Window replacement costs in Palm Bay

Hurricane Jeanne showed in 2004 how hard the wind can hit Palm Bay. The highest sustained wind reported in the storm, 79 knots, was measured at the National Weather Service office in Melbourne. Hurricane-force winds covered the coast from near Cape Canaveral south to near Stuart, and 11 to 13 inches of rain fell along the eyewall's path over Osceola, Brevard and Indian River counties.

Close to one home in four in the metro dates from the 1980s, its biggest building decade, so plenty of today's houses had already stood through a few hurricane seasons when Jeanne arrived.

Florida law gives you a reason to think about your windows between storms, too. Home insurers' rate filings have to include discounts for features that reduce windstorm losses, and the statute names opening protection and window, door and skylight strength among them. Each insurer has to post its mitigation discount information on its website. The discount can rest on an inspection by a licensed home inspector, and if you ask for that inspection, the insurer can make you pay for it.

If you're replacing windows anyway, ask your insurer which window features earn a discount before you pick a product.