Episode 003 1995 - 96 Season
| Wind Reinforcements | Rafter Clips | Cut-in Roofs | Truss Roofs | Truss Floors | Treating Water Stains | Calking Bathtubs | How Much Per Month? | |
To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #003.
Michael Holigan : Every year, tornadoes rip through America's Heartland destroying thousands of homes. Everyone has moments of doubt, wondering if their home will stand up and protect them during a heavy storm, but what if we told you there are some very simple things you can do to put your mind at ease and make sure your house is as strong and storm-proof as possible. We thought you'd like to hear what an expert has to say about tornadoes and your new house. We got Tim Marshall from Haag Engineering. Good to meet you Tim.
Tim Marshall: Good to be here!
M.H.: Tim, you do something a little different. I've met people who hunt on safari. I've met people who hunt big waves, but you're the first guy I've ever met who hunts tornadoes. Why do you do that?
T.M.: Well, it's the same sort of thing. We go out and go up close to tornadoes to try to film them and see how fast the winds are. The next day we go on back and see if they hit any structures and learn how the wind interacts with the building.
M.H.: Okay, well that's something that's very important to us, because we don't want our building to fall over when the first wind comes along at high speed, so what do we need to do?
T.M.: Well, you need to start from the ground up, basically. The most critical connection is where the wood framing meets the foundation. That's a key element in trying to make sure that those are bolted together to resist wind forces.
M.H.: Okay, we've got a frame right here. Let's walk over the edge...
T.M.: Sure.
M.H.: ...to see how it comes together.
T.M.: Well here, we have a bolt over here.
M.H.: Okay. This is a good example. This is our bolt in the foundation and this is what it looked like before we put it in the concrete, so you can see about how deep it is, if you hold it right next to it. Now, what does that really do for the house Tim?
T.M.: Well, first of all, you want that bolt to sit high enough so that you can get this nut and washer over it.
M.H.: Okay.
T.M.: And, you want it to seal right on down so it is tight to the bottom plate here.
M.H.: Okay. Now, a lot of builders just come along and they just put a nail in with the nail gun to hold the plate in and, even with the bolt, you go ahead and do that, but what is really the effect of the bolt being there?
T.M.: All right, the bolt is much stronger than a nail. It'll actually come down here and hold this down to the plate. See what happens is, if you put a nail in it, if the wall ever rotates, it'll just pull it out.
M.H.: So the wall actually rotating backwards pulling on the nail from the high winds is sort of like a claw hammer going backwards and just pulling the nail out.
T.M.: That's exactly right. The wind actually creates a lateral force against the wall, and so what will happen is this bottom plate will rotate.
M.H.: Okay. Well, this is not expensive to do. You can expect to pay about $11.00 to $20.00. That's what I pay to have bolts put in by your concrete guy. Why doesn't every builder go ahead and put bolts in the foundation?
T.M.: Well, it involves a little more labor. Not only is it uh, somebody has got to come in here and put this bolt down in here, but you have to have somebody to drill a hole through the bottom plate here and then actually do all that.
M.H.: Okay.
T.M.: So there's a labor factor.
M.H.: Well, it's something you should definitely ask for. If it's only $11.00 and it's going to make your house much, much safer, make sure that it's on your home. Where do we go from here Tim?
T.M.: All right, well, we go from here we have to go to the studs themselves and actually see how the studs fit down to the sill plate.
M.H.: Okay. Well, let's go take a look.
T.M.: This is a strong tie metal connector. It's made out of a piece of galvanized metal.
M.H.: Okay.
T.M.: Which connects the wall stud to the bottom plate like this.
M.H.: Okay, and you put nails in the bottom plate and in the stud, and what's that really do to the structure?
T.M.: All right, well, what will happen is it resists wind uplift. When the wind's trying to pull this up, it'll actually try to shear the nails.
M.H.: Okay.
T.M.: Shear connections are much stronger than tension connections.
M.H.: Plus, it's going to help with the twists, isn't it?
T.M.: That's right. It'll keep this wall from trying to do this and rack back and forth.
M.H.: Okay, I haven't used these before, but we do a different method to keep the house from racking. Let's go to one a couple of lots down and take a look.
T.M.: Okay.
M.H.: I like to tie the base plate to the studs with actually a whole piece of lumber, use a piece of OSB to try to keep the house from racking.
T.M.: Well, this is a good idea, because you help stiffen the structure and help resist it from lateral wind forces.
M.H.: And like the clips, it's not very expensive, so make sure that your builder's doing it on your house. You don't want your home falling over. Let's go take a look at the wrong way that a lot of builders corner brace a house.
Al Carrell : Michael has just showed you a good way to corner brace. It really is much more effective than some of the other ways. Here is an alternate way. In order to do this, however, they have to cut notches in each one of the framing members, the studs in there. Hopefully this will be nailed back in place, but it really isn't anywhere near as good and it's made even less desirable because you have to notch that. So instead of having a 2x4 as a stud, you've got a 2x2 1/2, so it really does take away. The reason that people do that is because they save money and that's not from the place I want to save money on my house and I don't think it's what you want.
Episode 003 1995 - 96 Season
| Wind Reinforcements | Rafter Clips | Cut-in Roofs | Truss Roofs | Truss Floors | Treating Water Stains | Calking Bathtubs | How Much Per Month? | |
To order a Video Tape, call 1-800-TO-BUILD and ask for Episode #003.