florida houses

[yancovitch]

i wonder if the folks in florida and the gulf coast, totally threw away convention, and designed their homes specifically to withstand the worst hurricanes. i'm sure there are some ingeneous designs that people could come up with. ??

[Katahu]

You be surprised what people have come up with in Florida.

1. Impact-resistant windows that can take on a Cat 5 hurricane are now begining to replace plywood and shutters. However, that's only for those who have money. New and improved shutters are for the not-so-wealthy.

2. New homes are anchored to the ground real good from roof to foundation so as to prevent the home from floating off into the land of Ozzy...... errr.... Oz.

And more.

I was there when Andrew hit back in '92. Andrew taught everyone in Florida a very big lesson. Nowadays, no one is taking chances. At the first sign of a hurricane, everyone prepares.

However, there are many people out there that still don't have sufficient protection because there homes are still being repaired after the last major hurricane. Many of them still have tarp covering the roofs.

Did you know that a single plastic straw can penetrate a refrigerator door when a hurricane strikes? That's right, even small things can become lethal weapons in the hand of nature.

[Hagar]

I haven't seen it mentioned here but I heard on BBC Radio news that New Orleans is being evacuated as I type. Hurricane Katrina is heading straight for the city. http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_1761095,00.html

I don't know anyone in New Orleans but my thoughts are with you.

[Craig.]

as i said in the thread below,

[Romulus111VADT]

Check this link out- http://www.domeofahome.com/

It is suppose to be the future of homes in Florida. Supposedly hurricane proof. But I can't help thinking about the unsinkable Titanic when I hear these claims.

[Felix/FFDS]

Rom - ACtually, that home was in the path of a couple of last years's worst storms and survived practically unscathed.  It may not be to my aesthetic liking, but ....

I still wonder why there are not more reinforced concrete homes.  I went through Hugo in 1989? in Puerto Rico and my house suffered, well, one plywood panel that I did put up to cover a decorative glass pane blew off....

[Romulus111VADT]

[quote]Rom - ACtually, that home was in the path of a couple of last years's worst storms and survived practically unscathed.

[beaky]

If I were building in hurricane country, I'd definitely go with a concrete dome. Kind of goofy-looking on the ousdide, but they can be very nice inside, and are super energy-efficient in hot or cold climates.

[TacitBlue]

Personally, I think the best way to keep your house from being destroyed by a hurricane is to not build it in a place that gets hit by hurricanes every couple of years. I don't know, I might be crazy, but that's how I avoid it.

[Romulus111VADT]

Personally, I think the best way to keep your house from being destroyed by a hurricane is to not build it in a place that gets hit by hurricanes every couple of years. I don't know, I might be crazy, but that's how I avoid it.

Men have always been drawn to the sea shore and the idyllic thoughts of living in paradise. I live some 300 miles inland and have had to still deal with many hurricanes, tropical storms and tropical depressions, even this far inland.

These are the list of storms I've had to deal with in the past 20+ years-

All these hit my area in 2004-

Tropical Storms:
Bonnie
Gaston

Hurricane:
Jeanne Cat 2

Major Hurricanes:
Alex Cat 3
Charley Cat 4
Frances Cat 4
Ivan Cat 5-4

09/18/2003 Isabel Cat 2
09/16/1999 Floyd Cat 2
09/04/1999 Dennis TS
08/26/1998 Bonnie Cat 3
09/06/1996 Fran Cat 3
07/13/1996 Bertha Cat 2
06/20/1996 Arthur TS
10/08/1996 Josephine ET Depression
06/06/1995 Allison ET Depression
08/31/1993 Emily Cat 3
09/25/1992 Danielle TS
08/19/1991 Bob Cat 3
09/22/1989 Hugo Cat 3

Where you live you have tornados and those may not be a large as hurricanes. But they are more dangerous IMHO, only in a smaller area of a mile or less wide and 10 miles or so long.

[TacitBlue]

Oh yes, tornados are quite dangerouse, but St. Joseph is surrounded by river bluffs which offer some protection. But your right, I guess it wouldn't make much sense to build a house here by the same rule.

[Romulus111VADT]

Oh yes, tornados are quite dangerouse, but St. Joseph is surrounded by river bluffs which offer some protection. But your right, I guess it wouldn't make much sense to build a house here by the same rule.

Yep, at least with Hurricanes you get at least a weeks notification that it's out there and normally several days to know for sure it's going to hit your area and your reasonably sure your house will be there afterwards or at least a large part of it.

In tornado country you get what, maybe 5 to 7 minutes to try to evacuate by diving into hopefully a storm cellar. If it's a direct hit on your home, you can be sure at least the foundation will survive. You then look all over the area trying to find bits and pieces of what use to be your home. Your forced to try and locate where your car/truck was blown to, normally blocks from where you live. Some of those F-5 tornados have winds in excess of 300 mph and are up to a mile wide and are totally unpredictable.

[MattNW]

Round house, I sort of like it. Be hell on the grandkids trying to get them to stand in the corner....

Yeah but at least nobody can back you into a corner there.  ;D

[H]

In tornado country you get what, maybe 5 to 7 minutes to try to evacuate by diving into hopefully a storm cellar. If it's a direct hit on your home, you can be sure at least the foundation will survive. You then look all over the area trying to find bits and pieces of what use to be your home. Your forced to try and locate where your car/truck was blown to, normally blocks from where you live. Some of those F-5 tornados have winds in excess of 300 mph and are up to a mile wide and are totally unpredictable.

If I'd had 5 minutes I might have made it out the door and to the shelter (@ 2 blocks away). The siren blew and I immediately started for the door; was still 2 feet from it when there was a bang behind me (the wall was speared by a tree limb -- a tornado has been known to stick a straw of hay into a tree trunk) and the whole place shook (no flight sim -- it was airborne ). Seemed nothing else to do but fall to my knees and pray, 1st for myself , then for everyone in the surrounding neighborhood. My place was moved only @ 6 to 10 feet but a home across the drive was smashed into a large boundary tree (the only one in which no one was home; they'd been visiting relatives and arrived @ midnight only to find they had to stay elsewhere).