Wind Mitigation; the implementation of certain building techniques or tested materials to reduce damage caused by high winds. Hurricanes in the past caused insurance companies to lose money from claims made. The insurance companies raised their rates to where people were thinking twice if they wanted to live in the same area. The Florida state congressmen railed to lower the rates, so they wouldn’t loose tax payers. Working with the insurance companies and engineers they came up with a plan to mitigate risk caused from high winds by the implementation of these new engineered and tested products. So if your house has been constructed to these new standards or has been retrofitted with some of these new products, your insurance rates could be reduced and your house could prove to be safer.
This is a picture of the roof deck being measured. It is a half inch thick. It is 1x6 tongue and groove decking, which is attached to the rafters with 2, 8d ring shank nails per board. I would mark C under roof deck attachment on the mitigation form.
I read an article titled doing damage during an inspection: Its your job.
A nice reminder toreframe the situation next time I think Ive caused damage during an inspection: Its not my responsibility to repair things; its my responsibility to break them! Assuming Im using normal operating controls under normal conditions.
This home has a hip and gable roof. The gable portion is less than 10% of the over all roof perimeter, so it qualifies as a hip roof for the wind mitigation. The roof to wall attachment is a double strap configuration.
The Gallery has multiple illustrations showing how a clay tile roofing system works and is installed. This will save time and confusion when trying to explain what type of roof covering a customer has and explain any defects or poor installation issues.
This image is a picture of an opening on a house that ha glass blocks for a window. The opening under Florida code says that this type of opening should be protected with product approved hurricane protection to receive wind mitigation protection.
A wind mitigation report can help the homeowner understand his or hers options when it comes to protecting the home from serious wind occurrences. The homeowner will know if they are fully protected in a chance of a hurricane. An inspector can give the homeowner the procedures to make the home have the lowest insurance premiums possible.
When inspecting a home I will come across doors and windows that are built to protect a home from winds and impact. It will be my job to determine the protection level of these openings. The picture attached is a sliding glass door that is Miami Dade approved and an exterior door that is not rated, but has Miami Dade rated panels.
When doing a uniform mitigation verification inspection, the roof to wall attachment needs to be documented. The typical attachment can be the truss being toe nailed to the top plate. Other forms of attachment are clips that should be nailed with a minimum of three nails, single wrap straps secured with two nails on front side and one nail on the back side or double wrap straps nailed with nails on the front side of each strap and one nail on the back side of each strap.
During this inspection, while he was calculating the nail spacing it appeared that there was only three nails along a decent amount of length on the truss. I would expect more nails to be placed so i would also look on the other side to make sure that there is no missed nails.
Was looking at some of the signs in the gallery. Any sign that you see, you have to make sure that you are aware of them and the dangers around them if they state Danger on them. These are placed for your safety and if you neglect them you can get hurt.
All opening protection on a structure must be verified. This includes windows, doors, skylights and garage doors. Any markings should be documented with a photograph. Also, paperwork from the homeowner can be used if it properly documents the testing protocols or rating. Finally, makes and model numbers are searchable to find the Florida Notice of Acceptance or Miami-Date County Notice of Acceptance(NOA). The above-photographed door has no markings and no permit pulled for installation it would be classified as X: the lowest level glazed opening protection on the report.
Wind mitigation report: non-glazed windows and doors not impact. The glazed front door opens in and the garage door not impact. Front door not impact. single wrap in the Attic. Wind mitigation inspection there are single wraps in the Attic but I could not see them the roof is a flat roof mansard Style there is no window or door protection the garage door is impact the brackets are space properly.
Wind mitigation is the use of building strategies in order to limit the negative impact caused by strong wind. As a result, the homeowner may reap benefits in select states. For example, reduced insurance premiums.
After Hurricane Andrew, Florida implemented a law mandating insurance companies to offer customers discounts for building features that mitigate damage and loss from the wind. To take advantage of this discount, homes must be inspected. The inspection would cover garage doors, opening protection, roof covering, roof shape, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connections and secondary water resistance.
The weakest method of roof to wall attachment is clips. These metal connectors do not wrap over the top of the truss. Clips are secured to rafter with minimum of 3 nails. The clips are attached with four nails, which meets the minimum 3 nail requirement.
What is the real estate agents responsibility in inspector selection or recommendation? Primarily, a real estate agent has fiduciary responsibility to the buyer. They are required to “protect and promote” their clients interest, and to disclose financial benefits, or “kickbacks”, that may be received. Real estate agents should recommend inspectors ethically, and based on the inspectors merit.
Picture of a clip that is connecting the truss to the top of the wall using 3 nail attachment.
This would be listed on the report as a “CLIP”. A metal attachment that does not wrap over the top of the truss but is secured with 3 nails.
The picture appears to be of an ITE main panel with a main disconnect/breaker. The person in the picture should have on glasses. There appears to be a double tap at the top left set of breakers. There also appears to be 2 sets of wires secured with one wire restraint.
This picture is an example of a hurricane accordion shutter. This type of shutter is easier to use then the panel shutters and will help to provide protection from outside objects and water from entering your home and causing interior damage.
In regards to chimney height and clearances, I have learned the following. It is important and a safety issue that the chimney must be distanced 10feet from the top of the roof and two feet higher than the highest point in the roof so that any gasses or heat will not cause damage.