anyone over there on the South Eastern seaboard that's gettin' ready for her? My cousin moved his 73 today out of Jacksonville and will be following with getting his family out of there by Wed. of this week, if needed.
Marty
Marty
-
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
Hey Tom, you over there? Better get ready.
MartyComment
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
Who's afraid of a little Cat 3 or 2. We arrived here in Orlando in July 04 just b4 "Charley", followed by "Francis", then "Jean". We learned a lot and real fast on how to deal with these storms. If they hit the coast as a 2, 3 (or 4), by the time they get to Orlando they are no greater than a Cat 1. We have a newer home built like a fort. We just stuff rolled up towels on the window sills, go up on the roof and put our "Hurriplugs" in the vents, roll up packing blankets at the front and rear sliding doors (sand bags too if needed), turn on the TV to keep track of the storm's progress, pop open a beer, sit back and plan our next project on the Vette. We used to be concerned about the imbedded tornados and after hiding in our pantry for a couple, we decided to go out and watch them. WILD! They just spin the clouds in every direction above your head as they seldom touch down. In between storm bands, we take the dog out. He likes it cause there never is any thunder or lightning in a Hurricane which normally scares the dickens out of him.
I cover the Vette with a heavy cover and a water proof cover. Never! set the e-brake in case I have to drag it out of the garage by hand. I have storm bars on the garage doors (large verticle bars in the middle of each door). We live on a retention pond so even "Fay" that left us 10+" of rain only raised the pond about 2 feet, that's 5 feet more in order to reach my back door. We keep a running list of supplies as they recommend (3 days) in a pantry that is under our stair well and serves as our shelter. It is large enough for the wife, myself, and the dog.
My only concerns are for airbourne missles (neighbor's junk) and for that I may get storm shutters one day, and looters whose butt's I might have to fill with double "0" buck. Our infrastructure is all underground, so if we loose power, cable or phone, it is because they chose to shut us off to share with those less fortunate. During the big three of 04, that never occurred for more than just a couple of hours (which is a life time in 90+ degree heat for us old folks).
Stu FoxComment
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
i think i would rather run my snowblower a couple of times a year.
Comment
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
Whatever happened to the good old American names for hurricanes?? They are all named after illegal aliens now.Comment
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
Come to find out that Gustav's last name is BUSH. Can't get too much more American than that.
MartyComment
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
Well, that's the price we pay to live in paradise. While you guys are warming your hands by the fire and dreaming of next spring I'll be out cruising to one of the many car events here in Florida during the "winter" (as you call it). When I pull back my car cover in the garage it won't be for dreaming, it will be for riding!
Speaking of illegals, we have those too - in droves!
Stu FoxComment
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
STU-
What precautions are you folks taking at this time, if any? For both your family and the baby in the garage or is it a car port down there?
MartyComment
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
Martin;
So far we're still on watch and are prepared to go in to a defensive posture as soon as we are sure we need to. We have a hurricane spec house which is built like a fort; cement block with rebar and poured concrete every four feet (no windows wider than 4'), rafters are tied to blocks with metal straps, etc. Have a two car garage with minimum width doors with a reinforced concrete beam over each. We added the center (removable) bars to supplement the side to side locking bars on each door. Our windows are rated at something like 125 MPH, but saw gusts of 135 during Charley. They flex w/o breaking, but they will allow some water leakage at the sill so we use rolled up towels there. There was a microburst at the tail end of Charley that caused our attic access panels to bang up and down with the + and - pressure changes. It was during that time we found the weak link was the off peak vents which leaked some water into the upstairs attic, on thru the ceiling drywall. That is why we purchased some "Hurriplugs" that plug into the vents to seal them during a storm and they work fine. I have resisted storm shutters or boarding up as I don't feel we need them. I'd rather stay in touch with the outside to know what is going on (I lived in Saigon for a couple years during the war), and I am concerned for mold.
Actually, the wife is going up to Chicago for an event there over next week end - business as usual. Hanna or no Hanna.
Stu FoxComment
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
Stu, couple of years back on our Texas Chapter members in Houston found the clips that hold the plywood in over the windows. They worked well for him. Let me know if you need info on them. Sounds like you did good. We built our home for tornado's, but forgot about the windows not being wider than 4 foot. Last year during 70 mph + wind the windows mullion flexed a little. Could see the fireplace reflection moving in/out. Good luck. Gary....
NCRS Texas Chapter
https://www.ncrstexas.org/
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565408483631Comment
-
Re: Gustav's here and Hanna's coming....
Gary;
Thanks for your good wishes and ideas. We'll keep them in mind. My vision is of motorized (w/mech. override) steel shutters that would double as burglar bars during normal weather. Course, I may need a second mortgage to get those if I live long enough, Ha!
Stu FoxComment
Comment