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.
@@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....
@@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
Ian was the first hurricane in Florida. I learned a lot from that experience. I'm continually finding new ways to make my home more "hurricane proof". I designed removable flood dams at every entryway for rising water and have a submersible dirty water pump and solar powered generator to operate it. This man just gave me a few more ideas. ❤ RUclips can be a valuable resource.
The thing is preventing water from coming in. Flooding can quickly escalate damage and repair costs, damage to eletronics, mobilia, etc, is instantaneous. Wood will rot if exposed to water for a while, but if the flood ends quickly and is left to dry properly, in most cases no permanent damage happens.
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.
@@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.
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
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.
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"
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.
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.
@@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.
Yeah I call BS on that story. Mainly because I have a very keen understanding how grid tied solar arrays work. Any large scale deployment is directly tied to the grid and the inverters are dependent on the grid being live. You are prohibited by code to backfeed into the grid unless you fully control that grid. In any residential area that is simply not possible as the grid is owned by the electricity company. You would also need a different (more expensive) kind of inverter and battery storage. The only time you have full control over the grid is on your own property. You would also need to have anti-islanding protection in place to prevent backfeeding into the grid. Some places even require a double protection mechanism for redundancy purposes. You NEVER want to backfeed into the grid, because that imposes a danger to the lineworkers trying to fix your powersupply. When they isolate a line and you backfeed into that line you could potentially kill them. Second, is the grid comes back online again, your equipment will be fed mains and when that is out of sync, it will completely destroy your equipmentm including fire risks. Anyway, the grid had to be live and as @darwinjina said, the lines were buried preventing the grid from being destroyed in the first place. And they were probably out of the primary destruction zone in the first place.
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.
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.
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
@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."
@@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
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.
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.
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.
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!
@@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.
There's really no guarantee. You could dump another 3 million dollars into that home and if the next hurricane throws a sailboat into his porch the house is gone.
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.
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...🤔
It's funny, I once talked to a guy at Simpson and told him that they should build a home(s) in known hurricane areas to test and promote their hurricane straps. He laughed at my idea.
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.
@@Chris-mo9gt Yeah, because America has a trend of fixing levelled neighbourhoods after horrendous storms doesn’t it? They did well after Hurricane Katrina….
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...$$$$$ for basic auto insurance...$165 for bare-bone State Farm auto insurance...Florida requires all drivers to have extra hospitalization insurance...$$$$
...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.
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.
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
@@timevans8223 Because fast moving water in a hurricane is far more powerful than wind, it doesn't take much fast moving water to completely destroy a house, it takes around 165-200mph to completely level a house. Also in most hurricanes, the majority of people usually die from storm surge, or the rain, not the wind.
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....
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.
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.
@@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
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!
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
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.
I still don't understand why houses don't have shutters in the US. Here in the EU every house does. The houses are also built to a different standard, using bricks, which I would assume does a better job at combating wind. And we don't even get hurricanes.
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!
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.
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).
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 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.
it is crazy that these building standards are NOT mandated! If you live in a hurricane prone area or a flood zone, you should be required to have all buildings built to withstand those *regular* natural disasters!
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.
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.
I drove that area just after Michael, and again earlier this year. It's been completely rebuilt, bigger and better than ever. We have the technology and design and the protocols to build homes that will survive almost any storm. Why some people ignore them, or cut corners is utterly baffling.
Talk to the developers/construction companies. They're the ones responsible for the "finished product." Unless, as the buiyer, you're on site every single day, they'll cut corners to boost their profit.
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
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.
@@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
There is still one mistake that he will pay for if he does not do it. He needs to put storm shutters on the windows that can be lowered before a storm comes. These are metal shuttles which can roll up and be pulled down and locked over the window. My parents did this in Naples, FL and did everything else this person did to ensure they can ride out any hurricane. After two have hit Naples in the last four years and no damage to anything, they have figured out how to beat the storm. He will still suffer damage as windows get hit by flying debris in a hurricane and he has done nothing to protect himself from it.
In france and almost everywhere in Europe houses have sturdy shutters - to keep out the sun which otherwise makes the home unlivable. In the USA you use air-con and prayer. It is dispairing how shoddy are these piles of sticks put together, then their owners weep and blame the storm and hurricane........
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.
