# Tool Talk >  Strapping down your roof for a hurricane - photo

## Jon

Strapping down your roof for a hurricane. Is this a thing? Do people do this? We don't really have hurricanes where I live.

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carloski (Jun 7, 2021),

durrelltn (Feb 19, 2022),

EnginePaul (Sep 14, 2018),

Frank S (Sep 14, 2018),

PJs (Sep 15, 2018),

ranald (Sep 15, 2018),

rossbotics (Sep 17, 2018),

Scotsman Hosie (Mar 13, 2019),

Seedtick (Sep 14, 2018),

Toolmaker51 (Sep 14, 2018)

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## Toolmaker51

Those are the 4" straps used on full size semi-trailers. I'd wager 24 of them, minimum. At $11.00 USD~ = $260+. Not including at least 8 ratchets. $30.00+

My solution, more entertaining. Way less expensive too.

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PJs (Sep 15, 2018)

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## Frank S

TM 51 if that were the case we should name all future Hurricanes after her
Jon in answer to your question yes people who live in Hurricane zones will try most anything to try and protect their property. The problem most don't realize is if they try to strap their roofs down such as that person has done. if it is a composition roof the straps can only protect right where they are holding things down But I think most are concerned that the wind will get under the overhang of the roof and rip decking and all off the shingles can be easily replaced but if the decking goes then the whole house will be a write off. Note they also have what looks like 2x4's along the edge.
If they would replace their soffit and fascia with a 1 piece formed aluminum or steel trim that extends over the decking 18" then replace their composition roof with formed steel standing seam roofing, with triple the amount of the proper securement fastenings the only thing they would have to worry about then wold be to shutter their windows and glass doors Plus they would be adding a significant fire protection
But one other thing is so many who live in Hurricane prone areas also live down low. their houses are right on the ground in low elevations where storm surges or even a slightly heavy rain fall will flood them. That's just crazy to me. The only way I wold ever be caught living near the ocean would be in a house made of concrete and the ground floor would not be any part of the actual living quarters

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Toolmaker51 (Sep 15, 2018)

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## Tuomas

Kinda fits the theme.

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PJs (Sep 15, 2018),

ranald (Sep 15, 2018),

Scotsman Hosie (Mar 13, 2019),

thevillageinn (Sep 17, 2018),

Toolmaker51 (Sep 15, 2018)

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## PJs

My guess is this wouldn't work and a band-aid at best and at worst could cause more issues. 

Those stakes in the ground would need to be in at an angle perpendicular to the roof pitch and my guess is at least 2' long and in good Earth...the water will soften it from surge or the shear amount of water dropped at Velocity. As for the roof straps the straps themselves might hold up providing the Harmonics generated from the horrific wind and rain torrents of the unsullied portions of the straps turning out frequencies that crumble the house and loosening the soil the stakes are in even more. Might be interesting music though.  :Stick Out Tongue:  

Then there is the truss spacing to the straps...doesn't look good to me and like Frank says if the sheeting comes loose its over. Not only that but loading on specific trusses from the straps would probably create buckles in other portions of the sheeting and roof tiles and may effect too much point specific loading on the substructure. As long as the hurricane isn't a direct strike of any thing over a tropical storm...Maybe...but I'd be looking for cracks in the walls at a minimum after...on a stucco house to boot.

One other thought is the Power Pole and Xformer in the back; depending on the origin of the hurricane, a clockwise rotation may just throw that Xformer directly into the house and a 200lb Xformer at say ~40-60mph...stucco, framing, wood roof...none would likely weather that storm, well. I've seen the wake of Tornado's in person after it bounced over our trailer park and was chased by a cyclone leaving Alabama...Best you can do imho, is pucker up and get low or not be there in the first place (says someone living in earthquake country). Mother nature in full force makes a Rorschach symbol out of most places we build.

PJ

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Toolmaker51 (Sep 15, 2018)

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## moperformance

> Strapping down your roof for a hurricane. Is this a thing? Do people do this? We don't really have hurricanes where I live.



