Lessons learned from the one home that survived Hurricane Michael
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.พ. 2019
- It's the house the entire country was talking about: The one that was still standing after Hurricane Michael when the rest of Mexico Beach was flattened. Four months later, the owner is explaining what he’s doing to make the home even stronger for the next big one.
MORE: www.fox13news.com/news/florida...
He built his house to amazing standards, learned from the mistakes he did make, AND evacuated anyway. Very impressive on all counts.
He built his house to Florida building code standards. Even building his "own" home, it still will be inspected. All "new" homes have to be built like this. We don't enforce this on existing homes. Only if they do alterations that have anything to do with trusses/roof/block/slab. Then we can say something.
@@johngallo7383 It seems that the windows he used were particularly strong. Are the ones he used code, or are they stronger than what code requires?
@@johngallo7383 They even said he built it above code....
@@garylangley4502 Windows made for South Florida, Miami/Dade. 175 wind zone. As a state inspector, I do not know of anything stronger. Different qualities but same wind zone. Different parts of the state have different wind zones. So maybe for his area and that wich is required he put in the miami/Dade specs? I would have to se them and look at the NOA'S.
@@djdavisiscool I am sure he built th above code for his area. All parts of Florida have different wind zones. So maybe he put in Miami/Dade windows. Code is minimum. So anything above code is well... above code....
This house should be the housing code for all homes in hurriane areas.
That would be way to expensive
Y’all mfs acting like these storms always happen also
@@unitgamex2972 they said they estimate 20% more in cost, that's not much more...
@@wazup3333 it is a lot especially in this economy
@@unitgamex2972 120% cost the first time is still cheaper than 100% twice if you have to rebuild. Not to mention the cleanup and safety aspect for those that ride out the storm.
@@canyouguessmyname15 I’m not saying that it’s a bad idea, it is definitely really expensive And you have really high chance of not needing a house like that
For this person the "overkill" of safety held its ground, whilst other houses got wiped out. And to top that off, that person still improves his house to make it even more stable. Thats real dedication and that house is also in the main hitting area of a hurricane. Very very well done indeed on selecting the materials
The county now needs to insist that this build is the minimum standard for new builds....yeah right......
@@josephsmith2417 If you decide to live where hurricanes hit almost every single year yeah.
@John Smith Not the minimum but yeah it should be suggested. "You must build the house by this standards for it to be safe in most storms. But you should meet these standards for it to withstand ANY storm."
better he make bunker and lower house into it...
@@Zfast4y0u unfortunately way too expensive to be realized by regular houseowners. Huge hydraulics or other contraptions would be needed to succeed with such an idea
This man is the Tony Stark of hurricane damage prevention, ALWAYS learning from mistakes and optimizing them
Good analogy, I think I'm gonna go re-watch some compilations of Tony's adaptations!
building different
Just wait until he discovered bricks! 😂😂😂
People probably laughed at what they thought was overkill on his build, but, his house is still standing and came out pretty good.
Doubtful, the problem in Mexico Beach was that most of the stuff was built decades ago before any codes. People couldn't afford to rebuild to code. Most don't come back when their house is demolished, but all along the coastline in the gulf are houses that were built decades ago before any strict codes. People will live in them until they're wiped off the map.
I've never met anyone who thinks houses like this on the coast are over built. Only that they can't afford to build that way. The codes need to be stronger than they are as well.
There was another interview and it was stated that his neighbors did laugh at the design of the house. Why didn't he have more windows and sacrificing a lot of beach views with more structure instead of more patio.
This was several years ago, but I bet it did well in Hurricane Ian too. The news station should do an update.
@@GuantanamoBayBarbie2 I believe this report says the house was built in the past year or so.
@@GuantanamoBayBarbie2 Ian hit no where near here.
If he hasn't already, this fellow should start a storm preparedness consulting company for home builders. He already has a proven model. Bravo!
its murica they dont have standards
We should though , especially hurricane prone areas
@@iloveowls90 and C-, you're both should get off the internet. Florida has Hurricane Building Codes. "Florida has by far the most extensive codes and rigid licensing requirements of any state in the country. To be a true licensed contractor, it requires many years of experience and extensive testing. The exam is 19 hours long and is quite thorough. There are 3 licensing types for new home builders: certified residential contractors (which can strictly only build homes) and certified building contractors (can build both commercial and residential homes/businesses) and a certified general contractor can build high rises."
Jennifer, I love the upgrades the homeowner made, but builders already know about them. It's the buyers who must pay for those upgrades, and that's a tough sell. One the one hand, lax standards save upfront cost but result in more hurricane destruction. On the other hand, extreme standards result in extreme upfront cost, but preserve homes during hurricanes. Neither extreme is the right thing to do (never is, really). Maybe the solution is education of buyers before they commit to building a new home. Maybe a solution is for insurance companies to discount such upgrades according to data (they keep great data on losses), and spell out for the policyholder why they get a discount and see the relative value of each. Maybe the solution is a mix of many such efforts.
