The steps involved in a hurricane retrofit depend on your starting point.
What roof-to-wall attachments currently exist in your house?
Here are common scenarios…
- Single-wrap hurricane straps but without enough nails to qualify for the discount. Adding extra nails saves you money!
- Hurricane clips, which are shorter than straps and do not wrap around the trusses. Adding new single wrap straps will save you money!
- At the lowest level, only “toenails” exist. Adding new single wrap straps will save you money!
Depending on your starting point, you may be able to improve your roof-to-wall connections a little or a lot. Schedule a free inspection to find out.
Our main goal is to increase the uplift strength of your roof by strengthening the roof-to-wall connections so the roof will not fail during a windstorm. Doing so will increase your safety, and your insurance company will consider your house at lower risk of damage. They will respond to these changes by charging you less. After all, you are saving them money, too.
According to a study of thousands of storm-damaged homes, the type of roof-to-wall attachments on a house is the most important factor in reducing damage due to windstorms. The types of attachments get graded based on how strong they are. A is the weakest, then B, C and D (the strongest).
To learn more about levels A, B, C & D, please read the HOW YOU SAVE MONEY page.
There are two main options to improve your home’s roof-to-wall attachments and lower your insurance rates:
Option 1: Add New Hurricane Straps (the expanded explanation)
This type of project involves installing hurricane straps onto a house that lacks them completely. This is the situation for many older houses in Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island. For example, in homes built prior to 1960, hurricane straps were practically unheard of. Florida contractors didn’t even know what they were. Even decades later, they were not always included or only clips were used. Hurricane clips are better than nothing but not as good as single wrap or double wrap straps.
Fact of the day: Simpson Strong Ties are the code-approved connectors that are used for these roof-to-wall connections. Simpson Strong Ties originated in California in 1956, but did not receive their patent approval until 1962. Now they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes for many applications in framing construction. Florida Building Code requires their use in single family homes with wood trusses.
Insurance companies have done significant research to determine the risk factors associated with various strength levels of roof-to-wall attachments. Stronger hurricane ties were consistently shown to be the most significant factor in preventing storm damage because they prevent the roof from lifting off the house by the uplift during windstorms. If the lid is removed mid-storm, then the interior tends to become thoroughly damaged.
Insurance companies are willing to reward the existence of better hurricane ties by offering lower insurance rates – because it saves them money too (plus the government has required it since 2006).
The standard method for adding straps is simple (at least for our experienced carpenters):
- remove the soffit around the perimeter of the house
- add the straps
- replace the soffit
Fact of the week: According to the insurance companies, a roof might have Simpson Strong tie straps, but still be considered level A or B connections (instead of the stronger level C). They are not trying to be confusing or to cheat anyone. If the straps don’t have enough nails, the connections are much weaker. If the straps do not wrap over the truss, the connections are much weaker.
To learn more about levels A, B, C & D, please read the HOW YOU SAVE MONEY page.
Check out this photo of hurricane straps that did not wrap over the truss.
The trusses and roof are gone with the wind.
Give us a call at 321-307-7320, and we’ll help you get started.
Option 2: Add Nails (the expanded explanation)
Sometimes known as adding a third nail.
The easiest hurricane retrofit involves adding extra nails onto your existing hurricane straps. Quite often, only one extra nail is needed per hurricane tie in order to strengthen the roof connections and qualify for significant insurance discounts.
If the third nail is added to clips or straps that do not wrap around the trusses, then your roof would only step up to level B. Going to level C (even better) would require a wrap-around strap, with 2 nails on the front side and one nail on the back side.
If clips exist without pre-existing straps that wrap over the truss, we would need to add the single wrap straps. No amount of extra nails will qualify clips as level C if they do not wrap over the truss.
If single wrap straps exist, the only other upgrade would be to add a second single wrap strap to reach double wrap status. The cost to perform the retrofit vs. the additional insurance discount may not be worth it in this case. Of course, it’s free to find out.
Call us! We will look at your roof connections and determine what options you have available to level up your roof-to-wall attachments.
We can cut through the confusion and even work with your insurance agent to make sure you get the best savings on your insurance premiums.
Another option worth mentioning: If the timing is right, you could wait and add new straps or extra nails when you replace your roof shingles. Basically, accessing through the roof instead of the soffit is more feasible when the roof covering is already removed. This might be a viable option if you need a new roof in the next year, but if you wait longer than that to retrofit the straps, you will probably lose more money than you would save because of the insurance discounts you would miss out on.
When re-roofing homes valued over $300,000, roofers are required to ensure you have a minimum of 3 nails in your clips or straps. This does not always upgrade the roof to level C unless the pre-existing hurricane ties are straps that wrap around the truss, not merely clips. A strap is not considered a single-wrap strap if it does not wrap around the truss. Additionally, to be considered single wrap straps, they must have a minimum of 2 nails on the front side and one nail on the back side – not just 3 nails on one side.