For about eight years, local organization Rebuild Northwest Florida has been retrofitting homes to make them better able to withstand hurricanes.
Until a few months ago, the group’s work had never been tested.
On Feb. 15 and 23, a pair of EF3 tornadoes ripped through the Century and Ferry Pass areas, and the 135 Rebuild homes in the tornadoes’ paths underwent a trial by wind. When the severe weather passed, all of the homes were still standing.
“Fifteen of them were direct hits,” Garrett Walton, chief executive officer of Rebuild Northwest Florida, said of the homes. “None of them were destroyed, and none of them were rendered uninhabitable.”
Since 2008, Rebuild has been fortifying homes to “harden” them against hurricane-force winds. Homeowners pay a deposit of around $200 to $300 dollars, and trained inspectors review their home for weak points that might be damaged in a storm. Once the inspectors finish the assessment, a licensed structural engineer creates a hardening plan that is specific to each home.
The mitigation measures can include improvements such as adding shutters to windows; reinforcing roof-to-wall connections; and installing wind- and pressure-resistant garage doors. Overall, Rebuild has worked on about 12,500 homes in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Wiley Murray’s residence on Tradewinds Drive in Pensacola is one of those homes, and Murray is grateful for it.
“I wouldn’t give it a minute’s hesitation to do it again,” he said.
Hurricane Ivan ripped a number of shingles of Wiley’s roof in 2004, and intruding water caused about $40,000 in damage, he said. About three years ago, he heard about Rebuild’s hardening program and had the organization assess his house. Rebuild strapped his roof down and sprayed foam in the attic to prevent leaks.
Wiley said the improvements made all the difference when the tornado hit in April.
The house next door to Wiley’s was destroyed, and several other homes in the area were badly damaged. Wiley lost a car, a tree, some shingles and some other outdoor property, but the structure held and the foam adhesive kept the rain out.
“We were totally safe inside,” he said. “By the grace of God and Rebuild Northwest Florida, we came out of this alive.”
Brad Pyle, who lives on Sunrunner Place, said he spent between $6,000 to $8,000 three years ago to have his home hardened. Pyle said he receives homeowner’s insurance discounts for having the wind mitigation measures in place, so he already had made that money back.
That’s just an added bonus, however. Pyle said the real value of Rebuild’s work is that his roof and his house are still intact. He said looking at the devastation in Ferry Pass and the broken stumps of large oak trees in his yard, he knows it could have gone differently.
“The impressive thing is one of the trees broke off right at roof level, and you know the wind went right over the roof,” Pyle said.
On average, the home hardening costs about $9,200 per residence. Rebuild’s work is funded largely by grants, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency covering 75 percent of the cost and homeowners picking up the remainder of the tab.
“FEMA’s invested a lot of money on this, the state of Florida…has spent a lot of time and energy on it, and they want to know if it works,” Walton said. “We spent probably $100 million hardening these houses over the years – a small part of it is homeowner money, a big part of it is government money – and guess what, it works.”
Brad Pyle, who lives on Sunrunner Place, said he spent between $6,000 to $8,000 three years ago to have his home hardened. Pyle said he receives homeowner’s insurance discounts for having the wind mitigation measures in place, so he already had made that money back.
That’s just an added bonus, however. Pyle said the real value of Rebuild’s work is that his roof and his house are still intact. He said looking at the devastation in Ferry Pass and the broken stumps of large oak trees in his yard, he knows it could have gone differently.
“The impressive thing is one of the trees broke off right at roof level, and you know the wind went right over the roof,” Pyle said.
On average, the home hardening costs about $9,200 per residence. Rebuild’s work is funded largely by grants, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency covering 75 percent of the cost and homeowners picking up the remainder of the tab.
“FEMA’s invested a lot of money on this, the state of Florida…has spent a lot of time and energy on it, and they want to know if it works,” Walton said. “We spent probably $100 million hardening these houses over the years – a small part of it is homeowner money, a big part of it is government money – and guess what, it works.”
For more information or to schedule a survey visit rebuildnwf.org or call 497-7024.
Kevin Robinson, krobinson4@pnj.com
