Hurricane Ivan Recovery

[Woody13]

Hi! :wave: I just wanted to update you on my hurricane recovery efforts. As you may recall from a previous post, I have replaced my roof and my privacy fence. As part of the repairs, I am attempting to make my house stronger to resist high hurricane force winds. For example, when I replaced the privacy fence, I used 10 foot 4x4 posts rather than the standard 8 foot 4x4's. That gives me 2 more feet of post in the ground plus I used a double "deadman" system with ample concrete to secure the posts. In short, these posts will survive! On the roof I decided to manually seal all the shingles. I'm still working on that project and expect it to take several more weeks (or months) before I'm finished. However, once sealed, the shingles will be able to withstand 140 mph wind loads.

My most recent recovery effort has been my garage door. The old door was flexed and battered way out of shape by Ivan. It did not give way (as did many others in my neighborhood) but it needed to be replaced. In the interest of safety, I decided to buy a high end door certified to withstand a 140 mph wind load and have the tracks replaced as well. Hurricane force winds exert tremendous positive and negative forces on a garage door, causing it to flex inward and outward. If either the garage door or its tracks give way, the exterior envelope of your home will be compromised, allowing the full fury of the hurricane to attack your roof and walls.

The crew came out and installed the door. It took them about three hours since I had requested extra track braces to be installed. The crew left and I test the door. It worked flawlessly! However, being the curious type, I decided to remove one of the lag bolts holding the track to the wall. It was a 5/16" lag bolt, but it was only 1 5/8" long (way too short)! In a hurricane these lag bolts would have blown right out because they only penetrated the door trim and the drywall. I would have had a major failure and hurricane force winds in my home. This is the kind of thing that hides unnoted yet seems to work well. The lag bolts were just fine for holding the braces under normal conditions and would have lasted the life of the system, but would have failed during a storm.

So, today I went down to the hardware store and bought a dozen 3" (5/16") lag bolts and washers and installed them in place of the 1 5/8" lag bolts. The new 3 inch lag bolts now penetrate beyond the trim and drywall and 1 1/2 " into the jack studs! Now I can say with confidence that this garage door will not fail during the next hurricane.

What is really bad is that the Florida Building Code allows the use 1 5/8" long lag bolts for securing garage door tracks to walls! For those of you that live in hurricane prone areas, check your garage door track lag bolt mounts!

 

[tigsmom]

Hey Woody! :wave: Glad you went for the upgrade... seems like piddly little things, but as you noted they do mean alot. Hang tight, all that work will get done and then you can rest safely. ((hugs))

 

[The Mom]

Woody, your post just reminds us of how LONG it takes to recover after a natural disaster! There are people in my area who still have "temporary" roofing in place. The neighbor across the street is just getting his roof fixed; he's been on a "waiting" list since September.

There is nothing a homeowner can do to "speed up" the process. State anti-price gouging laws prevent contractors from charging extra (or homeowners from offering extra) to get things finished sooner. They have to charge their "normal" prices, so have no incentive to work overtime.

I understand the need for the law to protect consumers from unscrupolous contractors, but it also prevents reputable contactors from charging enough to cover increased expenses due to limited supplies, overtime, etc. if they want to work faster.

 

[GenerationX]

I'm glad you're making headway on your recovery efforts.

You may want to add your rebuilding tips to The Mom's "Hurricane Survival Thread" in the Weather forum. While the focus of that thread is what to have on-hand in case a hurricane hits, I think damage preventative suggestions would be a nice addition and not too off-topic.

 

[Master Yoda]

A couple of quick things. If you haven installed your lag bolts you might want to consider using Simpson ¼” SDS bolts instead. They are available in lengths up to 6” are self drilling and are designed not to withdraw over time. Not to mention there shear value is nearly twice that of your average lag bolt. Also there are no real specs that lag bolts need to pass so there is no telling what quality you will get. Another way to drastically increase the strength of a garage door is install a temporary diagonal brace from the center of the door in the garage floor slab. A 2x4 will do the trick in case of another storm. You might also want to look into metal panels for your windows as well. Nearly every thing you need for all of the mentioned projects at Home Depot or Lowes. If you have any other questions just pm me I’ll be glad to help.