Not sure if anyone watched Mythbusters, but I think they did one whet a jet engine acting as a tornado, and yea. As soon as the windows or doors go, the pressure drops and the roof is gone.
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)
It's always bizzare to me that Americans spend hundreds of thousands for essentially wooden houses. Especially since they got hurricanes In Europe it's all solid bricks and concrete
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. .
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
Houses on hurricane prone areas should be mandatory forced to be dome and cone shaped and built out inflatable concrete structures. The surface of a cone and dome shape make it slick and doesn't allow wind to catch the building. Insurance should be denied unless they build these shapes of homes.
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.
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.
You can Make a house out of steel reinforced concrete and not use an ugly concrete slab roof top on it. Spanish Tiles or any kind of cement or Clay tiles are very heavy and will not move even in 150 MPH wind. I worked on a HOA neighborhood that was hit by the Eye of a CAT4. All the houses where identical three bedroom with heavy red tiles on the roof. None of the houses had roof damage or leaks. The nice part was that they used a lot of 2x4 and Sheet rock in the inside of the house for dividing up the structure into multiple rooms. This meant adding new electrical wiring, Plumbing or remodeling the interior was easily and cheaply done. Best of both worlds IMHO.
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.]
That's kinda impressive compared to the other houses, still it would never pass the building standards here in Italy. I mean I don't understand how people can create a wall out a wooden frame and some drywall, it's pretty much deemed to fall.
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.
"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.
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.
I don’t understand wooden houses with vinyl windows ect in Australia we have cyclones which is the same as a hurricane and we build with brick mostly in cyclone zones our windows are covered with special screens that are meant to withstand the worst cyclones
(excuse the translation) I live in europe and the (wooden) houses in america are for us (me) no better than our garden sheds, to your credit some have a basement suitable for use as an air raid shelter but the rest do is not usable. But your "houses" cost only a fraction of ours.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
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.
Two MAIN things to help your home the MOST is 1: Hurricane Windows/Doors "including Garage doors" & WITH added Shutters if possible. 2: Simpson straps on all trusses to block & block to slab. There are other smaller things you can do, but these are the 2 MAIN things for a hurricane. I have inspected 1000's of new homes "in Florida" that are built to Hurricane standards and it does not matter if your on the coast or 1 hour inland. yes the coast is a bit more tight and that's because the exposure they are in "Within 600 feet of the ocean" These 2 things can be done even on a older home that was built "prior" to when the codes were enforced "after Andrew"
Great, good job. My home in the Philippines just went through the typhoon without one typhoon clip. But my house is all concrete. Even the roof. We boarded up the big windows. That said, three months without power after.
I’m surprised I didn’t see hurricane shutters on the house. The big roll down ones. There has been no “next one” in homestead, FL, that was wiped off the map by Andrew, so let’s hope Ft Myers is the same. And all FL building codes need to be improved to save property. So glad he still has his house! If hurricane Ian had hit my area as predicted, my old house could be gone.
I'm building a home in NE Florida right now and I told my contractor just a few days ago I wanted storm shutters on it. Ian definitely made me think about a few things to mitigate damage. I may go with a concrete tile roof as well. The building codes were strengthened after Andrew - concrete block construction and roof tie downs. There's just more than can be done.
I live in Florida and work for lumber yard. I deliver material. Some of the material I deliver is actually Simpson Hurricane Hardware and I’ve seen contractors use Hardie for outside siding and trim. Even tho little expensive is all worth it.
He must be a rich contractor himself to own and build a beautiful home. Greetings from an interior designer in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We don't have hurricane 🌀 but we have floods.
Here's Hoping that no matter how much you do to prepare your home for the next , "Big One," Always evacuate when the storm's path is eminently headed your way! No home or building is "Hurricane Proof" but at best it's "Storm Resistant"!! I have seen 12" metal I - beams of 3/8" thick twisted like a pretzel and an old 135 year old house nearby only blown off it's foundation. When the time comes, " Be Safe; Evacuate"!
@@TexasOffroadAdventures this is sadly true. Up until "Camille" in 1969, you could "almost trust the weather services but when it was headed towards the Gulf Coast there were a group of people in Biloxi, Ms. who insisted on staying in the upper floors of a coastal high rise hotel and had a " Hurricane Party"! They were never found! Huge ships where tossed inland miles from shore. In the aftermath and cleanup I saw damage at a truly phenomenal scale you would think it was a sci-fi or fairy tale. Anyway, weather forecasts are better now but when it comes to weather forecasters, they are addicted to the limelight and want to be important and they sensationalize everything.
