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Reviewing the Work Involved in Building a Hurricane-Resistant Home

Bob recaps the project in Punta Gorda, Florida, where a home built in the 1960s was completely destroyed by the winds and water of Hurricane Charley. Bob reviews the stem wall and slab construction that is designed to combat storm surge and intrusive water that gets under slabs and lifts structures. He also talks about the concrete walls that were reinforced with steel rebar and wire mesh before the concrete pour. With window bucks in place to maintain window and door openings, the solid walls were poured all at once, a job that only took four hours to complete. Finally, Bob looks back at the storm that completely demolished Teresa Fogelini and Jim Minardi's home. He points to the work of FLASH, the Federal Alliance for Safe Housing, and the work they do to promote building technologies that will help homes withstand the wind and water of future storms.

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Chapters from this episode

Protecting the Roof From Hurricane-Force Wind Now Playing

Protecting the Roof From Hurricane-Force Wind

Storm-Ready Roof Decking and Underlayment Now Playing

Storm-Ready Roof Decking and Underlayment

Hurricane-Resistant Roof Tiles Now Playing

Hurricane-Resistant Roof Tiles

Using Roof Ties to Secure a Roof Against Hurricane Uplift Now Playing

Using Roof Ties to Secure a Roof Against Hurricane Uplift

Reviewing the Work Involved in Building a Hurricane-Resistant Home Now Playing

Reviewing the Work Involved in Building a Hurricane-Resistant Home

Clip Transcript For:

Reviewing the Work Involved in Building a Hurricane-Resistant Home

computer-generated transcript - may not be 100% accurate

" During our last two visits here we've seen this house essentially rise from the ground of the house that was here before had to be scraped right off the lot. We watched as a slab was poured with a stem walls a -- kind of twist that allows 88 a defense against the the storm -- when the hurricanes come and the tides rise high that the water often is driven underneath slabs which -- entire slab to float up and move and that essentially destroys a house what you see here. It is. Basically a stem wall that goes down below the slab about three or four courses and that as I say really is one of the Lifesavers for this type of construction. But the interesting thing that we saw was the process of building this whole structural wall system which involved putting together this enormous. Wire cage if you will. Reinforcing rods and six by six wire mesh that was put all together and fastened all together and is essentially the reinforcing -- all these walls -- to -- concrete block walls everywhere in Florida. Here it's all one monolithic pour they created this in before they put the that form work in place they installed a window buck anywhere that a window was called just. And then once the form work was installed and put together and reinforced. To pour went on for about four hours and about Ford trucks where the concrete to see what. What we've got here right now. Now to catch you up on the situation here the house that belonged to Jim Minardi and Teresa probably -- owners of land. Was totally destroyed by hurricane Charley just about a year ago the roof was blown into the canal on top of their little sailboat and everything that was in the house was destroyed so. We're very lucky to be working in a state that's prepared for storms like this state and local governments do a lot to help people like Teresa and Jim to rebuild and what we've got right now is an opportunity to demonstrate. People of Florida around the country the kind of building technologies they can help create a house that really can withstand hurricane force winds and to learn more about this this when the garage."

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Hurricane Straps, Clips, & Anchor Bolts

Your home's ability to resist the extreme force of wind is only as strong as its weakest link, so the only sure way to create a wind-resistant home is to secure all its connections: roof-to-wall, floor-to-floor and wall-to-foundation. The roof is your home's first line of defense from a storm. To make sure the roof stays in place when severe winds blow, securely anchor roof-to-wall connections by installing hurricane straps or clips at every wall-to-rafter connection to reinforce the roof. Even if re-roofing your existing home is years away, it is possible for roofing professionals to access and reinforce an existing home's roof-to-wall connections with hurricane straps and clips. These connections are critical in holding the roof together and will dramatically increase the homes overall resistance to wind. Along with roof-to-wall connections -- all joints in the structure -- floor-to-floor and wall-to-foundation -- must also be secured to create a "continuous load path" to the building's foundation. Secure floor-to-floor connections by making sure each floor is connected to the floor below with straps or clips in addition to any other code-required nailing schedule. Wall-to-foundation connections should be made through the use of anchor bolts or mud-sill anchors. Be sure to install all connectors following manufacturer's specifications.

Hurricane-Resistant Garage Doors

Ernie Hutto from DAB Garage Doors explains that the garage door is the largest opening into any home. Hurricane winds can twist and shred a door, bringing wind force and pressure vacuums into the home and causing building failure. Hurricane Master doors are made of 24-gauge steel to make them more resistant to failure. DAB Hurricane Master doors are strengthened with their patented Interforce system that reinforces the top and bottom panels to prevent door twisting and blow-in. Denver Miller and his crew install the panels starting at the bottom. Reinforcing bars are integral to the design of these hurricane-resistant doors. The Interforce bars are added to the top and bottom panels to give more strength during high winds. The garage-door tracks are also reinforced with seven brackets, a flag bracket, and a 14-gauge steel track. This prevents the tracks from pulling, twisting, and blowing in during a hurricane. The garage door opener is also installed but, as Miller points out, it need not be heavy duty because the strength of the system relies on the torsion springs not the opener. An opener's job is simply to guide the door, not pull it.

Hurricane Protection for Porches, Windows, and Doors

Ted Gower from Armor Screen is installing the hurricane-protection fabric that will make the lanai a hurricane shelter in case of a storm. There are bolts and clips at the top with clips along the side. The sides are locked down along the sides and bottom to resist the enormous wind pressure during a storm. This geosynthetic fabric serves in stead of plywood or other storm protection coverings. The fabric reduces 100 mile per hour (mph) winds to 3 mph and reduces it to 0 mph if rain sheets on the fabric, causing a complete wind barrier. This fabric stands up to winds and wind-borne debris, making the enclosed lanai a hurricane-safe shelter by code and by design. Armor Screen can be used on any door, window, or porch openings to protect homes from damaging winds and flying debris.

Building a Hurricane-Resistant Home

Bob talks with Leslie Chapman-Henderson from the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) about the technologies involved in securing a roof. Chapman-Henderson explains the importance of keeping a roof secure in high-wind situations. Uplift force is explained as wind is that pulls on a roof, with a force that can tear the roof right off the home, causing catastrophic building failure. Keeping a roof secure involves affixing the roof decking, the plywood, so no new holes are created during a storm that would allow more wind to come in. FLASH standards specify plywood of a certain thickness, 5/8" minimum thickness with 6" inch nailing pattern, securely nailing into the trusses. Pneumatic nail guns, employed in a hurry to save costs, often miss the underlying truss. Simpson StrongTie straps are used to secure the truss to the structure. Tie-downs secure the roof vertically and horizontally. Bob and Chapman-Henderson review the Punta Gorda storm-ready project completed last season. The house in Punta Gorda was a monlithic concrete structure, poured in one solid pour with steel reinforcing bars embedded throughout. Steel fastenerstied directly to the exposed rebar to secure the roof. The roof decking and tie-down followed FLASH's Blueprint for Safety, just as the current roof does. Chapman-Henderson presents Bob with an award from the Governor's Hurricane Conference for his work to increase awareness of the need for storm-resistant homes. According to Chapman-Henderson reviews the governor's program that makes $250 million in Florida funds and $100 million from HUD to help people in Florida retrofit their homes to bring them up to code and make them storm resistant. The My Safe Florida Home is available to low- and modest-income residents. Eligible viewers are encouraged to call the 800 number or go to mysafefloridahome.com to begin the process.