Hurricane Irma in Jacksonville with wyntrout.

[wyntrout]

Repost from Spectacular September humor post:
We're doing fine. I'm glad that I finally got around to finishing the upstairs Fabric Shield Storm Panels. I had to put in the mounting studs on a high ladder and banged up my legs pretty well through my jeans, but we felt a lot better with the upstairs not so prone to blow in and away.
We had a little seepage around the transom window and the other front ones facing the East., but handled that with beach towels and a wringer. :)
My generator ran the whole 37.5 hours without power except for brief stops to refuel and top off the oil. That thing does use oil and the 10W-30 Mobile 1 for my wife's car doesn't last as long as the required 30-weight. I bought two gallons of 30-wt when I got to Walmart, among other things.
We were comfy cool with the A/C running the whole time, but the generator uses about 1.3-1.4 gallons an hour at about $4 an hour... but better than the heat and humidity. This was our longest time without power in over 20 years here. I've really gotten some good use out of that generator. We turn the air off or warmer to heat up the water or use the range. I wired the generator into the service panel with a homemade interlock to prevent the main being on at the same time the gen's on. That was my first concern when setting the generator up and connecting it to the electric panel.
Ou only real loss was the 21-year old backyard fence... pretty rotten and pieced together. The wind and tree limbs took out even some of the sturdier 4x4's and panels. I had planned to replace it this Fall, anyhow.
The whole house is a mess with all of the stuff I moved around and piled in the foyer while trying to find the stuff to mount those panels... only had the upper ones cut and grommeted, as well as the one for the screened rear porch... the first made as a test, since it was the least likely to be needed. 14 grommets per panel taking a lot of pounding with a hammer onto the tool supplied with the kit!
We've done well, though... plenty of water, food, gas(for a while), guns, and ammo... the latter not needed... so far. :)
I have "industrial-strength" braces for the garage door that faces the East. The door is steel, but with only one horizontal brace, and wouldn't hold up to winds above 70 mph, I don't think.
It has been sunny and nice the last few days.
My neighbor across the street just had the last two oaks taken down after one of them "cradled" the right side of his house. The left one dropped a large limb through his upstairs during Matthew last October. He's had lightning strikes and wind dropping those big oaks onto his house over the years. Sandy soil and a lot of rain, with short root systems, I guess... depends on the type of tree.
The St John's River Mill Cove is only 135 yards away and the high water got over the docks and "sea wall" and extended up to 30 feet into the yards, damaging or destroying most of the private docks.

Wynn :)


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[gb6491]

Thanks for the detailed report Wynn...glad to hear you and your wife are safe. That your property did well is icing on the cake :)
What generator are you using?
Is that garage door brace commercial or did you fabricate it?
Regards,
Greg

[wyntrout]

It's a Generac Guardian (004582) 15,000 watt Ultra Source Portable Generator, 16 gal. tank... about 1.3-1.4 GPH pulls most of our stuff, without the water heater on. Will run anything with the WH off, though need to be selective when using the stove or dryer. :D
Using the largest output, 50-amp 240/12KW, I put it through a 50-amp CB on the top right of the ac panel and cobbled together a safety interlock out of 1/8" or better aluminum. Either the main is blocked or the generator CB blocked by moving the interlock up and down. I use the longest 6-ft dryer cord, added another dryer plug and a matching dryer female inlet that stays locked, to put 6 ga. 4-wire through to the panel, using armored conduit... pretty safe, but not to any code.
I got a good deal on that generator, paying about $600 less than a new price at Home Depot in 2005? Someone had returned it after blowing up a battery while charging it from the DC outlet. The whole thing was covered in battery acid, but cleaned up nicely. I think that I had just returned one of the standby models for $2800 and saw this one sitting on the floor... clearance-priced. I got it repaired under warranty when the generator part didn't work... no power out. This sold for $2,000 at home Depot and $2,800 or so at Great Northern and online then.
I've been quite happy with it. I use the 120 outlets on the remaining untapped 3KW to power the attic fan incorporated into the simple shed that I made. That thing is noisy and runs hot, but we're cool inside!



Wynn :)

[wyntrout]

The door braces are a commercial product with heavy aluminum uprights and fitting for each hinge on the door. I had to add to hinges to the bottom of the door just to mount all of the braces. The van just barely fits with the front tires firmly against the raised portion about 40 inches from the rear wall. I think that they were $150-$180 apiece, but discounted with no tax when I bought them at Lowes, I think. They will secure the door against 140mph or so, I think. 3 braces would have been better, but there's the garage door opener and track in the way.
I used to push the vehicles against 8-ft 2x8's against the door to prevent shaking and being destroyed by the wind. This is not noisy at all in high winds.

I found an ad:

https://www.hurricanedepot.com/garagedoorbrace.htm



Secure Door - Hurricane Garage Door Brace


https://www.hurricanedepot.com/securedoorlogo.jpg
Hurricane Garage Door Brace
Vertical Hurricane Garage Door Bracing System
$149.50 On Sale Now!




