Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Mexico Beach, Florida

That's just awful. I pray for those poor people who last their homes, and in some cases, lost loved ones in that storm. This shows just how unpredictable these hurricanes can be, as this one went from a tropical storm to one of the worst ever recorded in a very short time.

Can't believe they still had jets at Tyndall!

Bad days ahead for those folks, hope they catch a break along the way.

Off on a wee tangent, one might have noticed that most of the palms were still standing as were a fair number of structures that appear to be recent construction. Without trying to sound like a wiseass, construction codes matter. The palms figured out a long time ago how to survive tropical storms. People seem to think that frame construction and flimsy roofs are immune. These things can be survived intact, but what you saw in the videos illustrates how to not do it. Move to Florida, live on the beach side, make sure your manpants are hitched up tight.

Famous last words "I'm gonna ride this one out".

From what I've seen on the news, hurricane is more correctly spelled t-o-r-n-a-d-o. What a mess.

Those jets you refer to are relics that were on static display. Not so much static for a brief spell. One that puzzled me was the three MU-2 turbos that were left in the hangar. Rice Rocket lives don't matter?

Prayers for them. Was just there in August, our charter guy got his boat out of there before the storm.

Yeah I was gonna say, I don't think .gov was gonna leave any F-22's layin' around that area.

Anything build to the codes after Andrew has done pretty good. I been through 3 major hurricanes and really no major damage in any of the houses I was in. Screen enclosures , aluminum carports and porches get their but kicked. Old structures especially large metal ones like boat storage at marinas get hammered as well. Most of them either have no doors or loose the doors in the storm. Once that wind gets inside its game over.
If you notice the weather channel will always find a gas station awning at covers the pumps toppled over. Buildings are engineered to withstand minimum 140 mph wind. They do well. But if you have a rotten roof your likely to get some damage. Down south we dont have any snow or ice to cull leak limbs on trees. So if you havent had a considerable storm in 10 or 20 years you will lose limbs and trees. Some damage is caused by those falling limbs. Up to Cat 4 I feel pretty good staying in place but Cat 5 I would consider leaving. Tough to evacuate in South Florida.

Dan ,

One thing that is a huge problem is corrrosion of the fasteners thoughout a house . Most people don't know that regular nails driven into treated wood will corrode and fail pretty quickly . Code is ''green plate'' = treated wood - that sits on the slab/foundation . Any type metal used in todays construction will corrode away in short order especially when right on the beach .

I've seen stainless , faux brass any and every type of material that can be purchased - metal doors hinges/knobs eaten up by the salty beachfront air .
Seen the fastener clips that connect the wall studs to the top/bottom plate doing little more than sitting there , allthread rods that are embedded into the slab rusted to hades .
A 25 year old beachfront structure isn't what it was when it passed inspection 25 years ago .


Rock Chuck ,

Saltwater tornado !

Mike, I don't disagree with you about fastener durability, but point out the issue can be bypassed with the expenditure of very little thought. Most structures, including housing on Guam and for that matter, many down in the Florida Keys are built of steel reinforced concrete, to include the roofs. They are, for the most part, bullet proof. On Guam the construction included interlocking aluminum in lieu of glass jalousies. They won't stop a 200 mph wheel barrow but they will slow it down a lot. Those structures get a good pounding every year or so, CAT4, sometimes a 5. They been standing for over 50 years.

Yep , expensive to build though .

Look how many Poured Block masonry houses still stand after 50-60 years , but a 200mph wheel barrow would have did them in .

Cost more in the short view but are much cheaper in the long haul. Kinda like my Rolex that has been ticking right along since 1969 w/o interruption. Granted, it is on its second wrist band.

I seriously doubt a block house costs more then a stick built home and especially considering the amount of steel brackets that are involved. with a stickbuilt one as opposed to masonry. The Roof will have strapping just like a stick built home .

This is something I've said for years. When I was in Okinawa and Thailand there were buildings that were built to last, and huts. The ones built to last never had a scratch. Every fugkin' tree had 4-6 lines securing it in position. When hurricanes (cyclones I think they called them over there) would hit that schitty little island all anyone did the next day was break out the push brooms and go back to work.

I actually found a buddy in the Keys a couple weeks back (that I thought was dead) and he was showing me that his brick schithouse went unscathed, while those around him turned into scrap wood quick.

Friend of mine years ago built his house in Homestead, Fl. before Andrew hit. He was out of town when it came through with his
family in the hurricane hole he built in the center of the house. When his wife walked out the next morning, their house was the ONLY house still standing as far as she could see. When he got home and looked around he realized he lost 3 shingles off the roof and was pissed at that. Asked him what he did different and how much more it cost: " instead of 2x4's, used 2x6's, instead of 2 nails on each shingle, used 4, instead of one bracket holding walls to roof, used 2 or 3, etc." how much more? about $2,500.....
it can be done. His wife was never the same though, they moved to Alaska soon thereafter!

Not much happens in Oregon, but I'm pretty sure the cost of homeowners here helps rebuild there.

I think Tyrone was referring to the jets, inside the hangar, that were destroyed. They either didn't have enough pilots to ferry them out or they were not in flyable condition.

Maybe a good time to go down and look for investment properties. When the F5 tornado went through Joplin, you could buy the bare lots for pennies on the dollar.

The costs are comparable, with the masonry frame costing a bit more. Figure in lower insurance and energy costs, and the lifecycle costs turn in favor of the masonry frame design. The Carolina Concrete Masonry Association has been promoting this for many years, with limited success. Everyone gets complacent until a big storm hits.