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
Ian was the first hurricane in Florida. I learned a lot from that experience. I'm continually finding new ways to make my home more "hurricane proof". I designed removable flood dams at every entryway for rising water and have a submersible dirty water pump and solar powered generator to operate it. This man just gave me a few more ideas. ❤ RUclips can be a valuable resource.
I have seen houses with those removable panels in front of doors, but what does it help if the wall beside it is built out of materials that rot away?
The thing is preventing water from coming in. Flooding can quickly escalate damage and repair costs, damage to eletronics, mobilia, etc, is instantaneous. Wood will rot if exposed to water for a while, but if the flood ends quickly and is left to dry properly, in most cases no permanent damage happens.
Come on, just use bricks instead of pine.
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"
@@TheOmegakix Me, Indian watching this, "do they even know what a wall is?"
OR for that matter, what a brick is?
@@SnuggggCapitalists build junk. That’s why Florida is doomed.
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.
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
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)
@@leflob938the community is called Babcock Ranch. I don't have a link but I'm sure you can find it with that info.
Yeah I call BS on that story. Mainly because I have a very keen understanding how grid tied solar arrays work.
Any large scale deployment is directly tied to the grid and the inverters are dependent on the grid being live. You are prohibited by code to backfeed into the grid unless you fully control that grid. In any residential area that is simply not possible as the grid is owned by the electricity company. You would also need a different (more expensive) kind of inverter and battery storage. The only time you have full control over the grid is on your own property. You would also need to have anti-islanding protection in place to prevent backfeeding into the grid. Some places even require a double protection mechanism for redundancy purposes.
You NEVER want to backfeed into the grid, because that imposes a danger to the lineworkers trying to fix your powersupply. When they isolate a line and you backfeed into that line you could potentially kill them. Second, is the grid comes back online again, your equipment will be fed mains and when that is out of sync, it will completely destroy your equipmentm including fire risks.
Anyway, the grid had to be live and as @darwinjina said, the lines were buried preventing the grid from being destroyed in the first place. And they were probably out of the primary destruction zone in the first place.
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.
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
I love to see people go above and beyond with building and renovations, building code is only a minimum. Well done!
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.
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.
There's really no guarantee. You could dump another 3 million dollars into that home and if the next hurricane throws a sailboat into his porch the house is gone.
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.
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.
It's funny, I once talked to a guy at Simpson and told him that they should build a home(s) in known hurricane areas to test and promote their hurricane straps. He laughed at my idea.
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….
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...$$$$$ for basic auto insurance...$165 for bare-bone State Farm auto insurance...Florida requires all drivers to have extra hospitalization insurance...$$$$
...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.
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
For most hurricanes its the storm surge that destroys the homes, not the winds. A 10 feet wall of water will do far more damage than 100-150mph gusts.
@gamingwitharlen2267 try telling that the the victims of Beryl in Carriacou
@@timevans8223 Hence the word "most." Katrina, Ike, Lauras biggest threat was the surge for example
@gamingwitharlen2267 because wooden houses float away?
@@timevans8223 Because fast moving water in a hurricane is far more powerful than wind, it doesn't take much fast moving water to completely destroy a house, it takes around 165-200mph to completely level a house. Also in most hurricanes, the majority of people usually die from storm surge, or the rain, not the wind.
Not to mention the fact the house was on stilts. Reduced the flooding risk.
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
My left ear really enjoyed the dialog from the studio
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! 😂😂😂
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.
More builders and architects are now designing/building to passive house standards. Look up Leanhaus for example.
All of his neighbor's houses are gone, now he has the whole beach to his self.
This is a life lesson too! Build your life on the strong foundation, and it’ll weather the storm.
Amen to that 🙏
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.
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!
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?
Brilliant man! Learned from and corrected unforeseen errors in construction when considering hurricane strength. Pure brilliance!!
Reminder to tape your windows so that they don't shatter into tiny pieces when hit
Keep some Plywood to cover your windows 🪟 during hurricane 🌀
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
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.
@@hackbrettschorsch6855 Don't solid reinforced concrete and masonry bricks exist in the US?