He will only be able to give them advice that costs some money.
And unfortunately, they are not interested in fixing anything if it costs so much as a penny.
After all, insurance will cover it, right?
This is a true quaity house with a smart home owner. So many of those buildings on the boast sell for millions of dollars, but they are poorly constructed and rarely ever come close to the standards needed to properly with stand the dangers of being there. The developers care about the profit margin, build cheap and sell big. Huge respect to this man.
mmmmm mmmm thats good capitalism 🤤
What about the idiots that buy them? You can't sell wooden houses in the UK. Nobody wants them. They know they are buying something that won't last. Brick or stone all the way
Me, Europeean watchin this; "Hahah wooden houses"
That man is living the good life. Not only is his house one of two in the neighborhood to survive the hurricane, his college team, *Tennessee* is undefeated.
Not the same year lol
@@RoroYaKnow Ha ha ha ha! I didn't even notice that. Internet has no time frame. 😅
Shame the whole neighbourhood was levelled though, his house might be standing but it’s value is gone….
@@Spazza42 I wonder what happens to the value of a house when every home around it is built brand new. Which is what’s gonna happen.
@@Chris-mo9gt Yeah, because America has a trend of fixing levelled neighbourhoods after horrendous storms doesn’t it? They did well after Hurricane Katrina….
The key is that he built his own home. No one will do it better.
indeed most contractors will tell you - to put only 5 nails in each hurricane strap because that's all you need for "code" inspection to pass - & that right there shows how much they care about "your home" compared to "your check"
Except you need to actually be an expert yourself lol
Exactly! When we do things for ourselves and our family's we always do it right and above standard or Code. When I build my first forever home I will do it myself and it will be rated for things that haven't happend yet! Lol Lord willing
@Zach S. It’s not hard to do research. Research is research. Or else you’ll never know anything. He wasn’t considered an “expert” in society. He learned and used what he learned instead of dumbing down.
You need to know what you’re doing
We were there directly after the hurricane; my husband and I are part of a disaster response team. It was devastating... I remember seeing that house wondering how it survived. Thank you for sharing.
Karen...thanks for your service to the community !!
@@haukepowers8491 likewise, as a former tb resident
I wonder how it fared against Ian?
its not a cheap american cardboard house and this house was properly build, thats the reason
I am sorry for your name, goes to show not every Karen is a Karen.
There was recently a similar story about a whole residential area which was built explicitly to survive the worst stroms and it survived without a scratch including their solar energy grid which made them also independent from the state energy grid which was interrupted during that last hurricane.
So yeah if you want to build in areas prone to hurricanes you better spend that extra money and/or have to pay up in terms of inssurance if the inssurance companies would even service you still.
Do u have a link to that story?
@@leflob938 it was here in Florida for the recent hurricane, but it wasnt nearly as bad as the original commenter made it sound, they were like 50 miles away from fort myers, only got 80mph wind speeds or something like that.
wasn't the main design that it had all electric lines / utilities underground? (Which is the main reason why they didn't lose utilities)
Imagine living in hurricane valley for about 200 years, and learning about these tricks now.
Makes me giddy with excitement about what we will learn in the next 200 years! Brick construction? Deary me, whatever will they think of next.
His home sustained the type of damage you might see if a teenager's parents were out of town.
He deserves a discount on his homeowner's insurance.
Insurance is going to be ☝
Actually I'm pretty sure his insurance is higher than most other homes in the area due to the modifications made to his home.
Guaranteed he doesn't have a mortgage and is self insured
@@economicdevelopmentplannin8715
EDUCATED GUESS.
Florida insurance companies do not give discounts....all they care about is how the house is built...if you live in "hurricane alley" there are NO discounts..not even on auto insurance...been down there...$$$$$ for basic auto insurance...$165 for bare-bone State Farm auto insurance...Florida requires all drivers to have extra hospitalization insurance...$$$$
Everything in Okinawa is made from reinforced concrete. Survives multiple typhoons and earthquakes regularly. I think it’s time areas impacted by hurricanes regularly do the same. Save a lot of time, money, and heartbreak
I don't know why mainland USA does not use concrete but I suspect its because the ground is so soft and you would have to sink lots of Pylons to prevent it from slowly sinking. It may be to expensive for home use.
@@Dreadlk This is exactly the reason. I live in Southeast Louisiana, and even 300 miles from the coast, because basically the entire southern portion of the state is /at/ sea level, our roads sink into the ground, massive potholes, buildings have to be built to specific codes. Right on the coast like that, it could be done, but it'd cost a fortune to keep it from sinking. I always thought similarly about kitchens and bathrooms. In Japan and other parts of the world, bathrooms are made to be completely waterproof. But here in the US, people spend millions a year renovating their bathrooms because of how poorly built they are leading to water damage. The entire bathroom should be sealed up like it's all one big shower. But everything costs more in the US than it does anywhere else, even if it is of subpar quality.
