plywood stress
 

having lots of freinds who live on the west coast of florida,It looks as if ivan will miss them,Thank god.One freind stood in line 2 hours at lowes for plywood.I suggested to him for the future cut plywood for each window and mark them,store them in the garage and if another warning is issued youll be prepared.It seems if everyone did this simple thing you wouldnt have this added stress.Seems like a no brainrer to me.P.S. be prepared=less stress.

When we moved into this house, we had some work done. That contractor came by last week with sub flooring plywood, 3/4 inch thick and screwed it onto our most vulnerable windows.
We will just unscrew it and keep it for the (please GOd no more) next one.
If I had the choice and the dollars, I would go out and order metal shutters.

Philly, that is what most people do however the west coast of Florida hasn't been vulnerable to hurricanes for many years so probably never even thought about boarding up. Also, if someone is a transplant outside a certain vulnerability zone, they are less likely to think about this.

Our plywood is marked (LR#1-9, etc) and with the names of each storm we've boarded (Bertha, Fran, Floyd, Dennis.....). We've had it at least 10-12 years.

Funny you should bring this up. I'm very active with The Naples Players and do a lot of work with scene design and volunteer in the scene shop. After every major storm threat we fortunately get lots of calls of people willing to give us their plywood. It seems that with the limited sized garages (or none at all) that many people have here, storing the plywood for the next possible storm doesn't seem like a logical option. I can't tell you how many times we've built scenery and painted over things like "REAR PATIO DOORS" painted on them.

Our technical director was just mentioning a few days ago that we should soon be rebuilding our supply of "semi-used" plywood.

Incidentally this is the first time many have boarded up here since Andrew which was 12 years ago. That is a long time to try to store those plywood panels in a small garage -- especially since plywood tends to warp dramatically in our humidity.

The latest thing is "plyclips". For each window, the plywood is cut to the size of the inside window frame, edge to edge. The clips go on the windows and exert pressure outward somehow and this keeps the plywood in place. As I understand it, there is no need then to drill into the actual house.

I have heard mixed thoughts about putting plywood over the windows, or glass doors. If not attached securely the plywood becomes a missile during the high winds of a hurricane.

Two months ago I talked to a home building contractor in Minnesota who told me that the price of 4X8 steets of plywood had sky rocketed and it was hard to find. I bet that there will be even higher prices in Florida now and a nation wide shortage.

We have accordian style metal shutters. Best investment ever made. You don't really notice them on the house when they are open, but when a storm starts raging, we close 'em up in about three minutes. Voila!

One note about the automatic shutters: you can't raise them while the power is off.

This happened to friends of ours. They had to spend three days in an unventilated, dark house until the power came back on and they could raise the shutters.

Is there such a thing as (practical) manual shutters?

Your friends got "taken". No power shutters sold in Florida should ever not have a manual control as well. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, it is now a law. It would be an incredible safety risk in the event of fire as well.
Are you sure they just didn't know how to do it?

What ever happened to the old fashioned wooden shutters that were used as originally intended--to be able to SHUT quickly, secure and provide protection from storms?

Statia--
Can you tell me a little more about your accordian shutters? I've seen the kind on the tracks that you only put up for a storm because they are very unattractive. We're getting ready to remodel a house and this hurricane season has convinced me that we are going to take care of this NOW. However, we don't want to spend more on shutters than on the remodel!!

Ours are not powered at all. We pull them manually. I agree that shutters that are powered would be a great safety risk.

I've also seen here on the island where really tight "roll down" shutters have made a house literally implode with the pressure of a strong hurricane because no air could get into the house. We always crack one window on each end of our house during a hurricane, and our shutters leave room for the home to "breathe" while still protecting the doors and windows.

Below are some links to the type that we have. As you can see, you honestly don't notice them when they are not closed, especially if they match your paint, which in our case is white. You pull them shut very easily and they even lock, if you need extra protection when you are away from home.

http://www.nucodeshutters.com/accordion_shutters.htm

http://www.stormprotectionsystems.com/accordion.htm

http://www.completehurricaneprotecti...accordions.htm

http://www.caribbeanshutters.com/accordian.htm

I'll warn you, they aren't cheap, but are honestly worth every penny in the long run because they seem to last forever. We've had ours nearly 11 years with absolutely no maintenance.

I heard on the news today that Florida Home Depots actually lowered their price of plywood to help Florida residents prepare for hurricanes.

Very nice.

I remember when lumber went up dramatically, nationwide, after Andrew. I don't think it ever came back down.