 

[Figment1986]

dang... New garage door finally... new privacy fence finally... wait your doing the roof yourself... (My roofer like 4 years ago went with the dade county's code rather than Tampa's code... and it works nicely.. FLA should adapt Miami's code for roofing and a few other things...)

 

[Master Yoda]

dang... New garage door finally... new privacy fence finally... wait your doing the roof yourself... (My roofer like 4 years ago went with the dade county's code rather than Tampa's code... and it works nicely.. FLA should adapt Miami's code for roofing and a few other things...)

Trust me they shouldn't.

 

[Figment1986]

they require more nails to the shingle.... Tampa's code requires less than them.... my rof held up to quite alot so far.. though no hurricaine or major storm....

 

[Woody13]

Hey tigsmom! :kiss: We're just taking this one baby step at a time. There is just so much to do. Thinking about it sometimes overwhelms me. I just try to tackle each project bit by bit. I consider myself very lucky. Heck, there are still many people who have yet to have their insurance adjusters show up! However, even though I received a damage payment from my insurance company, money is still very tight and its hard to find contractors to do the work. We just want to make sure we do the job right, the first time around!

Hi Mom! :wave: I am way ahead of the game concerning hurricane recovery. There are many homes near me that still have blue roofs, fences down, uprooted trees, etc. They can't get the work done because there are just not enough contractors available to do the work. Also, there is plenty of fraud going on. For example, as I pulled out my checkbook to pay my roofing contractor after my roof was replaced, he told me that his original bid on the job was too low. He advised me that he would honor the original contract (and price) but that he wanted to write up a new proposal and have me submit it to my insurance company. The new proposal was for more than double the original amount. He advised me that, "...all of my customers are doing this and the insurance companies will pay it, no problem". He offered to split the proceeds with me. I declined his offer. I also reported him to the county building inspector and my insurance company.


Hi Master Yoda!:king: Thanks for the advice. I went down to Lowes today and bought a box of 10 of the 1/4" x 3" Simpson Strong-Drive Screws ($2.48 per box). The other lag bolts I bought cost $0.45 a piece, so the Simpson Screws are far less expensive. I have used Simpson Strong-Tie devices (such as hurricane straps) in other areas of my house and I have been very satisfied with their quality. The shear strength of the Strong-Drive Screws is very impressive.

I am currently working on the mounts for vertical 2x4 braces for my garage door (both inside and outside) that can be quickly installed in the event of hurricane force winds. For my windows and sliding glass door, I have ballistic cloth. It's similar to indoor/outdoor carpet but much stronger yet it is very light. I have bolt anchors premounted in the brick wall around each window. The cloth takes less than 5 minutes per window to install. I used this system during hurricane Ivan with great results.

Yes you're right Figment1986. :wave: After hurricane Andrew, Dade and Broward counties made significant changes in their building codes. My roof shingles (for example) are certified to exceed the Dade/Broward building codes for hurricane and wind resistance. My garage door also exceeds those standards. However, high quality products are only good if they are properly installed. It doesn't do much good to have a wind resistant garage door if the track is installed with only 1 5/8" long lag bolts. Also, Master Yoda is correct when he says it would be a bad idea to make the Dade/Broward building code go statewide. Building codes need to be established for each individual area as needed. There are a lot of requirements in the Dade code that would be unnecessary or even dangerous in my location. There is nothing that prevents you from exceeding code requirements if you desire.

 

[Master Yoda]

they require more nails to the shingle.... Tampa's code requires less than them.... my rof held up to quite alot so far.. though no hurricaine or major storm....

As of 2002 Fl is under 1 uniform building code prior to that each county had their own code. Miami/Dade was permitted to make there code stricter that the rest of the state. Unfortunately their code is now so strict that it is unenforceable. Ever since Andrew Miami/Dade has been making their code stricter and stricter when there was really nothing wrong with it to begin with it just wasn’t being enforced. For example at the time of Andrew a 35 nails were required per sheet of plywood quite a few were found with only 4. Trusses are required to have an uplift connection to them equal or greater than the calculated amount of uplift. Usually this is a standard hurricane clip. Many were found to have only 1 or 2 toe nails in them (about 10% of the strength of the clip). I guess logic would dictate that if they require you to do something at double what was really required then there would be a lower probability that it would fall below an acceptable level so in that respect it makes sense to have a stricter code but Miami/Dade has pushed that theory a little too far. I’m really glad that I only see stuff from that part of the state once or twice a year. In the case of your shingles I believe they require 1 more nail in Miami/Dade than in the rest of the state. Also depending on when your roof was redone (pre 2002) I believe Tampa allowed staples to be used on shingles were Miami/Dade did not. Most professional engineers will tell you that staples anywhere on the exterior of a house is a big no-no.