@@Dreadlk The use of poured concrete is becoming more prevalent. The ICF construction method is catching on.
@@ToIsleOfView I'm going to use ICF for a closet for a tornado safe room. Too expensive to do the whole house, for me anyway.
The houses put in in the 50-60's are poured concrete for the most part. That was right after a couple of massive hurricanes hit. The roofs were flat and the structure was large wood beams. Every door and window had a steel awning cover that could be dropped over it in a few min. I know I lived in one years back. All the newer stuff is just thrown together with a wink and nod to the inspectors.
Great work sir. Nicely executed. I feel proud of also using these hurricane clips.
I mean its usually code to use them.. even in wisconsin
It amazes me that anybody building in a hurricane prone location doesn't build to this standard anyway. In the UK we are used to 100mph winds. Houses are made of brick or stone. Wood is used to build garden sheds
As a Building Inspector in Florida, windows are part of what I inspect. I am very hard on contractors to do it the right way. They may hate me sometimes but I do not care. My boss told me, if your name is not written on the inside of a porta potty, then your not doing your job right. I don't care how well you built your home... If ONE window gets taken out, the WHOLE house is compromised!
Do you know what they meant in this video when they said there was no "vinyl" used?
@@NOZZASLOADEDED They must have used "since they said no vinyl siding " a wood sheathing with 2 layers of 15lb waterproofing and then T1-11 or Hardi plank. Maybe some tyvek house wrap. There are so many products out there that it is hard to tell unless you inspect the build as it progresses. Now vinyl will peel off if there is a weak spot and then allow your sheathing to be exposed to water. I would have to see it fully to know why they said that. Vinyl is fine to use in Florida residential Code so. Each product has to get a NOA = Notice of Acceptance. It's engineering for that product. They are not listed in the Florida building code. But they have to be approved by the state. Each product .
I would have presumed the sheer force of the wind would break through windows, but sounds like they can survive as long as they are installed properly, correct?
But seems some form of hard covering for storms would be better, given that flying debris can certainly break glass, as happened to this man's house.
@@DonTruman Yea, Florida has strict codes on opening protectives. Especially Miami/Dade. So even if you live in Tallahassee, you can Install Miami/Dade windows.
@@DonTruman Yea so they work on Positive & Negative pressures. They are also 2 ply from what I have seen and read on them with a gel in the middle of the 2 ply. So if one window takes the hit, the other with the gel holds it together. But it has to have Code standard or NOA bucking and depth and edge distance to keep that window in its proper place. A Window is nothing without its anchors.
Another good idea is to have shutters that slide out to cover the exterior of all windows, especially large windows. Houses in Japan have these, and they are quite used to getting typhoons. The sliding covers need to lock firmly together, but they protect windows from flying debris.
Thats probably the most cost effective way to protect the roof from blowing off. Also remember garage doors need to be very secure.
I am a Building Inspector in Florida and I tell people all the time that get new "Hurricane Windows put in" Keep your Shutters! There design Pressure rating on shutters is 2x that of what a hurricane window has.
yeah thats what i was gonna say. plus lexan or polycarbonate outer covering or bullet proof glass.
Building with wood in these areas is not the best choice. As proven by his build you can have good results will all the steel reinforcements, but this method is super dependent on perfect engineering and implementation. Concrete construction seems more practical, is less prone to corrosion and insects and is serviceable after flooding events. This method is economical and is done in much less wealthy countries that see similar weather. I have been in the building trades for thirty years and stick building in these areas shouldn’t be allowed.
Another good idea is to not build your home in areas that are prone to destruction from hurricanes.
0:45 That object in his left hand (forefront of the shot) is not a hurricane clip, nor is the object in his right hand. The first was a joist hanger, while the other one ties the rafter to the top plate and is called a rafter tie (code usually calls for one but I like one on each side of the rafter). When you nail the exterior sheathing (aka plywood) to the rafters you place hurricane clips in btw each rafter before you install the next row of plywood. Their metal, shaped like an H, about half the length of your thumb, and specific to thickness of the plywood you're installing. Most often building code requirement when doing construction anywhere on the coast. Personally I would install them on my own home no matter where it was built, code or not. [For those who don't know any better.]
Being raised helped, too, against tidal surge.
Simpson hurricane clips should be endorsing that gentleman And what a beautifully built home he has
I bet they will. Perfect marketing opportunity!
Bring out a commercial saying this is what Simpson hurricane clips did for this home owner.
This man needs to put out a video of everything he did and what he has kearn since so others can follow. I am sure it was very expensive but it saved him so much money from not having to build another house. Very smart man.