Hurricane shutters are big business in Florida and they come in all types and at all costs.

But I'm still trying to imagine anyone dumb enough to buy some (if such things are even made) that can't be opened or closed in a power failure. Talk about not having a light bulb in the attic!

Thanks for information Statia. I've always been told to leave a couple of windows cracked for the reason you state. However, during the 24-hour coverage here of Charley, then Frances, they kept telling people NOT to do that. They said it could allow the wind to invade your home to the point it could compromise the roof. I sure would like to know the answer to this one.

A friend looked into those roll-down shutters after Charley; the estimate to do her entire house was $41,000. When I asked her what they would do should they not be able to open them after the storm she just stared at me blankly. Guess that hadn't occured to her!

Jayne, regarding the cracking of windows for the house to breathe, I have even cracked windows here in a category five hurricane, so I would do it in any size storm, regardless.

I have to admit, however, that we build differently down here than most places in the US, so that could also make a difference in the possibility of compromising the roof. My roof consists of four inch wide beams all the way across with each beam being secured with hurricane brackets on the outside. I've never had a problem thus far (knock on wood).

Jayne, have you thought about getting together with your neighborhood or neighbors for a group discount?

My husband is seriously looking into getting the shutters done on his restaurants and is getting a large discount for multiples.

Also, and I hate to say this, they may be cheaper if you wait until late next spring.

I would have thought that anyone living in FL for more than a few years would have thought of hurricane protection and been proactive about it. However, maybe since so many people have relocated there in recent years and it has been quite a while since a big hurricane threatened, people are not prepared.

The equivalent in the north is when snow is predicted, every store gets sold out of snow shovels quickly - I think people do not understand tyhat snow shovels are not disposable items and most keep them from year to year.

Spending anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 for hurricane shutters on your house which you may or may not ever use is not as easy a decision as it may seem. I've lived in Florida for 30 years and have never boarded up or had hurricane shutters, and have never had any hurricane damage (other than some minor exterior damage). It's easy to say "why don't you just buy the hurricane shutters" if you don't have to pay for them. Yes, gail, I've thought about them, but have decided to remain non "proactive".
I know many people who have thought about "old aged" or "nursing home" insurance and have remained non proactive on that issue as well. Let's face it we are all more likely to get old than we are to suffer major damage from a hurricane. It's all a matter of priorities, and sure, a gamble as well.

Right there with you Patrick. I could put in a serious pool and landscaping for that amount.

I've noticed almost every highrise condo building between South Beach and the Stuart area on AIA has hurricane shutters. Looks like they were built in with the buildings.

I agree with Patrick and Go Travel on the expense of hurricane shutters not being a priority for many people in the US when the odds can be slim. Where I live it's kind of a necessity, however, since I'm in the hurricane belt and typically get some sort of yearly hurricane activity.

GoTravel,

That's a good idea. I drove by the new house every chance I had during Frances to see how it was holding up. It did well. I did notice that not one person in the new neighborhood boarded up.

We won't be moving in until the spring so I have some time to consider our options. Since we're renovating so much of the house, I think we might just have our contractor fit 3/4 inch plywood to each window and use those hurricane clips. I figure that will at least save our windows if we get hit with a cat 1 or 2; a cat 3 would be iffy; a 4 or 5 would blow us away shutters or not!

My concern is the shifting weather patterns. I think FL is in for many more of these nail biting hurricane seasons. We're certainly going to have our contractor check the hurricane strapping since the original home was built 20 years ago pre-Andrew codes.

I've lived in SW florida for 10 years and this is the first year that I ever felt fear from the hurricanes. So many, so close together. It is very easy to make obvious suggestions such as yours Philly, but as Patrick as pointed out, storage space is in short supply in Florida (no basements, no attics so everything goes in the garage) and quite frankly, the need has never come up until now. Things will be different now.

So much development along all the coastlines of the US, not just Florida, has put many people in harms way. People love to live by the sea, it is a primal response and so I feel that people will still want on water. This season has just made the point that we must respect and fear nature. We are not the masters of the Universe as we like to think.

New homes are quite secure in storms up to 140-5- MPH. A category 5, well, all bets are off on those. I have written here or perhaps it was on an investment board, that I went on a delivery to a highrise shortly after Charlie and you could pinpoint the age of the homes by the damage. Post Andrew codes are the strongest in the country and rightly so.

Plywood is not practical or available for many homes here which have enormous windows. Even in my house I have 5 12X8 foot high windows. Plywood would be inadequate and roll downs would be 25k. probably more now.

