The opening that fails first
Hurricane Doors Nassau
Impact-rated entry, French and sliding glass doors — tested as complete units and installed on-island. When the doors hold, the roof usually does too.
Why doors fail first in a storm
In storm after storm, the opening that gives way is a door. Doors are the largest moving parts of the house: they flex under gusts, they hang on hinges rather than sitting fixed in a frame, and an ordinary latch grips only a few square centimetres of strike plate. Once a door blows in, the damage does not stop at that room — wind pressurises the whole interior, pushes outward on the walls and starts lifting the roof from inside. That is how houses lose roofs while their windows survive. Rated impact doors exist to close exactly that gap.
Impact entry doors
Impact-rated entry doors come in fibreglass or aluminium, hung in reinforced frames with multi-point locking — the door bolts into the frame at several heights instead of relying on a single latch. That geometry is what lets a door take sustained pressure and debris strikes without racking out of its frame. The same construction is genuine everyday security: a door built to stop windborne debris is a very hard door to force.
Impact French doors
French doors are the classic weak point of colonial-style homes in Nassau — two glazed leaves meeting in the middle, with no fixed frame member between them. They are also, by far, the impact door we are asked for most. Rated impact French doors keep the divided-light look the house was built around while the laminated glass, reinforced stiles and multi-point hardware do the structural work. From the street, nothing has changed; in a storm, everything has.
Impact sliding glass doors
The big sea-view slider is usually the largest single opening in the house — and on beachfront and canal-front homes it faces the weather directly. Rated impact sliders protect that opening without hanging a shutter box over the view, and they run on heavy-duty tracks engineered for the extra weight of laminated glass. If replacing the slider is not on the table, the practical alternative is a roll-down shutter over the existing one — we install both and will tell you plainly which makes sense for your opening.
Rated as complete units — glass, frame and hardware
A hurricane door is not a pane of tough glass; it is a system. The rating that your insurer recognises is earned by the complete unit — glass, frame, hinges, locks and anchoring — tested together. That has two practical consequences:
- Every door is measured on-site and ordered as a complete tested unit
- The frame is anchored to the structure, not just screwed to old jambs
- Marine-grade finishes and stainless hardware for Nassau salt air
- Product rating documentation handed over for your Bahamian insurer
Pairing doors with impact windows
Most owners who upgrade their doors are protecting the whole envelope, and doors and windows are usually quoted together — same measurement visit, same shipment, one install. If you are weighing impact glass against shutters for the rest of the house, our impact windows page walks through that decision opening by opening. Doors are simply the place where the case for impact units is strongest, because a failed door threatens the entire structure.
Supplied and installed in Nassau — not shipped to a dock
Overseas dealers will happily sell you rated doors and deliver them to the dock. From there, customs, measurement errors, installation and any warranty claim are your problem, handled from another country — and a door installed wrong is not a rated door. We work as supplier and installer on one contract: on-site measurement, import handling, certified installation anchored to the structure, and an on-island warranty, with the rating documentation included at handover.
What do hurricane doors cost in Nassau?
Doors are priced per opening, because a single entry door and a twelve-foot slider are different jobs. The measurement visit is free, and the written quote prices every opening separately — so you can do the doors first and phase the windows later, or take the whole envelope in one go. Book January to May if you can; manufacturing and shipping tighten once the season approaches.
Frequently asked questions
Are impact doors enough on their own, or do I still need shutters?
On the openings where they are installed, an impact-rated door is the protection — the laminated glass, reinforced frame and hardware are tested together to a rated standard, so there is nothing to close before a storm. Some owners still add a roll-down over a very large slider for a second layer, or keep shutters on openings that were not upgraded. Both approaches are valid; the quote prices each opening so you can mix them.
Can I get impact French doors in Nassau?
Yes — French doors are the single most requested impact door we install. They are traditionally the weakest opening on colonial and estate homes, and rated impact French doors keep the divided-light look while the laminated glass and reinforced frame do the structural work. Rated entry doors and sliding glass doors are available the same way.
How much does a hurricane door cost?
Pricing is per opening. An entry door, a pair of French doors and a twelve-foot slider are three very different jobs, so we measure on-site — the visit is free — and the written quote itemises every opening separately. Doors generally cost more per opening than windows because the units are larger and the hardware heavier, but a failed door puts the whole roof at risk, which is why many owners upgrade the doors first.
How long does it take from quote to installed door?
Measurement is a single visit. Doors are then manufactured to your openings and shipped to Nassau — typically a matter of weeks — and installation itself usually takes a day or less per door. The honest advice is the same as for shutters: start between January and May, because manufacturing slots and shipping space tighten once hurricane season approaches.
Can you fit impact glass into my existing door frame?
Generally no, and you should be wary of anyone who offers to. The rating belongs to the complete unit — glass, frame, hinges and locking hardware tested together. A rated pane set into an unrated frame is not a rated door, and your insurer will not treat it as one. We replace the full unit and anchor it properly to the structure, which is what the documentation certifies.
Explore our other services
Most Nassau homes use a mix. We'll recommend the right combination at your free measurement.
Premium motorized protection with manual override for power cuts.
One-person closing, lockable accordions and the cheapest rated panels.
Louvered style plus shade — the rated kind, not decorative.
Always-on protection with nothing to close. Ideal for off-island owners.
Motor replacement, stuck shutters, bent tracks — including systems installed by others.
Custom interior louvered shutters in wood or composite, made to measure.
Exterior solar shades, privacy and insect screens — comfort, not storm protection.
Screened patios, verandas and pool decks, plus re-screening of existing enclosures.