Yes! Necessity is the mother of invention. Better to be safe than sorry,etc.
Born and raised in Daytona Beach,Fl. So Yes. Whatever it takes  :Hat Tip:

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## ranald

I'm unable to comment on hurricanes but similar to Cyclones in southern hemisphere. Cyclones mostly give most damage to houses by the lifting motion or sucking up so homes built in Queensland since the eighties have had some cyclone rating structural work engineered according to the risk of exposure. The nearer the coast generally means a higher rating like many above 51 metres per second wind whereas further inland may only have a cyclone rating of 40 metres per second or less. As the rating goes higher, so does the size of the cyclone rods (long threaded rod that connects the footings to the roof structure) and other tie downs. Internal walls that brace against the possible wind direction also have rods or if in a lower cat rating may only have starter bars (or bolts). Its all about keeping the whole house tied together & secured to the earth. The size of roof battens increase, length of roofing screws, closeness of trusses etc. An "inspector" checking the house I was owner building in the late eighties exclaimed "you don't need to do that" refering to the sleel rods I was tieing from the footings to the reinforcing mesh of the slab. My response was "I know: but this is my own house". He nodded and walked off. The few dollars & time spent on unseen structural improvements were a "peace of mind" for me.

I have seen homes that have lost or broken a tile or two & emergency workers have done more damage climbing all over the roof to place a temperory tarp over the roof with similar tie downs or even much lighter ones.

During the 60's I was holidaying with my parents in northern Qld when a cyclone hit the coastal areas causing flooding hundreds of miles inland. It was like we were travelling in the eye and totalling missing all the carnage as we travelled north & then back south towards home. cars were thrown and washed off the highway, big gumtrees down everywhere,roads flooded, roofs blown away etc. What was particularly interesting was at Cannonvale (near Earlie Beach, Whitsundays ((Barrier Reaf delight)) the houses at low flats near the sea were mostly all destroyed whereas the really expensive (to construct) ones on top of the ridge (couple of hundred metres higher) immediately behind those destroyed were completely ok. The theory is that the wind up high hit the ridge and eddied down the almost vertical slope to doubly impact on the flats below. I would have thought, until I witnessed that, that the more exposed ones on top would have suffered more but "there you go".

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PJs (Sep 16, 2018)

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## IAMSatisfied

The edges of a roof are the most vulnerable part when it comes to wind damage. What they're doing with the straps is simply keeping the drip-edge of the roof from getting peeled up and tearing the whole layer off shingles with it. The straps are holding 2x4s or 2x6s on the drip-edges to help prevent wind from getting underneath. This is also helping strengthen the eaves against wind-lift. These measures are a physical form of insurance and not a guarantee against damage. Every little bit helps... better safe than sorry.

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## suther51

While I do not live in a hurricane area i have heard of doing this with mobile homes. Localy I have seen a mobile home torn to shreds by straight line winds. Owners belongings spread across a hay field, makes one pause.
Eric

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## Frank S

A long time ago I used to live in a mobile home park everyone there had dozens of old tires littered about on their roofs.

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## ranald

I ran out of screws when replacing the lead head nails and the washered ones for corrugated iron in the roof of a "flat" at my dad's house, so I placed lots of concrete blocks in the areas with nails until the big storm had passed & some others as well. Jost forgot to get more screws the correct length ( had heaps of 2 " & 4" but no 3").

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## mbshop

As a kid living on a Pacific island, other houses plus ours had steel cables and other stuff holding the roofs down. I was a kid so don't remember the particulars but the cables were tied to eye bolts that were set in deep concrete. That house survived numerous typhoons with no real issues with the roof. And yes, the roof was sheetmetal.

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## Frank S

Recently I switched home owners ins co. so the new carrier sent an inspector out. The first thing she asked was why I had a steel roof.
It was on the house when we moved in I said.
Then she said the roof looks like it has been there for a long time are you planning on replacing it with composition?
Are you out of your ever loving mind I asked? then followed up with the roof that is on this house has withstood registered 95 MPH straight line winds. and didn't loose a single screw. What kind of idiot would want to downgrade to composition shingles that would need repairing every year due to hail or wind .
She just said OH. Then said I just transferred into this region and had never seen steel roofs before. Most people where i was from preferred ceder shingles or composition roofs.
yeah and your company has to pay out a lot of unnecessary claims for those which probably makes my rates higher even though I'll probably never have a claim unless some visitor stubs their toe in the sand and gets their shoes dirty.