Bolt down the walls (2x6 minimum) to the concrete foundation, hurricane ties on all of the trusses, add wood blocking to walls and trusses, Use proper sheathing material, seal the house with sheathing tape, use spray foam insulation, use hurricane resistant windows, use storm shutters on exterior openings, minimize use of loose material and equipment externally, bolt down all equipment and minimize air leaks.
@@LigerSupremacy I appreciate you mentioning spray foam as its versatility is endless and strength is unmatched!
I remember seeing an article about this house after the storm. Back then, they reported that it took about $40K US for the structural upgrades when that house was built. I don't think this house had/has a garage; garage doors are a major weak point in the house structure. Like a window, if either is compromised, and opens in any way, allowing air to flow into the house, you then have an overpressurization event, which often leads to the loss of all or a good portion of the roof.
If you wished to learn lessons: then seek data from the James Cook University in QLD Australia, which did extensive studies after Cyclone "Tracy" in 'Darwin' in Australia's Norther Territory in 1994. Tracy devastated Darwin. Since then the findings of JCU's studies were made public and consequently, building codes were updated according to the studies recommendations. They have not lost a home in Northern Australia since.
Go figure...🤔
Amen.
This reminds me of a homeowner in the Monterey area of California. The city required that wood shake shingles be used for roofing. Buy the homeowner insisted on a clay tile roof. He finally got his clay roof tile installed. After a big fire had happened and the only home left standing in that area was this one house with the clay roof tiles. After that the city made adjustments in building codes.
That was probably in the sixties. Today, shakes can be fire proofed, clay tiles in California are endemic to the state style (welcome to El Camino Real) and in the Monterey "area" there are lots of windy canyons, gulches, and small valleys that housing never should have been built into any way. Not sure who might have jurisdiction to Code outside of the City of Monterey and/or Clint Eastwood.
@@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki It was a big fire. It happened sometime during the 90s.
Very smart man. He had the good sense to evacuate. And he built his house very well, glad it withstood that hurricane.
...and this is why when people tell me "it's built to code" I think to myself "Yeah, code created by people who have no foresight for/of the unthinkable".
I'm very happy for this man and his home. His wisdom paid off.
💯 the building code mandated resistance to 120mph wind gusts and the hurricane was 150mph, if the code was sufficient there would be more than two houses standing.
Yeah, code is the * MINIMUM * recommended things to do. The better thing to say (if true) is that "It's built better than code."
If you wished to learn lessons: then seek data from the James Cook University in QLD Australia, which did extensive studies after Cyclone "Tracy" in 'Darwin' in Australia's Norther Territory in 1994. Tracy devastated Darwin. Since then the findings of JCU's studies were made public and consequently, building codes were updated according to the studies recommendations. They have not lost a home in Northern Australia since.
Go figure...🤔
@@redmatrix 100% correct you cant really have building codes for the worst possible situation its always better to overbuild something off your own decisions rather than be forced to do it.
Codes written by politicians taking big bribes from the contractors' lobby to keep everything minimalistic and their profits high.
Not to mention the fact the house was on stilts. Reduced the flooding risk.
this man is a genius. using practical advice and listening to others, this man did what everyone should have done. congrats!
My mother lost everything in this storm. Shes living within us now and is almost 94.
I restored a house on Litchfield Island in South Carolina after Hugo; Double layer exterior plywood construction saved the house from that storm. House was built in 1963; a testimony to its solid construction. We did exactly the same additions to the structure as noted in this article. We started at the concrete columns and hot dipped galvanized steel plates, and hurricane straps were added to every single joint between floor to wall, wall to joist, and rafter ridge line. Custom tongue and groove hinged bolt in place shutters made for all windows. One of the most solid structures i ever encountered in my 50 yrs of Business
I've believed for a long time that homes should be built suitable for local conditions. We live in Western Australia, and houses are shocking. If even a little bit of thought and understanding was put into house design, things would be soooo different. In summertime, buildings become furnaces, air conditioning is maxed out and often still ineffective, power goes out due to neglected infrastructure and massive power load and so on. Wintertime we freeze. If only....
This is America as well. They only provide services which places the costs squarely on consumers as well.
We have aggressive Code enforcement in Canada now just about everywhere, but I can see in Australia the same problem we have in minus 55 below: plant the foundation half into the ground for summer!!! (In Canada's case, trapper, homestead, and native cabins were have into the permafrost to keep the heat in and the cold out. Or vice versa.
Kudos not only to his building skills and hurricane ties, but also outside benches. Hanging aka new.
Impressive, a man of action, kudos to you Sir.
This is a life lesson too! Build your life on the strong foundation, and it’ll weather the storm.
