woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Wow, what a mess! Carpenters will be needed. Having a house right on the beach would be a dream of mine, but I don't know now, with tsunamis and hurricanes. A cave somewhere seems a lot safer.
Sandy
- Thread starter vharrison
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MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
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woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
Folks look miserable, except for the jogger. :roll:
vharrison
Island Girl
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #54
They are probably still in shock. I know I was after Wilma pushed 6 feet of water over our island. It will take some time but they will get through it. Just like after Wilma, car sales are going to go through the roof. You would not believe how many cars they trucked off these islands, tractor trailer after tractor trailer.
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
Those damned cars will go through about 4 auctions ,get dried off and some unknowing soul will buy them .
During the early 90's when the mighty Mississipi flooded half the midwest those cars flooded the market .Fact I got one of them,an '84 Lincoln LS .
During the early 90's when the mighty Mississipi flooded half the midwest those cars flooded the market .Fact I got one of them,an '84 Lincoln LS .
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
I thought of another which I've seen happen after a massive storm .There will be a great demand for lumber .In spite of the recent decline in home building they will jack the price of lumber out of sight .
In about two three months you'll be getting 2 by 4's with bark on all 4 corners that will leave a wet spot if you lay them on a floor .The SOB's will be heavy as lead then warp like sled runners after they dry out in about a year .The plywood will have so many knot holes you could use it for a sieve .
In about two three months you'll be getting 2 by 4's with bark on all 4 corners that will leave a wet spot if you lay them on a floor .The SOB's will be heavy as lead then warp like sled runners after they dry out in about a year .The plywood will have so many knot holes you could use it for a sieve .
SteveBullman
TreeHouser
I can't even begin to understand the forces of these hurricanes you deal with as we don't have anything of the kind here, so forgive me if this is a stupid question. But why are all these houses made of wood rather than bricks and mortar? Seems to me a brick house would surely stand up better to this sort of thing than wood? Its very rare to find wooden houses here in the UK, but it seems to be the opposite over there?
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Good question. I'm pretty sure brick homes get leveled, too.
vharrison
Island Girl
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #59
Actually, over in the bahamas, where they get hurricanes about every year, most of the houses are made of wood and date back a long long time. The wood houses can "breath", kind of sway with the wind so to speak. For me, I think I would prefer brick and mortar, but those houses are still standing.
treetx
Traveler extraordinaire
Steve -
Not a stupid question at all. Basically American houses are built like crap. They are built out of flimsy tooth picks. Some have a brick or stone facade but it is just a surface. That is why the hurricane and tornado pics look so extreme. The houses are so extremely poorly constructed.
If they don't blow away, then they get water damage. Being that they are constructed of sheet rock, low grade lumber and composite products like OSB that are wood by products and glue, when they get wet, they just melt or they mildew like soggy bread.
Australia is the only other place I have seen where such shoddy construction is the norm.
Peter
Treehouser
Same with new build houses over here, they look like brick built but they are actually timber frames with brick infill. Very quick to build and require minimum skill levels to construct.
Tucker943
Bamboo Plantation Owner
Storm beat us up. Still don't have power. I have storm work coming out my ass. A good way to go into winter. Maybe this year I wont eat wood chips for dinner all winter!
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
Those beach houses are temporary at best .They are built on pilings driven deep into the sand .While not impossible it would be difficult to built a brick house using a foundation method like that .
I live in a brick house but it's what they call "brick veneer " meaning it's a framed house covered by brick on the outside .
We have no hurricanes in this area but we do get tornadoes on occasion .
On this continent and in this portion of North America there is no place you can run and hid from the forces of nature .The east coast and the Gulf Of Mexico have hurricanes .We in the heart land have tornados and ice storms .The west coast crowd has to deal with earth quakes and wild fires .The folks up north near the Canadian border have to deal with temperatures that are often colder than Alaska .Cold enough to freeze the gonades off a brass monkey .
I live in a brick house but it's what they call "brick veneer " meaning it's a framed house covered by brick on the outside .
We have no hurricanes in this area but we do get tornadoes on occasion .
On this continent and in this portion of North America there is no place you can run and hid from the forces of nature .The east coast and the Gulf Of Mexico have hurricanes .We in the heart land have tornados and ice storms .The west coast crowd has to deal with earth quakes and wild fires .The folks up north near the Canadian border have to deal with temperatures that are often colder than Alaska .Cold enough to freeze the gonades off a brass monkey .
gf beranek
Old Schooler
natures fury
Wow those picture tell a tale.
In Bermuda we have been dealing with hurricanes for 400 years of settlement. Early houses were built of cedar posts with woven palmetto for walls and roofs. Once they discovered that the bedrock could be quarried, houses were quickly built of stone, including stone slate on rafters for the roof. It took a while to refine the construction to be very 'hurricane proof' including realizing that gable ends needed chimneys or butresses to to withstand forces (including the weight of the roof) or better yet, hip roofs to spread the load. All houses are now stone or concrete block, foundations into bedrock, concrete belts and collar ties, hurricane clips on rafters...etc...
