CThomp
04-15-2005, 11:42 AM
I'm about to purchase a new to me home. The home was built in 1950 and is constructed of 2x4 hard pine, has a 2x6 hard pine roof, has 1x12 hard pine roof panels, and is wrapped in vinyl over wood siding. The original structure of the home has a crawlspace foundation and the addtion to the home was built on a concrete slab. The home is in excellent condition for its age. I live in Florida and am a bit paranoid about hurricanes. I have always lived in concrete block and brick homes.
Should I worry about the strength of the home as far as wind resistance? Every roof truss is connected to a footer. The home as been through quite a few storms being that it was constructed in 1950. But...being that the home is 55 years old I fear that age could be a factor in future storms. Everything ages. Once into the house i'm going to put a weatherguardhp roof on it as well as impact resistant windows.
Is there anything I can do to reinforce the exterior structure of the house besides conventional hurricane strapping?
MY IDEA: I have thought about taking off the vinyl and wood siding, attaching a second layer of 2x4 framing over the exsisting framing supported by 4x6 posts which will be put 3-4' into the ground with cement and plasti-sleave reinforcement, tying the new framing into the old framing and the roof, reinsulating and recovering. The posts would also be tyed into the roof.
A downsized idea I have for this would be to have a 12" wide ground level slab poured around the perimeter of several parts of the house and just use the 6"x6" or 4"x4" posts. They would be fastened to the poured slab at the base, sistered to the existing house frame, to the roof trusses and fastened at the top with strapping to the roof trusses or notched to fit around one of the trusses and thru-bolted. Plus when I have the siding off i'll be able to insulate the house and maybe even paint the exposed frame with either some kind of sealer or fire resistant paint.
The house is about 1750 sqft. so the perimeter isn't that big. The biggest expense would be having the skinny slab poured. 6"x6"s aren't that expensive and I wouldn't be buying that many anyhow. The rest of the work is all stuff I can do myself or with the help of a few friends.
Does my idea make any kind of sense? Is this process or one similiar to it ever used to reinforce older homes? Is this idea lame-brained?
Any help is appreciated.
Should I worry about the strength of the home as far as wind resistance? Every roof truss is connected to a footer. The home as been through quite a few storms being that it was constructed in 1950. But...being that the home is 55 years old I fear that age could be a factor in future storms. Everything ages. Once into the house i'm going to put a weatherguardhp roof on it as well as impact resistant windows.
Is there anything I can do to reinforce the exterior structure of the house besides conventional hurricane strapping?
MY IDEA: I have thought about taking off the vinyl and wood siding, attaching a second layer of 2x4 framing over the exsisting framing supported by 4x6 posts which will be put 3-4' into the ground with cement and plasti-sleave reinforcement, tying the new framing into the old framing and the roof, reinsulating and recovering. The posts would also be tyed into the roof.
A downsized idea I have for this would be to have a 12" wide ground level slab poured around the perimeter of several parts of the house and just use the 6"x6" or 4"x4" posts. They would be fastened to the poured slab at the base, sistered to the existing house frame, to the roof trusses and fastened at the top with strapping to the roof trusses or notched to fit around one of the trusses and thru-bolted. Plus when I have the siding off i'll be able to insulate the house and maybe even paint the exposed frame with either some kind of sealer or fire resistant paint.
The house is about 1750 sqft. so the perimeter isn't that big. The biggest expense would be having the skinny slab poured. 6"x6"s aren't that expensive and I wouldn't be buying that many anyhow. The rest of the work is all stuff I can do myself or with the help of a few friends.
Does my idea make any kind of sense? Is this process or one similiar to it ever used to reinforce older homes? Is this idea lame-brained?
Any help is appreciated.