Amen to that 🙏
I always think of this house every now and then - the picture of his house standing in the middle of a bunch of demolished houses is incredible
gotta love how everyone is feeling so smart about their "hurricane measures", while here on Mediterranean houses have withstood worse winds for centuries.
Awesome job Sir!
While watching the horror of hurricane Michael, I remember that house just standing there defiantly. Later while watching some tornado videos, I remember thinking well I bet that house on Mexico Beach wouldn't blow away in a tornado. Looking at the areas down in Fort Myers I thought of that house again and wondered if anybody else thought to build a house as strongly as he did. They really need to fix the building code all along the Gulf Coast.
The damage in Fort Myers wasn't caused by wind as much as storm surge. More homes should be built to that standard on the Gulf coast but I dont think that would really help in fort Myers
The great debate as insurance companies shirk responsibility to pay up, was it wind or water? With 150 mph winds it’s obvious, it’s both for ppl with flooding. Re. Hurricane Hits, FL east coast is at a higher risk, like Andrew and Homestead, but absolutely YES! Implement Stricter building codes! As a new FL homeowner I had an expensive rubber membrane roof installed on my low pitch house, (like neighbors had), which my city codes dept ok’d. So you’d think the job was ok, right? WRONG! The job was a disaster, with ALL the trim rotting out, and the membrane pulling away from ALL the edges within 3 years. Apparently, Neither I, the roofers, or The city “experts” had a clue how it should have been done. The roofer, who lied about everything, had went out of business by then. So, don’t rely on anyone when getting work done, become the expert yourself. Talk to past customers, see their work, ck references, & ck the country or state construction board, read online reviews, & the BBB & more. My roofer, I found out afterwards had several lawsuits pending. (I have land on one of the barrier islands that was hit. Fortunately, no house tho.)
We do have a lot stronger building codes but there's a lot of old construction. Even in places you'd think would've been wiped out already. Recently visited keylargo and I'd still say half the houses are pre Andrew
@@janetpattison8474 sorry that happened to you. What a complete pain. I agree with learning about stuff yourself.
@@adambeers06 who are you talking to?
Wow more folks on the beaches need to do this we are so vulnerable for hurricanes in Florida
Or just stop building so close to shore!
As a Dutch person, I don't understand that is is not mandatory to build hurricane proof houses in such places.
I know that we would have updated our building codes decades ago already.
Prevention is so much cheaper than having to rebuild after, not to mention the loss of live and personal possessions
@@rogerwilco2 Shouldn‘t be mandatory, but anybody who didn’t build their home to a standard to withstand a hurricane should be excluded from relieve payments.
Incredible How That House survived the Hurricane , pity All those other Houses
Wasn't Built the Same.
Excellent Info. I would've liked a more detailed discussion of the build from start to finish. The foundational elements, roofing materials, etc...
People need to rebuild their homes and businesses the way this man built his house. Good learning.👍🏼
or stop making insurance claims
Move away? Or is that too obvious
Amazing, this should be the blueprint for every house built in hurricane areas, 👍💯
It would be very expensive
State of Florida Building code requires ALL new builds to use Simpson straps on all the trusses to block. If your looking to do a wind mitigation on a older home, then part of that is adding Simpson straps to all trusses to block. Does not matter if your in a 170 mph zone "Palm beach county" or up there where it is 120. But it will not matter if the windows are not protected.
Yeah right hurricane clips are too expensive. Ratchet straps are 4 for 20 bucks at the home depot, just ratchet strap everything down
@@macbook802 I was amazed that the house was still there, I am from Oklahoma we just have tornadoes, I have never experienced a hurricane and hope I don’t
@@010WhatMy Better than having to build and pay for a new house every time a strong hurricane comes through.
something tells me the rebuilds of the houses in that area will working closely with this man, nicely done sir
Japan takes the lead in Hurricane proof buildings that are also earthquake proof. I was stationed at Yokosuka when we had a big one at over 125 mile and hour, and during the peak wind gust which were already swaying my apartment complex like a leaf; we also had a 9.4 earthquake. I felt that quake while the building was swaying; I am on the 8th floor. The earthquake was over 200 miles away, and still caused some damage within 5 miles of me. The next day when the all clear was given, there were a lot of downed trees, but not a lot of damage to any buildings. They had finished most of the clean up in about 3 days; total clean up was about a week long. There was some rebuilding elsewhere, which was done in less than a month on most buildings, except those that were historic; they took their time to get the historic buildings right.
When I was stationed in Germany, the buildings there were built using a very strong, but light weight type of brick, that was very effective at blocking all radio waves frequencies. If you keep your shutters closed (which were made to be storm shutters, as well as blinds), you would have no cell phone service, or be able to pick up any radio signals; even your WiFi would not be accessible from outside. These buildings were built to withstand almost anything.