I still don't understand why houses don't have shutters in the US. Here in the EU every house does. The houses are also built to a different standard, using bricks, which I would assume does a better job at combating wind. And we don't even get hurricanes.
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.
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 ?
An unusual thing to see, a person with foresight. Well done sir!
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 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.
what a gorgeous house
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
Our home was 2 roads over, it survived also
What was the pilling length pls
@Johnny Rep Does not have notifications turned on maybe
it is crazy that these building standards are NOT mandated! If you live in a hurricane prone area or a flood zone, you should be required to have all buildings built to withstand those *regular* natural disasters!
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.
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 drove that area just after Michael, and again earlier this year. It's been completely rebuilt, bigger and better than ever.
We have the technology and design and the protocols to build homes that will survive almost any storm. Why some people ignore them, or cut corners is utterly baffling.
Talk to the developers/construction companies. They're the ones responsible for the "finished product." Unless, as the buiyer, you're on site every single day, they'll cut corners to boost their profit.
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.
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.
There is still one mistake that he will pay for if he does not do it. He needs to put storm shutters on the windows that can be lowered before a storm comes. These are metal shuttles which can roll up and be pulled down and locked over the window. My parents did this in Naples, FL and did everything else this person did to ensure they can ride out any hurricane. After two have hit Naples in the last four years and no damage to anything, they have figured out how to beat the storm. He will still suffer damage as windows get hit by flying debris in a hurricane and he has done nothing to protect himself from it.
what a legend
Smart Man! He learned from his mistakes and fine tuned it to perfection.
I agree don't underestimate a hurricane
But didn't use solid concrete and bricks.
Look into installing roll down aluminum window shutters
In france and almost everywhere in Europe houses have sturdy shutters - to keep out the sun which otherwise makes the home unlivable. In the USA you use air-con and prayer. It is dispairing how shoddy are these piles of sticks put together, then their owners weep and blame the storm and hurricane........
Alot of people should take this gentleman's advice
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.
Jesus Almighty loves you! But maybe you should choose concrete and bricks to rebuild your house.
Not sure if anyone watched Mythbusters, but I think they did one whet a jet engine acting as a tornado, and yea. As soon as the windows or doors go, the pressure drops and the roof is gone.
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.
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)
It's always bizzare to me that Americans spend hundreds of thousands for essentially wooden houses. Especially since they got hurricanes
In Europe it's all solid bricks and concrete
All this man did was use common sense and logic. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.
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
Houses on hurricane prone areas should be mandatory forced to be dome and cone shaped and built out inflatable concrete structures.
The surface of a cone and dome shape make it slick and doesn't allow wind to catch the building.
Insurance should be denied unless they build these shapes of homes.
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.
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.
You can Make a house out of steel reinforced concrete and not use an ugly concrete slab roof top on it.
Spanish Tiles or any kind of cement or Clay tiles are very heavy and will not move even in 150 MPH wind. I worked on a HOA neighborhood that was hit by the Eye of a CAT4.
All the houses where identical three bedroom with heavy red tiles on the roof. None of the houses had roof damage or leaks. The nice part was that they used a lot of 2x4 and Sheet rock in the inside of the house for dividing up the structure into multiple rooms. This meant adding new electrical wiring, Plumbing or remodeling the interior was easily and cheaply done.
Best of both worlds IMHO.
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.
That's kinda impressive compared to the other houses, still it would never pass the building standards here in Italy.
I mean I don't understand how people can create a wall out a wooden frame and some drywall, it's pretty much deemed to fall.
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.
"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.
As a German I still do not understand why America does not use bricks for building walls. Why use cheap material such as plywood and not bricks?
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
That area got hit again in 2024. How did it fair in round 2?
I don’t understand wooden houses with vinyl windows ect in Australia we have cyclones which is the same as a hurricane and we build with brick mostly in cyclone zones our windows are covered with special screens that are meant to withstand the worst cyclones
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
this man is a genius. using practical advice and listening to others, this man did what everyone should have done. congrats!
(excuse the translation)
I live in europe and the (wooden) houses
in america are for us (me) no better than our garden sheds,
to your credit some have a basement suitable for use as
an air raid shelter but the rest do is not usable.
But your "houses" cost only a fraction of ours.
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.
South Louisiana? I think you should use concrete and bricks. Both are hurricane resistant.
