass even when the annealed glass is thicker than the heat treated glass. Need to raise the DP of a given window? Temper the glass and it immediately goes up. What all that means is that if the 1/8" glass in the 5/16" laminated has been heat treated and the 3/16" glass in the 7/16" has not, then the thinner 5/16" heat treated laminated glass has substantially higher resistance to wind pressure and low level impacts than the non-heat treated 7/16" laminated product. However note low level impact resistance. There is no appreciable difference between 5/16 and 71/6 laminated glass when subjected to the 2x4 hurricane impact test requirement. Heat treating glass might protect from an errant baseball but the 2x4 doesn't even notice the difference, heat treated or not. The downside to heat treating is that it can introduce distortion in the glass, distortion that may even be unnoticeable in a single lite of glass can become quite noticeable when two lites are laminated together. I am not saying it WILL be distorted, far from it, just saying that the possibility is potentially greater. And most (but not all) distortion when it does occur is very mild and only visible at acute angles to the glass, often even affected by lighting conditions to see it. Marta as you move forward the first things that you need to find out are, a) monolithic lami or IG unit in the windows b) is the glass heat treated, either heat strengthened or tempered c) if an IG or dual pane, is the non-laminated (also called sacrificial) lite heat treated d) if monolithic lami what LowE coatings, if any, are used in the construction And all else being equal, monolithic can be okay and IG can be okay. Depending on location and application eat treated can be a good option, but non-heat treated might be just as effective. Coatings are a necessity, mono or IG, that one isn't negotiable.

I believe that Hurricane windows,provide superior protection during a violent storm. As they are attached to the integral part of the structure of a building,prevents chances of wind entering the building,something like storm shutters. Simultaneously i even let light enter a room. -------------------------------------------- The hurricane windows fort lauderdale servers great !!

Oberon I dont care for the look at all of the low e greenish tint. I am in Florida and we still have the choice to not have the low e I heard some places dont have the choice. I am just wondering if the gray glass on hurricane windows restricts the light from coming in good because of it being double pane that is why I was considering clear. My sister has gray but they are non impact and they look really good and let the light in but wondering if maybe that is different with hurricane glass since its going to be a thicker glass. thanks

Some companies place the laminated lite inboard and some place it outboard and some do it both ways depending on their specific line, i.e. double hung vs casement. I would suggest that the number one reason for installing the impact glass inside vs outside has to do with window structure. Basically the window company installs the glass in the location that best benefits their test performance. They want the heavier impact resistant laminated lite attached to the fixed stop and not the glazing bead when installed in the window sash or frame. If the window is externally glazed then the fixed stop is to the inside of the home and the laminated glass more often than not will be installed in that location. If the window is internally glazed then the fixed stop is exterior so structurally it makes sense to have the laminated glass outboard. Leaving out what I just said about structural considerations, it's easier and usually less costly for a few different reasons, to apply LowE coatings to the monolithic lite rather than to the laminated lite. LowE coatings intended for any cooling dominated climate should always be installed on the inside surface of the outer lite in an IGU. This results in the monolithic glass, with LowE coating, on the exterior lite and the laminated lite once again interior. Throwing out everything I said about structural and LowE coatings, we have my personal preferred reason...it's ultimately safer to the occupants to have the monolithic glass exterior and laminated interior. Something that many window companies definitely take into consideration as a reason to build their windows this way. Think about being in your home when something unpleasant strikes your window hard enough to break the glass. If the laminated lite is outside then whatever hit your glass hard enough to break it may not penetrate the laminated glass but it will produce a pressure wave that almost certainly will break the monolithic interior lite. When that lite goes it's going to shatter and potentially propel very pointy and very sharp shards of glass into your home and into whatever or WHOMEVER is standing in the way. That result isn't one that anyone wants to contemplate. Building a window with the monolithic lite outside and the laminated lite inside results in those potentially lethal shards remaining outside your home and falling harmlessly to the ground in the event of an impact strong enough to break the glass. And doesn't much matter what category hurricane you are dealing with, if the glass is seriously impacted it's probably going to break. If it's not impacted then it's much less likely to break.