When I was stationed in Guam, I was in a local house, which was very solid concrete, about a foot thick all around the outside, and a flat concrete roof. The storms came there, and sent a lot of debris at the house, but there was no damage; the house also had storm shutters all around it to protect the windows.
Why can we not build stronger better homes over here. We could actually build them in part in the ground to give them more strength; and then increase the amount of concrete we use up top. The base would be a wood concrete composite, with the top being all formed concrete; and we do not have to build the corners; why not build them with curves, making it harder for hurricanes to find something to grab and destroy.
Japan….
Yeah , but they are not Godzilla proof .😂
@@ProfessorFickle
Thats why Japan developing Power Rangers and Gundam to fight Godzilla.
all fine, but you didn't have a 9.4 earthquake. You just didn't.
@@l.d.t.6327 ikr...
@@mail-qh2qc and a 9.0 quake is about 40 times less powerfull than a 9.4 quake. No comparison.
This goes to show how much better your home can be if you make sure it gets done right yourself. If any building company would’ve built that… It would’ve been one of the first to fly away.
Absolutely!
Lemme just whip up the extra 50% on cost to build it to this standard
@@t_c5266 How much extra is it costing all his neighbors to rebuild?
@@brianthompson9485 Looks like insurance deductibles are about 5% of the home's cost. So they're paying probably $10-15k for a rebuild versus the extra probably about $200,000+ he had to spend on his house
@@t_c5266
Dude, you aren’t telling me anything. 😂
I don’t even own a home. I was just saying.
Wow! Absolutely amazing. It just goes to show that homes need to be built for the area they are in.
I can never understand why they are not, it’s not like this doesn’t happen quite a bit.
Florida building code is all of Florida. ALL "new" homes in Florida, have to be built to this standard. New homes. Existing homes may not have been built to Florida standards, and that's why wind mitigation can be done on an existing homes and then those Simpson straps can be added to trusses to block. I am a Building Inspector in Florida.
@@johngallo7383 I hope that people think about that if they live in an older home. Retrofitting an existing home can sure make a difference. All my best wishes!
Sun, wind, rain, snow, blizzard, hurricane, flood, typhoon or earthquake.
Apparently it's cheaper to build a new house every few years than to build it properly. That's what I heard as a response why the heck people build shitty houses in hurricane areas.
Hurricane prone areas usually have strict measures, but we all know contractors aren't hiring people that comply to those measures if you catch my drift. They cut corners and people don't realize they're living in a house built incorrectly because they know where to cut to hide. I learned this the hard way trying to build an apartment behind my house from an old garage. They tried literally constantly to cut corners. Had to get multiple different contractors for different things...it was a nightmare. They didn't install hurricane straps!
All I can say is this...a society of complacency is killing us all.
Better hope the people that build your house chose right and did a lot of research, you know, like building developers definitely do. They totally don't pick the cheapest ones that are definitely not cheap for absolutely no sketchy reasons, I promise.
God speed, everyone.
All of his neighbor's houses are gone, now he has the whole beach to his self.
Brilliant man! Learned from and corrected unforeseen errors in construction when considering hurricane strength. Pure brilliance!!
As a licensed state of Florida building contractor, I have to say, that is impressive.
A licensed state of Florida building contractor who is impressed that a house was built to withstand a hurricane in an area likely to get hit by multiple hurricanes within the lifespan of a house has probably been doing his job wrong all his life.
@@moos5221 Actually, no! I have been inactive for some decades now but as any carpenter/contractor will tell you, once you really learn the art of construction, you never forget. Then there is the advancement in construction technique and materials that help a lot that are improving yearly which all in all adds up to your stupid insult being totally unfounded.
@@oscarwindham6016 lmao. you want to tell me that using any kinds of reinforcement to make a home more durable are new techniques and materials? you've got to be kidding me, in your time no one ever thought about making homes more durable to withstand the regularly occuring forces of nature?
@@moos5221 I'm in Canada where we've been TRYING to send you 2x6's and 2x8's for decades and I see this pile of sticks from tornado/hurricane damage and wonder WTF these southern states are THIMKING allowing ..........then I realize it's "freedom fry" logic and cost cutting, with almost zero oversight. Meanwhile, the "Softwood Lumber Agreement" is constantly GAMED by (usually Republican Senators) protecting mills running 100 year old equipment that CANADA sold them when we moved to lazer cutting, and advanced patents on efficient production. (Buddy has several of those patents and deals with mills all down the west coast, BC and Alberta, and Quebec).
@@oscarwindham6016 How did you reinforce your houses when you were in activity ?
I lived in Texas for a while, near Dallas (I’m from the UK). We rented a nice house on a lake shore development quite expensive by local standards. I was shocked by the low quality building. The roof seemed to have nothing but nails holding it together, I don’t recall seeing any Simpson clips. I couldn’t see much of the main framework but I can only imagine the standard was the same. I’m just glad we didn’t experience any high winds while we were there.
