Ivan! Jeanne! & Karl & Dennis The Menace & Katrina

Second on that. Everyone I know lives somewhere in Central Florida. I just happened to have moved out of state this summer. The photos on the Orlando Sentinal website don't come close to what I've seen with my own eyes.

The stress must be amazing!

For example...today on my way home I had to wait a half hour in traffic so that bulldozers could clear the debris off a two lane road. This lady behind me kept honking her horn and finally got out of the car and started cussing out the dozer operators...I mean she went nutso...people are peaking!

I read in the PB Post that cops fired on a curfew/check point violator the other night. They're peaking all right.

Well, I remember, or think I remember, a great Florida shift for roofers, building trades folk, or hoping to be building tradesfolk, before... when the area south of Miami was hit so badly.

Ah, but where will all the newcomers stay?

The infrastructure, so called, is what interests me... how y'all will keep things perking when various wires have been severed.

And past that, I'm real interested in building codes. Had a link a day or so ago, and lost it, re this. Not to natter, I'm from LA, which is always in a learning mode. I don't look at it from a nattering view.

Read somewhere about a house with a double roof, one for, apparently, hurricane blow off purposes. Hmmm.

Sorry, I am off topic yet again. Think I should open up a construction thread separate from this. I don't mean to be an insensitive clod-dess.

But maybe not just yet, maybe after this season. People who may know the most about it onsite are busy bees.

"clod-dess" , I don't know where to find the codes... but I think they are up to 140mph for wind... which really isn't that tough to achieve. A builder I worked with said that it's mostly in adding additional cheap thin "straps" made of medal that holds the roof to the house. I gathered they used to rely on gravity for the most part to hold the roof on.

That's what I was talking about with panzade earlier in this thread....
saw a link on an architecture site yesterday, may be back with it.

Metal straps, out here at least usually Simpson Strong Tie Connectors, aren't all that expensive, relatively speaking....

Bill is on the money...and you too Osso. Simpson strong ties are the key to uplift resistance. Specs have been raised to 140 mph wind resistance. This city requires storm shutters as part of the occupancy inspection and garage doors are much beefier now. All of which has lessened catastrophic damage to homes. Most of the damage now seems to be shingle loss and water damage.

I noticed when I looked at the shingles on my roof that the roofing contractor had used two rows of 5 one inch hand driven nails which is way over specs. That's why I think we only lost a dozen shingles.

The trailer parks...well they're devastated and there's only so much they can do to lessen the damage

I think trailers should be outlawed in Florida, as well as manufactured homes.

So why not?

Well, for one thing, a lot of younger architects are working on ways to produce workable houses in different ways. I get links on this every few weeks from one planner friend who tends to follow these things. At this point none of the prototype homes are the least bit inexpensive. It might be that some fraction of them could be made not to implode with great gusts or collapse from sheer forces or have their roofs torn off.

It comes to what I rely on in many situations, performance criteria. Current status mobile homes are clearly dangerous in Florida and perhaps elsewhere. All manufactured/shippable housing doesn't have to be shut out if it makes the test cut, in my opinion. People should be working on this and probably are.

I'm so glad to hear everyone is ok. Welcome back :-D

I sincerely hope that the shitstorms are done. you guys are probably emotionally spent . I hope youll all be smiling soon.
I dont know how ya do it. Id be hammered all day , and going to church in the evening. (even though Im fairly agnostic i believe Mark Twains observation that the most confident man is a Christian holding four aces)

LOL Farmerman. I hear ya. You guys out there must be absolutely drained.

We are drained Montana, we are sick of these storms and wishing they are done with, for this season.

We were very fortunate that we didn't sustain any damage, but not so fortunate for the people in Melboure Beach, which is about 45 mins south of us.

We hope they are back on track and looking forward to a new season ...

Love, Mom

Big hugs going out to you and Rae. I'm so glad that you are all ok and pray that all this devistation is over for you.

((((Hugs))))

I'm hoping we can lay this thread to rest for another year.
Last night I had to spend the night in another town because they still have a 10 o clock curfew here...
Although things are starting to settle down one hears terrible stories of courage and loss on the radio 24/7. There have been many compassionate neighbors who have stepped up to help each other.

Hey, Florida folks. I have a question. I have been given notice that should my wind storm insurance people decide that I need a new roof, the check will be made payable to me and my mortgage company. I saw on the local news last night, that this has become a real problem, and that the mortgage holders give the insured six months to get the work done.

This simply does not sound right to me. I don't have any leaks, but aesthetically, the roof looks funky. Any suggestions about what course of action I should take? I hate to have to get a lawyer.

panzade - i think we all hope this thread can nap for another year. I know that I wouldn't be able to manage the ongoing stress of months of 'is there another one' 'do i stay or go' ...

i can handle cold, i can handle snow, i can handle heat and humidity - but not the uncertainty of those big storms. i've never even managed to visit Florida. you've all got something i can't fathom. some days i think it's courage. other days, i'm not so sure.

I have an advantage over you ehbeth. I regularly shuttle back and forth between the GWN and stormsville. I love Canada with all my heart but 30 years in snow and bitter cold drove me south and I never looked back. I'm one of "the boys of summer" and no amount of storms or power outages can make me leave the oceans, beaches and weather that surrounds my life.