Hurricane Depot

The garage door is potentially the largest and weakest opening...



https://www.hurricanedepot.com/Hurricanegaragebrace.jpg
Production Information





Florida Building Code approved (FL2364); exceeds ASTM E330 and SBCCI retrofit wind speed standards.
Patented with a unique telescoping design that enables the brace to fit almost all garage doors.
Brackets attach to hinges to keep the door from blowing in or being sucked out and are adjustable to permit the brace to be installed on doors with horizontal braces.
The brace is anchored into the wall above the garage door, into the garage floor, and to each hinge, providing the necessary reinforcement of the garage door tracks.
Made of high-quality aircraft-grade aluminum that is lightweight yet incredibly strong; each brace weighs less than 15 pounds.
Selected by the University of Florida for their Windstorm Training Center hurricane-resistant model homes.
Does not remain permanently attached to the garage door.




Production Benefits





Provides protection against up to 180 mph winds (dependent upon the quality, condition type of material used in the fabrication of your garage door).
Much less expensive than hurricane-resistant garage doors and garage door shutters.
More effective than retrofitted horizontal garage door braces.
Can be set up in three minutes or less should a hurricane threaten.
Does not attach permanently to the garage door; stores inconspicuously and conveniently out of the way.
Does not require a building permit for purchase or installation.
May qualify you for some type of homeowners insurance discount.
Fits almost all garage doors.
Lightweight, requires no maintenance.
Reinforces the garage door and provides an anchor and support in addition to the garage door tracks.




Downloads

Manufacturer's Recommendation



Installation Manual (https://www.hurricanedepot.com/pdfs/Secure%20Door%20Installation%20Instructions.pdf)



Single Garage Door (8' wide x 7' high)
Double Garage Door (16' wide x 7 hight)


1-brace (179 mph)
2-brace (169 mph) or 3-brace (180 mph)



The above guidelines are based on ASTM E330-90 test results on a new 7’ x 16’ rolled 26 gauge sheet steel door (0.0175” thickness) with no windows and with an estimated wind speed resistance capability of 70 mph. The same type door installed according to manufacturer’s specifications and reinforced with three Secure Door® braces withstood pressure equivalent to 180 mph wind speeds in independent laboratory tests. Based upon engineer calculations, a single door of the same specifications reinforced with a single Secure Door brace will also withstand wind speeds of approximately 180 mph. Engineer calculations for double door protection (door specification as above) project that two braces in lieu of three provides protection for wind speeds up to 165 mph.
Protection levels assume correct brace installation. Individual consumer results will vary with the age, size, condition, construction method, installation technique, and material of the door to which the Secure Door braces are attached




https://www.hurricanedepot.com/wingnuticon.png For Insurance Discount check with your Wind Storm Inspector https://www.hurricanedepot.com/wingnuticon.png


$149.50 Hurricane Depot Sale Price


Shipping $25.50


https://www.hurricanedepot.com/image.gif (https://hurricanedepot.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=46&cat=Garage+Door+Brace)


* Wind inspectors will not accept the Garage Door brace for insurance discount *


Garage door brace will be shipped within one week from the time of ordered


All sales final on garage door braces

[b4uqzme]

Very glad you're OK.

[Alfonse]

You were prepared, and it paid off. Glad you got through it in good shape.

[ltxi]

Good to hear it went well...really!

This kind of wx and/or potential for it is one reason we sold off our inherited 2nd house just outside of Tampa a few years back.

[AJBert]

Glad to hear you made it through the storm ok with minimal damage.

Do you know how NAVSTA Mayport made out? I was stationed there from '04-'07 as the Security Officer. Even had one of the red passes that would get me back and forth over the intercoastal. I'm pretty sure all the ships that could get underway did.

[JohnR]

They sent the ships out and prepped well at Mayport.

We had minimal damage at our house, nothing beyond annoyances.

[gb6491]

Wynn,
Thanks for the follow up on the generator and garage door supports....very well done:yo:


....

We had minimal damage at our house, nothing beyond annoyances.
Good to hear you and yours made it through safely John.

Regards,
Greg

[ripley16]

Glad your preparations worked out well. Rough time for many people. I've got several family members in Florida. One in Naples had recently completed renovating her house for hurricane prep. She put up storm shutters on all openings, installed a hurricane rated garage door, (a beefy affair compared to a normal door), a commercial metal roof, and a 50kw generator. She came thru the storm fine with only downed trees to clear, one a giant Banyan tree, and damage to her pool cage. Lots of money invested but it seems to have paid off.

One relative in Indialantic FL says "it's time to move north!"

I'll be traveling down from Virginia to visit her in Naples next week to attend a funeral. I'm worried about conditions, gas availability and motel room availability. We will see.

[AIRret]

Wyn, thanks for the update!
You should feel great that your hard work with respect to preparations paid off!

[JohnR]

The news exaggerated the damage, as usual.