I want this guy to build MY house. Obviously smarter than 95% of professional builders out there.
As a builder I’ve been putting Hurricane clips, tiedown straps for 25 years it just makes common sense wish they would make it a code.
I was on Jacksonville Beach 4 years ago watching the construction of a new home very cool all the reinforcement they where doing. It's not a matter of if but of when.
My left ear really enjoyed the dialog from the studio
what a gorgeous house
I lived through two hurricanes while stationed at Grand Isle Louisiana on the Coast Guard SAR station. There were only two buildings left untouched, the Coast Guard and post office, both filled steel reinforced concrete blocks. On both occasions the 95' and 82' cutters put out to sea to ride the storm out and we just boarded up the windows. That was it.
I built my house on Puerto Rico 22 yrs ago. is all logs. I used more than 5000 screws and hundreds of metal hurricane clips like this guy did.
the house went thru hurricane Maria in 2017 and sustained wind of 200 mph. nothing happened to the house. the whole house kept standing like nothing was happening. for the windows I placed galvanized panels with screws. when I built the house ,before I place the interiol walls, I used metal cables and cross all the wood frame and hooked all the cables to the foundatio, I bolted all !, the work I did paid off after all!. but the house did not suffer anything at all not because my ingenuity but because the Almighty.
It is amazing how clean this house still is. No damage whatsoever. Absolute state of the art. Wanna know how many hits it can take
Well if Ian hit near here....a real news outfit might follow that up????
My house in Perrine which I had built but rebuilt after I moved in survived Hurricane Andrew. Every other house in my neighborhood was completely destroyed.
Smart Man! He learned from his mistakes and fine tuned it to perfection.
I agree don't underestimate a hurricane
I helped build that house / 2 apartment building...and it called 3m riot glass.. the house lifted up enough so a 3/4" pipe was wedge in between the pillars and the joists
When it happened, I heard the guy say he supervised installation of everything.
Similar to Sandy in NJ... the one house left standing was on pilings ,exterior walls were reinforced insulated poured concrete walls and the roof was standing seam metal roofing ,storm shutters, and no vinyl siding.
Construction companies should be fighting to hire this dude.👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Our home was 2 roads over, it survived also
What was the pilling length pls
@Johnny Rep Does not have notifications turned on maybe
Alot of people should take this gentleman's advice
Outstanding!
Wow. That's amazing. 🤗🙏🤗
Smart man. If you’re going to live on the beach you cannot skip these protective measures. Many of the rebuilds can learn from this.
what a legend
Man, that's impressive eye to detail and Contruction.
His house survived but who would want to live in a neighborhood whose surroundings are now devastated?
I can imagine that his neighbors treat this guy differently simply because his house survived while theirs were destroyed.
What neighbors? Only one other house survived.
@@ranlive1 True, It's not uncommon to experience survivor's guilt too...I wonder if he feels that today.
For the windows I would suggest guided window roll shutters such as in use in many German homes. (roulaten, rollaten). These come in various strength, but they are great. If properly mounted there is no way for wind to get in, and they do protect against impact damage much better then any window.
the pentagon has some thick ballistic windows. I call your statement into question.
it’s called rollladen.
They use those metal rolled down shutter on some store fronts in major cities and I saw them on houses in mexico.
They're called "Rollladen" (singular, plural: "Rollläden").
"Rouladen" are rolled up slices of meat.
Don't try to protect your windows with slices of meat, people.
We're in the process of building our own home. Some days are ROUGH. But on those days, I remind myself that although it would be easier to just find the money to hire someone else to do all this, the truth is that no one else is going to put in the time and energy and research to do everything they can to build this house the RIGHT way. A contractor never would have put this much work into this man's house. Thanks for another reminder that all our hard work will be worth it in the end.
When I was a remodeling contractor, my partner and I used to get homeowners involved as much as possible. We would often get them to do the 'extra work' you're talking about - not required by code, just a really good idea. Not only would it reinforce their home and save them money in labor costs, it would encourage them to do home improvement themselves. Contractors have timetables, homeowners don't.
The reason why going cheap ends up being expensive. A bigger investment helped them to made sure the house would endure
Three grand in hurricane clips and maybe twenty grand extra in overprovisioned windows probably saved him HUNDREDS of thousands in damage. That's incredible.
That was a pretty bloody good effort mate - outstanding job really!
Very impressive process.
As a carpenter, you can make homes literally hurricane proof! Build them round! Flat walls just catch more wind! Or dome homes! I guarantee they will survive!
In South Louisiana from our last hurricane , the damage that I had was from storm debris.
Shutters over the windows help. I also had extra tie downs and anchors. The winds were 140 mph sustained with higher gusts. My star plate system wood shed cemented in the ground lost some 40 years old panels. Others around in the neighborhood were not so lucky.
