Orlando custom home builders

Hurricane Season Preparedness

With hurricane season starting in less than a week (it runs from June first through November first of each year) and an above-average level of activity being forecasted, it is a good idea to develop a hurricane preparedness plan. While it is, generally speaking, too late to retro-fit a house with the crucial roof supports,it is not too late to start planning improvements to be made during the “off season.”

It is most important to protect the areas where wind can enter. These improvements will reduce the damage done to homes and property in general. It is important to strengthen the exterior of a house so that wind and debris do not tear large openings in it.

There are five critical areas of a house to protect. They are the roof, the straps, the shutters/windows, the doors, and the garage door(s).

Reinforcing the critical areas will help keep the whole house standing. When wind gets in the house, it is easier for the entire house to be blown over. This is because of the physics of creating, basically, a low pressure pocket in the house when the door is blown over. Lots of wind rushes into the building to fill the low pressure area. The house is then easily blown over.

Central Florida, in general, needs to be more concerned with wind damage than water damage. The storm surge which does the most water damage doesn’t go very far past the coast line. Unfortunately, hurricanes can maintain their hurricane-strength winds well inland. In addition, there is also the possibility of tornados being spun off.

Given that Florida is a peninsula for much of the state, the state can receive both the strong side and weak sides of the hurricane. With the season officially starting just next week, it is important to have a plan in place.

For more information on designing and constructing hurricane resistant homes, please contact the Orlando custom home builders of BRC Homes at 352-383-1948.