There are three important concepts to remember for wind-resistant wall construction. Walls have to resist the uplift forces caused by the pull of the wind. Walls have to resist the shear forces that try to push the walls over. Walls have to resist the lateral force of the wind that tries to push the walls in and pull them away from the building. For uplift purposes, walls are the intermediate link between the roof and the foundation below. To resist uplift forces walls have to have a continuous load path that can be achieved through the use of metal connectors for wood frame construction or a combination of metal connectors, vertical and horizontal reinforcement, and a bond beam at the top of the wall for concrete masonry construction. Shearing forces Walls are also subjected to shearing forces that act in the direction the wind is blowing. As wind blows on a wall, the walls perpendicular to the wall the wind is blowing on, are subjected to these shearing forces and are called shear walls. Shear walls are inherently subjected to the shearing and sliding forces. Wood frame walls resist these shearing and sliding forces through the action of the wall studs, the wall sheathing (preferably plywood), and a specific nailing pattern. Concrete masonry walls resist these forces through a combination of concrete masonry units, mortar, and grouted and reinforced cells. As a result of the walls resisting the shearing forces and being fixed at the base, the walls are subjected to an overturning force, or the tendency to rotate over. For wood frame construction, this force is resisted through the use of a holdown or tensions tied down. Vertical reinforcement and grouted cells resist the overturning forces in concrete masonry construction. Wind Ready Walls Finally, walls have to be capable of supporting the push and pull from the wind. For wood frame construction, studs have to be sized and spaced accordingly to resist the lateral forces, and have to be securely supported at the top and bottom plates. Concrete masonry resists the lateral forces by using reinforcement in grouted cells.

Bob meets Gary Halzel putting the finishing touches on the master bedroom walls. Gary will be rag rolling the wall. He's putting on a coat of oil-based mixture over a latex finish trying to get a translucent effect. The oil-based mixture is oil-based paint, glaze, and paint thinner.

Doug Frueh of West Coast Drywall is in the bedroom applying a textured finish to the fiberglass-faced walls. He is using Magnum, a dry mix that is blended with water to the desired consistency then sprayed on the wall with an airless sprayer. The effect is a splattered, built-up texture that is allowed to sit for a couple of minutes before being knocked down with a plastic wedge trowel that evens out the surface but maintains the texture. This technique is fast and low moisture, making it a perfect finish for Florida construction. Frueh says he can complete a house in just a couple of hours.

Charlie and Bob discuss how important it is to determine where the load-bearing walls are when undertaking a major remodel. Charlie points out the doubled-up 18-inch Georgia-Pacific LVL that is now carrying the entire load of the sidewall and the roof. During the installation Charlie found serious termite damage at the bottom of the support post. Since the LVL (or any beam) is only as strong as the posts that support it, Charlie cut out the damaged piece and put a new pressure-treated pad in and then posted it up with 2 x4s to tie it all in and create a solid point of transfer for the load. Using studs Charlie also created some temporary supports for the second floor joist system while he replaced load-bearing walls with a triple LVL and a 4 x 6 post. This basically transfers the load down to the basement to a lally column which will go down onto a concrete pad. The LVLs are 1 3/4-inch by 9 1/4-inch by 11 feet long.

There are two kinds of walls: Bearing walls and non-bearing walls. Knowing which can be critical. You can do anything you like to a non-bearing wall, but if you remove or even cut open a bearing wall, you can literally bring down the house. Check the joists or rafters in your basement or attic; if they run perpendicular to the wall in question, it is almost certainly a bearing wall. If they run parallel, it is not.

Homeowner and contractor Nick Beasley walks Bob through the progress to date in the master and kids bath, including leveling the floors, building partition walls, and installing cementitious board for the wall and floor tiles. Beasley explains how they discovered inadequate framing for the windows when they removed the wallboard on the exterior wall. They reframed the wall with a header, making it structurally sound, and prepared to install matching windows. Beasley shows how to open up the building wrap and prepare a watertight window installation. He begins by cutting the building wrap down the middle, to the two bottom corners, then across the top. He staples the paper back and trims the excess away. He then uses Pella's waterproof self-adhesive tape along the bottom sill and up six inches on each side. He doubles up the bottom pieces and lets the exterior section extend 1/2 inch so that water will flow to the exterior and away from the house. He explains that it's important to work from the bottom up when waterproofing a window so that any water that gets in will run down and away, not getting caught behind any flap as it runs. Beasley opens up the nailing flange and roughs in the window before checking it for level and plumb. They shim the window at the bottom, middle, and top before checking again for level and plumb, and nailing it into place. They finish the installation with low-expansion insulation foam to fill the voids around the window. Beasley stresses that it's important to use low-expansion foam so that it won't expand too much and push te window out of plumb or cause difficulty for window operation. Cordell Burton is then back with Bob to review the Pella Architect Series windows the Beasleys selected for their 1895 home. These two-over-one wood interior and aluminum-clad exterior windows are Energy Star rated for high efficiency and feature replica-style hardware. They are constructed of double-pane low-e glass and are argon-filled for maximum energy efficiency.

After seven days of steady rain, the crew is ready to pour the concrete for the foundation and slab at the Punta Gorda, Florida, storm-ready home. Bob explains how code now dictates that foundations be elevated and supported by a three-course block stem wall set on reinforced footings below the grade. These perimeter stem walls are reinforced with horizontal and vertical number five diameter steel rods or rebar. The stem walls and slab are poured as one to create a seamless slab and foundation. This integral foundation will protect against water intrusion and hydrostatic prssure that lifts slabs and compromises structures when storm surge comes. The concrete is floated and polished to finish the slab before the reinforcing steel rods and mesh are set for the walls. Vertical steel rods are spliced to the reinforcing rods protruding from the foundation, then steel mesh is attached with wire to the rods. Stirrups and rebar create the headers, and spacers are attached to the mesh to keep it centered in the new wall once the concrete is poured.

Bob goes into the bathroom where painter Dirk VanKoughnett is painting the walls. VanKoughnett is using a high gloss paint, a surface that is enjoying renewed popularity. Originally high gloss paint was used because it was more durable than other kinds of paint, but in modern times that is no longer the case. VanKoughnett explains that high gloss paint is more difficult to apply because all the light bouncing off the paint emphasizes flaws. A skim coat of joint compound was applied prior to the paint to ensure a smooth surface and fewer flaws. VanKoughnett is using a roller with a quarter inch knap to make sure there are less bubbles in the paint. Bob discusses with VanKoughnett the benefits of using the highest quality brush when working with high-gloss.

Bob joins Jesse Gonzalez from Mercedes Homes and Randy Cole from the City of Punta Gorda Building Department for a site visit and look at the stem walls and integral slab being poured at the Punta Gorda storm-ready home. Jesse explains the efficiency of the pumper truck that is used to deliver the concrete and the speed with which they can complete the pour with this method. They then talk about scratching the site clean before building the pad for the slab and excavating the footings for the three-course block stem wall. Cole explains that a stem wall sinks its footer below the surface and allows the slab to sit on top of a wall so that the water can move around the foundation rather than surging up under it. Gonzalez explains that the footings are excavated and set with two bars of number 5 steel that is set in the concrete. A three-course cinder-block wall is then set in the footings. The cells of the block are filled with concrete as the slab is poured in one continuous pour with the walls. There are no seams between the slab and the wall because it is a solid pour. Reinforcing steel goes around the perimeter of the foundation and up through the cells every three feet.

Repair a textured wall using a texture patch repair kit and some simple tricks to blend it into the existing finish.