A. Ruskin products carry a standard 5-year (60 month) warranty on material and workmanship following the date of delivery.
Limited Warranty LINK

A. Yes, on aluminum louvers Ruskin’s 70% PVDF (Kynar) finishes carry a 20 year warranty. 50% PVDF carries a 10 year warranty. Anodize 215R1 (Class 1) is 5 years and 204R1 (Class 2) is 3 years. Finish warranty on steel louvers is 1 year.
Finishes and Color Guide LINK
Finish Warranty LINK

A. Ruskin offers 15 standard PVDF colors and 9 Pearledize finishes. Custom colors are available to match. Typically, this takes 10 days to match with a sample.
Paint Finishes and Color Guide LINK

A. Ruskin offers an alternative “Mica” flake finish to match metallic colors.
Finishes and Color Guide LINK

A: Yes. Both of Ruskin’s louver factories have state-of-the-art paint lines for baked on finish and acid etch anodize lines for Class 1 & 2 anodized finishes.

A. A mill finish is the natural state of aluminum with no mechanical or chemical finishing. Aluminum is naturally resistant to corrosion, but coloration, weathering, and aging will occur over time.

A. No, there is not a way to repair an anodized finish once in the field.

A. Yes, Ruskin offers a wide variety of “Quick Ship” options from same day to ten days. Reference “Quick Ship” offerings at:
Quick Ship information LINK

A. Maximum section size is stated on each louver model's data/submittal sheet which is typically 120" x 90". Larger sizes can go through the paint line. Louver sizes greater than 90" in both directions will require special freight. Please contact Ruskin Sales for more information.

A. Yes, Ruskin LEADS program is available online and offers sizing, performance and cost options for all louver products.
LEADS program LINK

A. Typical louver maximum ship section are 120” x 90” or 90” x 120”. Vertical wind driven rain louvers are smaller due to weight concerns. Operable louvers are 48” wide with blade and jamb seals and 60” wide without. Differentiating individual shipping sizes are specified on data sheets.

A. Yes. For example a 24” wide x 24” high nominal size louver with a 0.25” deduct would have an actual size of 23.75” wide x 23.75” high.

A. Yes. Ruskin designs for 20 psf for standard and wind driven rain louvers. Louvers can be designed to meet to any required wind load. Additional information may be required to calculate and additional charges may apply. Contact Ruskin for additional information

A. Structural notes typically on the structural drawing S1 call out critical structural guidelines. Reference wind speed (mph), importance factor, Category (A, B, C, or D), height of louver, overall building height, and location to a building corner. Structural guidelines, and building elevations are typically on architectural drawings and are required to calcualte this information.

A: No. Often referred to as “architectural mullions”, some louvers are provided with “hidden” or “recessed” mullions for continuous blade appearance when fabricated in multiple sections wide.

A: Non-visible mullions are usually referred to as architectural mullions, where there is no visible vertical break that can be seen from the front. This makes the louver blades look continuous. A visible mullion shows a vertical breakdown between each section.

A. No, flange dimension is not included in louver dimension. Louver dimension is based on the rough opening.

A: Yes. Ruskin engineers are certified to apply structural calculations to most louvers meeting blast requirements. Tested to average peak pressure of 16.6 psi with maximum impulse pressure of 95 psi, per ASTM F 1642-04 and certified by Baker Risk and GSA guidelines.

A: Yes. Most steel louvers that Ruskin fabricates are offered with a stainless steel construction option.
Example: Steel Non-Drainable Sightproof Louvers

A: Yes. Ruskin’s ACL series acoustical louver have published sound performance and come in 4”, 6”, 8” and 12” depth with a variety of blade options including operable types.
Acoustical Louvers LINK

A. Yes, Ruskin offers the ELF375DSS “Snow Stopper” louver, specifically designed for applications where snow penetration is a concern. Ruskin provides the louver with heat trace as an assembled unit.
Snow Stopper Louver LINK

A. A louver has air and water performance requirements associated with it and is typically ducted to HVAC mechanical equipment. A screen wall (sometimes referred to as “equipment screen”) is an enclosure and vision barrier mainly for aesthetic purposes. Louvers are typically mounted in an opening on the side of a building (can be partially or completely blanked off) while equipment screens are typically mounted to posts on a roof or at ground level.

A. No, louvers are not waterproof. Ruskin louvers are tested for wind driven rain for a variety of conditions, however they may not be 100% effective depending on actual conditions in the field.

A. Yes, Ruskin provides louvers in several shapes, triangle, pyramid, round and more. Please see the ELT and ELR documents for typical shapes. Contact your rep for custom shape designs.

A. Yes. Almost all Ruskin louvers are certified per AMCA 500L which tests for free area, pressure drop, water penetration, impact resistance, sound performance and sand penetration. If a data sheet has an AMCA label, then the test results are certified by AMCA.

A: Pressure drop is the difference in airflow resistance (pressure) from one side of a louver to another, typically measured by inches of water gauge at different free area velocities. Higher pressure drop requires more energy to move air through the louver. Therefore, a lower pressure drop is more desirable. There is not a direct correlation between high free area and low pressure drop. The calculation of pressure drop can be described by the AMCA 500L standard.
AMCA 500L Standard LINK

A: No. Although high free area is sought after in specifications, in some louvers (e.g. wind driven rain louvers) pressure drop or resistance to airflow can become the deciding factor. A wind driven rain louver can achieve a velocity upwards to 2100 fpm which can offset a lower free area.

A. Yes, upon request. Please contact your local rep for more information.
Rep Locator LINK

A: No. AMCA tests are done on 48” x 48” sections (meter x meter on wind driven rain) and do not test with bird or insect screens. Bird screens increase pressure drop by approximately 4% and insect screens increase pressure drop by approximately 16%.

A: AMCA stands for Air Movement and Control Association whose mission is to advance the knowledge of air systems and uphold industry integrity. Louvers are tested per AMCA Standard 500-L which is the publication that defines louver test protocol for water performance, free area, pressure drop, sound and sand performance. AMCA Publication 511 is the certified ratings program that allows the manufacturer to display the AMCA seal on product literature and the product providing the product performance has been third-party verified.

A. No. Ruskin offers louver models that are tested to meet Miami Dade, Florida, AMCA 540, AMCA 550 or TDI (Texas Department of Insurance) performance, but not all louvers meet the requirements. Reference our quick selection louver guide here:
Louver Quick Selection Guide LINK

A. Yes. Ruskin offers two FEMA rated louvers XP500 and XP500WD. The XP500WD is the industry’s only wind driven rain rated FEMA louver that doesn’t require a separate, secondary louver to stop water penetration.
XP500WD Louver LINK

A: Operable and combination louvers are fabricated with concealed blade linkage and quad arms for operating the blades. Ruskin offers a variety of methods for the operation of the blades such as electric or pneumatic actuators, chain pulls and worm gears.

A: The most common louver options include finishes (paint or anodizing), a variety of bird and insect screens, blank-off panels, higher wind load supports, installation clip angles, extended sill pans, glazing frames, security bars, filter racks, front and rear flanges, sleeves, and hinged door sections.

A: No. Clip angles are only included as a standard for Miami-Dade and FEMA-rated louvers. Factory provided clip angles are otherwise optional and could be field provided.

A. No. Ruskin can provide filter racks as an option, but air filters would need to be obtained from another source.