Hurricane Shutters in Carlyss, LA
Carlyss is an unincorporated community of 5,101 people directly south of Sulphur, wrapped around Louisiana Highway 27 where it runs down through the middle of town. Lake Area Hurricane Shutters installs storm shutters across it. Interstate 10 forms the northern boundary with access at exits 20 and 21, and the community covers about twelve square miles between that interstate and the marsh. Roughly 74.2 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied, with a Census median value of $173,200. A good share of the newer building in this part of the parish has happened out here rather than inside Sulphur's limits, so the housing stock mixes several decades on the same road.
What sets Carlyss apart from anywhere else in the parish is what lies south of it. Highway 27 continues from here to Holly Beach on the Gulf, thirty-two miles down, as part of the 180-mile Creole Nature Trail All-American Road through the marsh that gets called Louisiana's Outback. There is very little between Carlyss and open water: no ridge, no forest, no city. Holly Beach is where the highest wind of Hurricane Laura was measured, 153 mph at 12:33 AM on August 27, 2020. The same corridor that makes this a beautiful drive in April is an unobstructed fetch for wind in August.
Thirty-Two Miles of Highway 27 and Nothing in Between
Exposure is the whole story in Carlyss. The National Weather Service's account of Laura records the Holly Beach reading of 153 mph, or 133 knots, as the highest wind measured during the storm, taken at the south end of the same highway that runs through this community. Laura's eye crossed at Cameron around 1 AM with sustained winds of 150 mph and a minimum central pressure the National Hurricane Center put at 939 millibars, making it the strongest hurricane on record to strike Southwest Louisiana in a period of observation reaching back to 1851. Six weeks later Delta came ashore near Creole, about ten nautical miles east of Laura's landfall point by the Hurricane Center's measure, as a Category 2 with sustained winds of 100 mph. Two eyewalls up the same corridor in forty-four days is the exposure profile this community lives with.
Because Carlyss is unincorporated, permitting runs through the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury rather than Sulphur's inspection department a mile north. The city line is the dividing line, and homes on either side of it answer to different offices for identical work. On product, the open fetch argues against anything with a marginal rating. Louisiana's adopted code calls for glazing in wind-borne debris regions to be impact resistant or protected with an impact-resistant covering meeting an approved impact-resistant standard, or ASTM E1996 and ASTM E1886, and it applies the large missile test to glazed openings within 30 feet of grade. In a place with a straight shot to the Gulf, large missile is the number to look for on the paperwork rather than the one to negotiate down. Ask for the test documentation on whatever gets recommended, and expect to receive it.
See Carlyss, LA on Google Maps — we cover the whole area from Lake Charles.
Hurricane Shutters Services Available in Carlyss
Every service we offer in Lake Charles is available to Carlyss homeowners and businesses at the same pricing:
- Accordion Shutters
- Roll-Down Shutters
- Bahama Shutters
- Storm Panels
- Colonial Shutters
- Hurricane Fabric Screens
See the full pricing guide for typical ranges.
Carlyss FAQs
Is Carlyss part of Sulphur for permits?
No. Carlyss borders Sulphur on the north but sits outside the city limits, so building permits and inspections go to the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury rather than to Sulphur's inspection department. Sulphur's office covers work inside the city and has handled IBC and IRC inspections under Louisiana R.S. 40:1730.21 since the start of 2007, while the parish requires permits for any type of construction or remodeling and renovation project along with electrical, mechanical, plumbing and gas work and re-roofing. Same parish, same contractors, different desk. The authority for your address gets checked first.
Are we exposed enough out here to need impact-rated shutters?
Look at the geography rather than the mileage alone. Highway 27 runs from Carlyss to Holly Beach on the Gulf in thirty-two miles across open marsh with nothing tall between, and Holly Beach is where Laura's highest wind was measured at 153 mph. FEMA's summary of the ASCE 7-22 wind provisions notes that areas within hurricane-prone regions with a basic wind speed of 140 mph or greater are in the wind-borne debris region unconditionally, and that 130 to 140 mph areas are included where they meet coastal proximity criteria. That determination belongs to your address and to the building official reviewing it.
What is the difference between the large missile and small missile test?
They are two impact standards inside the same code section. Louisiana's adopted IBC applies the large missile test of ASTM E1996 to glazed openings within 30 feet of grade, and the small missile test to glazing more than 30 feet above grade. On a one- or two-story house in Carlyss, essentially every window and glazed door falls under that 30-foot line, which makes large missile the relevant standard for almost the whole home. When you compare quotes, compare the test each product passed and its approval number, not just the material, the thickness and the price.