If you are in south Florida get the f@ck out now.

MMJ Dreaming 99

Well-Known Member
Custom hurricane proof homes are extremely expensive and as such are unaffordable by the vast majority of people who want to live or vacation by the sea.

Of course, insuring stick built homes at laughably low rates is also shockingly expensive, but since the cost gets spread out no one notices.

So goes what currently passes for logic in America, anyway.
There are examples of costal stick houses surviving bad storms including hurricanes with Hardie board siding which is a cement board siding.
 

MMJ Dreaming 99

Well-Known Member
Built properly, a stick built home can withstand major hurricane force winds- but the real adversary isn't the blow, it's the storm surge and flooding that comes with it.
Some old houses in south Florida including Key West were built with Dade County pine. This article talks about trying to hit it with a sledgehammer or reciprocating saw. This aged wood is so strong that it is almost impossible to put a nail in it. Old houses built with this pine in S FL have been through dozens of hurricanes.

http://keywestproperties.blogspot.com/2007/12/this-old-house.html
The exact species is essentially extinct. Someone could possibly make a fortune cloning the species. It is insanely strong.
http://pinetreebuilders.com/lumber.htm

Much of Denver was built in the old days from Ponderosa pine from near where your friend Charlie the cat works.

Supposedly, Ponderosa is a softwood but when it dries out, I have hit it with an ax, it is pretty damn strong. Hickory is supposedly one of the hardest but I bet dade county pine is much stronger.

http://workshopcompanion.com/KnowHow/Design/Nature_of_Wood/3_Wood_Strength/3_Wood_Strength.htm
 

jonsnow399

Well-Known Member
Custom hurricane proof homes are extremely expensive and as such are unaffordable by the vast majority of people who want to live or vacation by the sea.

Of course, insuring stick built homes at laughably low rates is also shockingly expensive, but since the cost gets spread out no one notices.

So goes what currently passes for logic in America, anyway.
Custom built hurricane houses are expensive? I wasn't proposing them as a remedy for the masses.
 

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Custom built hurricane houses are expensive? I wasn't proposing them as a remedy for the masses.
Yet the need is vast, due to sea level rise and increasing population.

I used to live within walking distance of the State Farm Insurance Co Hurricane House. Enclosed eaves, rounded drops, smaller windows, strengthened exterior walls, solid doors and a raised foundation all contributed to a house that would handle high winds, debris and some flooding without costing much more than a conventional home. I believe it was used to develop the higher standard building codes enacted around 2005, so at least some of the elements became required for all new residential construction.

That said, it would absolutely not handle the extreme exposure to severe weather conditions of a beachfront property.
 

MMJ Dreaming 99

Well-Known Member
No , he has a standard wood construction , subdivision two story. Near Columbia SC, lucky it looks like the storm is not tracking directly at them at the moment. But I still think there going to take a hit. Ironically the neighboring town is named irmo.
Standard wood construction with Hardie board cement siding can be very strong. There maybe be one or two comparable brands. It has to be installed properly. A metal roof installed properly also helps. If it gets near Columbia SC then it should have been degraded,
 
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