LMF

(Glad to see you back to posting LilMsFoodie.)

Another point about the plywood. In a major storm, it really isn't the breaking of doors and windows that is the main problem. After Charlie many people who didn't board up had no window damage at all, but parts of roofs blew off and that's where the water damage came from. I sometimes think that the plywood gives people a false sense of security -- it offers somewhat limited protection.

However, Patrick, you CAN paint faces and write those funny little hurricane messages on plywood.

I'm sitting here watching the news; they're going door to door asking people who refuse to leave mandatory evacuations zones to fill out forms listing their next of kin. If I hadn't been long gone already, I'd be hoofing it out of there at that point.

Just a couple of curiosity questions:
1. Are metal hurricane shutters expensive? Let's say you wanted shutters for four double windows (no, I don't -- just using an illustration).
2. Do they install shutters that are srictly manual? I'm thinking that you can't open the power ones if there's no electricity. That could be a pain.

k999, in my experience, the metal accordian shutters for basic patio doors (with two glass sides) run about $2,000 per double glass door. Basic windows run about $1,500 each. Expensive, yes...but for where we live, we feel it's well worth the money when they get used nearly every year. I guess you could say it's peace of mind, if nothing else.

They are probably much less expensive in the US, however, because we have to literally have them brought over from St. Maarten by boat, and fly someone in to install them.

I have never heard of any that open/close on power, although I'm sure they do exist. I agree that wouldn't be a good idea when you will most likely not have power during or after a hurricane. Ours shut very easily by just pulling them from the outer ends to meet in the middle, and we've not had to do any maintenance on them in the nearly 12 years we've had them. I do know some people that occassionally have to put a little WD40 on their runners, but I've never had to myself.

For about the hundredth time. Power hurricane shutters CAN be opened without power. It would be stupid (and in most places against the law) to make them so they can't be opened. Just like a garage door -- when the power goes off, you pull a cord, or turn a switch, and you raise them by hand. This is not a big deal. OK? Anyone who bought power operated shutters and can't open them when the power is off, just hasn't figured out how to do it -- or else got taken with the purchase -- but I highly doubt the latter.

Statia, glad you are Ok. How is your husband?

Patrick,

My parents have an early generation power garage door (no, this isn't realted to metal shutters or plywood stress, but it does relate to your garage door statement). Yes, you can open the heavy, wooden double door when it conks out, but you have to use the big iron bar (yard tool) and crate a fulcrom and then shove a crate in (narrow way) after the first push. On the second push, they get the crate the longer way and then they can shove the door open, though sometimes it requires a third push on the iron bar. Modern day garage doors are lighter in material and most people have two single doors instead of one double door.

Some people might have an early style metal shutter that requires this much effort to open. Only by use can manu. determine what needs to be improved. You try to think thru all the problems, but some make it to market. Sort of like the early MP3 players where you couldn't recharge the battery.

Patrick, I missed your previous post about the power shutters being operable w/o electricity. Sorry 'bout that. I only said something about them in my last post because I honestly don't know anything about how they work, and personally didn't really know they existed until reading this thread.

Mimi, I'll drop you an email about my DH. Thanks for your thoughts. :)

No problem Statia, that really wasn't aimed at you anyway. And I also guess a couple of times I've mentioned it weren't it this thread.
Let's just chalk it up to more "plywood stress" which has become my favorite new phrase.

I SO know what you mean, Patrick. :D

Let's hope Jeanne is the end of this season, but all the old timers here on the island keep telling me it's more than likely not. :(

There was a report on the evening news about a priest in Ft. Lauderdale who died today when his house caught on fire and rescuers could not get in to his house because of the hurricane shutters. Very sad.

How very sad. I wonder if they were electric or manual, or if he had them locked in either case. I'm sorry to hear that.

Whew, Patrick. I was wondering if you woke up on the wrong side of the cave, going by your answer to the power-shutter question.

OK, OK, maybe we're all suffering from plywood stress -- even those of us who are 1,000 miles from the nearest 'cane.

Oh, BTW, do statia's prices sound right to all you mainlanders?

We have metal shutters. They are sheet/corrugated metal planks which are held between railings installed over and under the window and then either "clipped" or bolted to secure them. The nice thing is that they are very space efficient, totally stackable. Houses in Puerto Rico do not have attics or basements either! The railings were installed permanently and painted the same color as the house so that they are not seent. We payed about $2,000 for them (installed). We put them in Tuesday so that they could say hello to Jeanne and are now taking them down. Much better than plywood:)