storm info

[Soundguy]

Well.. no livestock losses. As usual, I put my delicate fowl in the barn, and kept the horses stalled.. and the bovine in the corall in case an exterior fence went down. I only had to make very minor repairs to the barn.. just tapping a few nails in on loose boards.. etc. We have power, and spotty telephone service.

Most of marion county faired much worse. LOTS of trees and lines down. And unfortunately I saw lots of mobile hoom roofs and awnings laying in streets.

I went out yesterday to die down the barn door, and looked over at the neighbors yard, just as a gust of wind ripped off the front of his barn and deposited it in his back yard. I headed on in to the house at that point.

I went over to my parents house this am, and me and my step brother installed a windo ac unit for their bedroom, and hooked it up to the generator, and also wired their well up to the generator so they can at least have water,.. and cool the house down to sleep at night.

Power company said it might be 2 weeks before their power comes back.

hope everyone else is ok.

Soundguy

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Good to hear your report of little damage. I got a similar report from one of my relatives.

Don't take this the wrong way, but maybe someone can answer it for me. Why do they allow mobile homes to be built in Florida given the massive potential for damage from both tropical storms and hurricanes? I understand with new house/condo construction it seems to be pretty strict on the types of glass, walls, wind load ratings etc. I'm just curious, but I suspect after 4 hurricanes, now is not the best time to ask the mobile home question . . . or is it?

 

[Whiskey]

Bob:

Nope not a bad time to ask. Me and the little Miss are trailer dwellers...doubble wide at that, we like to call it our cardboard home with doors and windows.

Anywho on with the question...

I'm not sure what kind of coverage your seeing on the TV but the majority of what I see or maybe I should say all of what I see with destruction of trailers is older homes...it's not hard to tell if you know the differance of the old vrs. new.

Now with that said I do understand that there is still a better chance of my home being blown to bits than someone in a block home or stick built home and I don't freek out if someone say's....you live in a trailer.

Ever since Andrew leveled the Miami area the codes on how the boxes are built are very, very close to stick built homes with the understanding you bring it in with turn singles and a semi truck /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif no full truss and it still sits on top of blocks and ya strap the sucker to the ground.

Now I will question putting them within 30-40 miles of the coast, but on the other hand the last 3 out of 4 storm's have for the better part crossed the entire state.

I don't know if I have answered you question...and supect I haven't...but remember the state is full with older folk on fixed income, migrant workers/farm workers and low income jobs and the last time I herd the adj. income of the masses was something like 25-30's a year and it's easier to put you back side in a "trailer" than a home on that kind of pay.

 

[Bird]

Bob, the news media always is looking for the maximum destruction to show us. And, as Whiskey said, that would be the older mobile homes, especially the single wide ones. AARP published a report several years ago in which they claimed one study showed that a properly built and installed double wide is no more susceptible to storm damage that a site built house. I have no proof one way or the other, but suspect that may be right. And of course, the news media isn't going to show you the mobile homes that survived the storm as well as the site built houses in the area.

 

[Soundguy]

I think whiskey is close.

Lots of older 60's and 70's era trailers here. And most of those with the older corugated tin roofs wwere the damaged ones.

The newer ones that look like a regular house with shingles and vinyl siding faired almost as good as a conventinal home.. some of them better, if thery were brand new.. etc. 3 tab shingles get flappy after a couple years. And by far.. architectual shingles are holding up the best.

As much as the gov't likes to regulate our lives.. I think there are enough mobile home lobbies that keep laws from being passed.

Here in costal areas it is easy to point at mobile home damage as likely.. course it is the other side of the home in the midwest with trailerparks and 'tornado magnets'. Bottom line.. if a storm wants you.. it will get you.. no matter what you live in.

I think I heard on the news that our county had no death reports due to the storm... that's good news..

Soundguy

 

[slowrev]

Soundguy,
Glad you came thru ok. Again...... Friends around Tampa said not too bad down there either.

Ben