0:50 Moral story: if hurricane clips and nails cost $3000. How much do you think the house cost?
they said it cost 20% more than normal
....more than $3,000.
@Dee Santer 😂 Absolutely 👍
In another video that explain with details materials said cost 40% more than normal
Errr what? I can find Hurricane Clips in my city for barely $100, but then again, I'm in an area that doesn't suffer from hurricanes so that might be why (less of a demand for them, so they are cheaper, where as in hurricane prone area's they are in greater demand and thus cost more)
This seems like an ad for Simpson hurricane ties. They definitely proved their worth.
When I built my house in 2000 I put hurricane ties on all the rafters, used 3/4" sheathing on the roof instead of 1/2" for better lift resistance and insisted it be screwed instead of nailed or stapled, put in an enhanced 4x6" sill plate on the foundation and earthquake strapping on every wall corner tying the walls to the foundation. I added extra shear walls in the home, and 5/8ths fire stop drywall everywhere. The builder thought I was nuts adding all that extra costs, but I know it'll stand up to a quake or serious storm.
All new construction requires hurricane clips and very strict building codes in these areas. He did a great job with his house. Hurricanes are categorized by that max sustained wind but it's not just a steady wind. It produces micro twisters and gusts. I seen it before where one house in a street is fine but the next is gone. .
Has for years but not as many as he did not.
Except all were gone but his bruh
Because he went above and beyond the standard requirement and he didn’t use just standard hurricane straps. He told you in the video he spent $3000 on straps. No that’s not the standard joist hanging straps he spent three grand extra on hurricane straps.
@@williamrose7184 those houses did not get destroyed by wind. They got destroyed by storm surge. I'd be more interested in his first floor column structure than hurricane clips. Lol
"if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself."
builders are just looking for money and profits, home owners are looking for a forever home.
Reminds me of German houses built of stone, sturdy windows, window protection against hail and elements and so much more.
I can't even grasp why anyone would like to build cheap and lose everything in a hurricane
Here in Europe, it is a standard, in Germany as well as in France and I guess other european countries...
The company Simpson fasteners, where absolutely LOOOVING this.
Poured Concrete is way stronger and less expensive. Round shapes are better than square shapes. Flat slabs wash away. Everything above ground has to be fastened to inground bedrock with steel. Extra Strong Windows that are protected from breaking are often overlooked. Wet sheetrock will not hold nails so we must keep it dry.
Brick is actually stronger. I wish they used brick
In Australia all houses built in the Cyclone (hurricane) areas are all concrete and metal roofs, they look amazing and are safe from destruction.
We learnt from Cyclone Tracey in 1974. It levelled most of Darwin and killed 71 people. This is when the building codes became much stricter in regards to wind loads.
Not safe from destruction, but safer.
My left ear is loving this
This guy is very smart and gets my respect !!!
All this man did was use common sense and logic. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.
my left ear really loved hearing this story :)
Very impressive! I wonder how the hurricane clips work but I bet everyone there will want to use them now
Way to go... lessons learned. Not just for Florida, or newbuilds, but home improvements everywhere. So gutted for everyone else affected. Devastating.
Not having vinyl should be common sense!!! When your on the ocean front, or even within a block or 2 of it, and your area gets hit regularly by hurricanes you shouldn't have vinyl siding!
Those sheets rip off so easily in strong wind, and become f'n missiles in a hurricane!
Each sheet flying around could be the de*th of somebody.
I agree with other commenters....
The city should take his housing plans, and make his house the staple of what should be built. Obviously its the best, so that should be regulated code for building.
The supplies may make initial building a little more pricey, but in the end your saving wayyy more because your not having to fix or rebuild with each hurricane.
I have visited US America many times always amazed at the lack of build quality of the housing over there and every house seems to be beige inside.
We need to create higher standards so that houses can't be built that would get destroyed in the increasingly destructive weather that's coming.
That overview of the house and surrounding devastation is proof positive. As someone else said, this should be code to building in Florida.
The home was also right on the beach, so most of the potential projectiles were behind the house. Many homes are destroyed by pieces of neighboring homes being blown into and through its walls, etc.
Good point
With every house built like this, there would not be a projectile. And thinking about hurricanes being cylindrical, so storms with winds in every direction, your conclusion doesnt make sense.
@@alterego157 not really
@@kkon5ti You have obviously never been in or near a hurricane. The wind does not blow in every direction. I have seen heavy beams picked up and blown through neighboring homes and nothing happening upwind after the eye passes. You are probably imagining some of the tornadoes that sometimes happen within a hurricane. Hurricanes are large storms and may pass by with the prevailing wind coming toward you from just one side, with no eye for you to experience. Much of the damage that happens within a hurricane occurs when things like roof tiles are turned into projectiles. Best for you to keep your mouth shut when you do not know what you are talking about.