 

[Master Yoda]

Hi Master Yoda!:king: Thanks for the advice. I went down to Lowes today and bought a box of 10 of the 1/4" x 3" Simpson Strong-Drive Screws ($2.48 per box). The other lag bolts I bought cost $0.45 a piece, so the Simpson Screws are far less expensive. I have used Simpson Strong-Tie devices (such as hurricane straps) in other areas of my house and I have been very satisfied with their quality. The shear strength of the Strong-Drive Screws is very impressive.

I’m glad I could help. Those Simpson strong drive screws are really amazing. They have mad my job alot easier since they were introduced. The ballistic cloth is a very good choice for your windows. One thing you will want to do with the cloth in make sure it is not stretched too tight. Also you will want to attach it in a manner that keeps wind from behind it. In some cases when the wind gets behind it or any other covering it likes to rip off. One more quick question. Is your house block or wood frame? If it is wood I can give you a few more tricks for beefing it up.

 

[Woody13]

Is your house block or wood frame? If it is wood I can give you a few more tricks for beefing it up.

Hello Master Yoda! :wave: I have a wood frame house with a brick veneer. I would be interested in any suggestions you might have that would help me to mitigate hurricane force winds. Be advised that about 10 years ago I braced the gable ends of the attic and the entire length of the roof trusses per an architectural evaluation of my house from the Florida Department of Community Affairs.

 

[Master Yoda]

“X” Bracing your gable ends is a very good step. I’ve seen first hand what happens when gable ends are not braced correctly. The other stuff I would suggest would require some pretty major work. If you are ever at a point where you are removing drywall from your exterior walls check your framing for strapping over the studs (Simpson SP4). If there is none or very little you will want to attach a Simpson H3 or RSP4 to each stud at the top and bottom. Also look to see that your bottom plate of your wall is bolted to the slab. If it is not you can install epoxy anchors and run threaded rod to the top plate of your wall. If you run into problems feel free to PM me. I’ll be glad to help wherever I can.

 

[Woody13]

“X” Bracing your gable ends is a very good step. I’ve seen first hand what happens when gable ends are not braced correctly. The other stuff I would suggest would require some pretty major work.

Thanks for the information Master Yoda. :wave: Back in 1995, after hurricanes Erin and Opal hit my area, The Florida Department of Community Affairs decided to study the residential housing in the local 3 county area. They wanted to determine general structural integrity of the houses and determine what upgrades would be needed to improve their hurricane resistance. Through radio, television and newspaper ads, they asked local residents (homeowners) to volunteer their houses for the study. The reward for the owner was that they would provide you with a copy of the survey done to your house. I signed up for the project and was lucky enough to be selected.

An architect was sent out to conduct the study on my house. It took him about 6 hours to complete the survey. He checked everything. He pulled down the exterior soffit and examined the roof attachments. He went into the attic and inspected the trusses, roof decking, etc. He cut several sections of drywall out (on all the exterior walls and on 2 interior walls) and examined how the framing was secured to the slab. He measured every inch of this house. He took pictures of everything as well. A crew came in behind him to repair the damage, better than new.

After about 8 months, I received a very detailed report from The Department of Community Affairs detailing the structural design and integrity of my house with recommendations for improvements. Basically, they said I was in pretty good shape, however, they did suggest some additional gable end braces and some additional hurricane straps. I did the work as they suggested (actually exceeded their specifications) and let them know. They sent another architect out to inspect my upgrades. They then sent me another updated report detailing the upgrades. In short, aside from getting a metal roof, I've done everything I can (based upon cost/benefit) to make my house hurricane resistant.

I was told back in 1995 that had I paid an architect to inspect my home, provide a report, make upgrades, re-inspect and report, it would have cost me upwards of $6,000.

It's really good to get feedback from a guy like you that knows their stuff. Heck, I'm just an amateur.

 

[Master Yoda]

I appreciate the compliment. I have been a wood truss designer for nearly 11 years now and have seen a lot in my short tenure. Ant time you need help give me a shout.