We do have the benefit of an extensive reeef line to dissapate inititial wave energy, but with surge and a large storm, even they are overcome and the shoreline is vulnerable.
The main damage comes when people don't let the house 'breathe' during a storm, opening windows on the lee side to allow the pressure to dissapate. Pressure can build up inside, then in a gust it 'pops' the weak point, a window, or the roof slate, then the wind has an entry point and its all damage control after that.
The largest amount of damage in our last big one was to homes that were built too close to the water, when there hasn't been a storm for a long time, people get complacent, development creeps close and closer, until BAM, here comes the big one. I am not at all surpised to see the infrastructure near the ocean totally destroyed, hard surfaces reflect wave patterns and energy, they don't dissapate it...sand dunes initially absorb wave enrgy but wash out eventually, but if they have natural features for a good distance around, they will rebuild over time, and plants will recolonize.
Where man has altered foreshores and coastline with hardstanding and 'beach erosion' protection, the damage will take far longer, if ever to repair naturally.
Nevertheless, I feel awful for those who are faced with such catastrophe...PSTD is not uncommon after an event like that. A little bit of kindness goes a long way.
In Bermuda we have been dealing with hurricanes for 400 years of settlement. Early houses were built of cedar posts with woven palmetto for walls and roofs. Once they discovered that the bedrock could be quarried, houses were quickly built of stone, including stone slate on rafters for the roof. It took a while to refine the construction to be very 'hurricane proof' including realizing that gable ends needed chimneys or butresses to to withstand forces (including the weight of the roof) or better yet, hip roofs to spread the load. All houses are now stone or concrete block, foundations into bedrock, concrete belts and collar ties, hurricane clips on rafters...etc...
We do have the benefit of an extensive reeef line to dissapate inititial wave energy, but with surge and a large storm, even they are overcome and the shoreline is vulnerable.
The main damage comes when people don't let the house 'breathe' during a storm, opening windows on the lee side to allow the pressure to dissapate. Pressure can build up inside, then in a gust it 'pops' the weak point, a window, or the roof slate, then the wind has an entry point and its all damage control after that.
The largest amount of damage in our last big one was to homes that were built too close to the water, when there hasn't been a storm for a long time, people get complacent, development creeps close and closer, until BAM, here comes the big one. I am not at all surpised to see the infrastructure near the ocean totally destroyed, hard surfaces reflect wave patterns and energy, they don't dissapate it...sand dunes initially absorb wave enrgy but wash out eventually, but if they have natural features for a good distance around, they will rebuild over time, and plants will recolonize.
Where man has altered foreshores and coastline with hardstanding and 'beach erosion' protection, the damage will take far longer, if ever to repair naturally.
Nevertheless, I feel awful for those who are faced with such catastrophe...PSTD is not uncommon after an event like that. A little bit of kindness goes a long way.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
I've always thought that the perfect hurricane resistant house would have all the ground floors elevated and be of a flattened spherical shape with all rounded edges and made out of reinforced concrete.
Labour of Love
Treehouser
Yep, and 4' underground
Actually, underground houses are the best bet for all but earthquake areas.
Cobleskill
Treehouser
My bud lived in Florida and left the state several times when hurricanes approached. He owned 30 acres there. I told him to check out the local septic tank manufacturer for tanks that had a casting flaw. Set it up a little off of ground level and berm three sides. Cut in a nice solid steel door with a lexan window and you should have no prob. He wasn't convinced. Oh well.
woodworkingboy
TreeHouser
I wonder how many people still have an underground bomb shelter on their property? At one point during the cold war it was all the rage. I was in one once, someone had put one in not far away from where we lived. It was all set up to live in, but being down there in the chamber like affair gave an eerie feeling. It would certainly suffice against hurricanes, unless flooding could be a problem. It also occurs that you might go nuts down there after an extended time.
Cobleskill
Treehouser
Putting "safe" rooms in houses is becoming popular.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Going underground means having to be waterproof. I don't like the drowning part...
OTGBOSTON
punk in drublic
We dodged a bullet up here. I worked the first 48 hrs of the storm getting by on cat naps in the truck. We had almot 1000 tree calls and had the streets cleared by 5 on halloween. I managed to spend 100k on contracted services...but it was worth it to have the streets clear and the power back on.
MasterBlaster
Administrator Emeritus
Dang, I thought ya'll woulda been hit harder than that - cool!
Al Smith
Mac Daddy
I assume you are refering to "earth sheltered " meaning built on elevation and earth covered as opposed to a hole in the ground .Yep, and 4' underground
Yeah they're pretty much storm proof especialy if built with storm shutters on the south facing windows which is the normal method of facing the windows for passive solar heat .In addition you can about heat one with a candle as there is very little thermal heat loss .If you didn't have any heat they'd never freeze up with nominal 55 degree of earth heat .