Man! Learn to build concrete houses.
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.
I can't believe shutters weren't discussed. Seems to me if windows are the biggest vulnerability you might address that as well.
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.
That overview of the house and surrounding devastation is proof positive. As someone else said, this should be code to building in Florida.
The reason why going cheap ends up being expensive. A bigger investment helped them to made sure the house would endure
I would like to see his security camera footage of the hurricane
Two MAIN things to help your home the MOST is 1: Hurricane Windows/Doors "including Garage doors" & WITH added Shutters if possible. 2: Simpson straps on all trusses to block & block to slab. There are other smaller things you can do, but these are the 2 MAIN things for a hurricane. I have inspected 1000's of new homes "in Florida" that are built to Hurricane standards and it does not matter if your on the coast or 1 hour inland. yes the coast is a bit more tight and that's because the exposure they are in "Within 600 feet of the ocean" These 2 things can be done even on a older home that was built "prior" to when the codes were enforced "after Andrew"
The main thing that will help you survive a hurricane is not living somewhere where hurricanes happen...
@@thundercptts1452 Minnesota here I come lol!
Don’t understand why more concrete isn’t used. A concrete box or circular structure has to be nearly impenetrable.
Way to go... lessons learned. Not just for Florida, or newbuilds, but home improvements everywhere. So gutted for everyone else affected. Devastating.
please use concrete to build houses with hard-earned money. It's a humble advice.
Excellent work!!!! Great advertisement for "Simpson Hurricane Clips"!!!!
Great, good job.
My home in the Philippines just went through the typhoon without one typhoon clip. But my house is all concrete. Even the roof.
We boarded up the big windows.
That said, three months without power after.
Greetings Kababayan
That's great news! Congrats. I hope your neighbors follow your example
I’m surprised I didn’t see hurricane shutters on the house. The big roll down ones. There has been no “next one” in homestead, FL, that was wiped off the map by Andrew, so let’s hope Ft Myers is the same. And all FL building codes need to be improved to save property. So glad he still has his house! If hurricane Ian had hit my area as predicted, my old house could be gone.
I'm building a home in NE Florida right now and I told my contractor just a few days ago I wanted storm shutters on it. Ian definitely made me think about a few things to mitigate damage. I may go with a concrete tile roof as well. The building codes were strengthened after Andrew - concrete block construction and roof tie downs. There's just more than can be done.
the craziest part about all this is that the audio is only in my left ear
I live in Florida and work for lumber yard. I deliver material. Some of the material I deliver is actually Simpson Hurricane Hardware and I’ve seen contractors use Hardie for outside siding and trim. Even tho little expensive is all worth it.
Why don't you guys build houses from concrete, bricks and cement?
He must be a rich contractor himself to own and build a beautiful home. Greetings from an interior designer in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We don't have hurricane 🌀 but we have floods.
A smart engineer
Insurance Company: "So, you lost a ceiling fan? We can no longer cover you."
Here's Hoping that no matter how much you do to prepare your home for the next , "Big One," Always evacuate when the storm's path is eminently headed your way! No home or building is "Hurricane Proof" but at best it's "Storm Resistant"!! I have seen 12" metal I - beams of 3/8" thick twisted like a pretzel and an old 135 year old house nearby only blown off it's foundation. When the time comes, " Be Safe; Evacuate"!
you cant tell if its a big one because the media cries wolf anytime it starts to sprinkle in Florida or Louisiana.
@@TexasOffroadAdventures this is sadly true. Up until "Camille" in 1969, you could "almost trust the weather services but when it was headed towards the Gulf Coast there were a group of people in Biloxi, Ms. who insisted on staying in the upper floors of a coastal high rise hotel and had a " Hurricane Party"! They were never found! Huge ships where tossed inland miles from shore. In the aftermath and cleanup I saw damage at a truly phenomenal scale you would think it was a sci-fi or fairy tale. Anyway, weather forecasts are better now but when it comes to weather forecasters, they are addicted to the limelight and want to be important and they sensationalize everything.
In Australia there are strict building codes for Such areas so you don’t have to work it out later or damage others properties with your loose stuff.
Yeah, but people in Australia are born with brains, so you can't really compare that.
I'm curious how the house did in the past 2 years with the big hurricanes that have come through.
shutters needed