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Toolmaker51 (Sep 18, 2018)

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## ranald

Frank the $ rules everything & the world is going mad. I'd have a colorbond steel roof anyday before, concrete or clay/terracotta tiles, shingles etc. About every 5 or 10 years it is just a matter of checking screws are tight due mainly from batten contraction & expansion. Insurance co.s here just keep raising premiums to cover any claims. We have a cottage at a beach (never been flooded) but within the same postcode (20 kilometres away) is a large country town that has been flooded, in parts, and the premiums go up every time there is a flood. Our premiums tripled in 3 years. Sadly the flooded ones aren't allowed to or offered to insure, so the insurance companies get it both ways. Then, for eligible claims, some companies say, "it wasn't a flood, it was rising water", or"surge" or "freak of nature" or "it was storm & tempest" or such like to avoid paying folk who have lost everything.

Some people have no idea bucause of where they used to live or their home/habitat. We see in Queensland, some homes built without soffits which is lunacy here due to our hot sun & wild storms. The soffits provide a degree of protection. Obviously designed by someone from Victoria or elsewhere. Thing is now they are experiencing extreme heat also, so haven't learnt.

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Toolmaker51 (Sep 18, 2018)

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## Jon

Your browser does not support the video tag.

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## Frank S

Now that's funny. There is not a lot that a single strap is going to be able to do A large aircraft cargo net with multiple anchor points maybe

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## IAMSatisfied

When you consider that strap is over a porch that extends the entire length of the front of the house, it looks like they're concerned about the winds lifting the porch... in which case, ANY additional anchorage helps. Sure, multiple anchor points would be better, but if this is the best they could do on short notice, why not do it? I'd rather have the strap installed and not need it, than need it and not have it. The strongest points of he strap are going to be at the corners, which are the weakest points (lift wise) of the porch.

As for the right end of the strap, it appears to be connected to the bumper of the dark blue PU with the white stripe... if you look at the 005:00 mark in the video and follow the trajectory of the strap, it goes to the bumper and not the fence... the additional strapping going to the fence is likely to prevent the pickup from getting dragged toward the house & loosening the strap. Not ideal, but I can't fault the guy for wanting to protect his home. It'd be interesting to see how his place fares compared to his neighbor's places, especially homes with similar front porches.

And don't forget, Noah's neighbors laughed at him for building the ark.  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## Crusty

I had a home which collected water in my back porch during monsoon downpours and when I saw that we had a big one coming I quickly stretched some plastic sheet in that area against the house and threw shovels of dirt on it to keep it in place. It looked like hell and dubious, we did get some water inside but a manageable amount. My neighbor who had the same problem didn't think it was worth doing and he had a creek running through his house (he came to me in a panic during the storm and asked what he could do and I told him to open the front door where the water had a place to go out) and two weeks later he was still dealing with the aftermath of a flood inside his home but I was done in a few hours.

Sometimes even small efforts to mitigate damage can be worth it.

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baja (Sep 1, 2020),

IAMSatisfied (Aug 31, 2020),

Toolmaker51 (Aug 31, 2020)

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## mbshop

I grew up or lived on islands in the pacific particularly one. Considering that islanders lived in homes that were built of natural resources, it was bad but not that bad, just throw back up coconut tree leaves for roofs and sides. Also many buildings were built of concrete. The Japanese long ago built concrete buildings with concrete roofs with coverings for the windows that could be lowered when needed. Our home there was a concrete building with what looked like a standard angled sheetmetal roof. We had steel cables that went over the roof. There were wood runners running across the roof under the cables. The cables were slacked when there were no storms and then tightened when a typhoon was headed our way. Never had any issues when hit. Islanders knew where to hide through their history so that's how they protected themselves. As they modernized and built western style buildings, there of course was more damage from storms. So yea, not sure about straps but I can tell you cables work. And yes, those cables were anchored to steel eye hooks that were set deeply in concrete. Nothing was moving those ! And yes, many places now require securing roofs to the buildings.

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## Nick79

If it saves his porch from getting ripped off the house - who am I to laugh at this. Not sure the actual Physics works out but I have seen worse ideas.

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## Frank S

One of the reasons why I don't live near the coast. but since I live in an area that had a tornado 100 years ago rip through the town that no longer exists I have house insurance and my metal roof is secured with long screws deep into the rafters not just the dinky things they used to screw to the decking. If my rrof goes in one of our freakish 80 to 90 mph wind storms I'd rather it take the whole house than just the roof

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