150 MPH Rated Home

[DanKellFla]

I saw this on the Discovery channel show, "Build it Bigger." It is a modular home that is rated to 150 MPH. Somebody in Pass Christian had a house like this placed on their property. Here is the website:

http://safewayhomes.com/default.asp

[Frank P]

I saw this on the Discovery channel show, "Build it Bigger." It is a modular home that is rated to 150 MPH. Somebody in Pass Christian had a house like this placed on their property. Here is the website:

http://safewayhomes.com/default.asp

I toured one in the Gautier area... they are pretty small... everything glued and screwed.. minimum of overhang... it was well built but I was not all that impressed overall with the construction as opposed to a well built standard stickbuilt constructed house...... finish work was not very good, but that's not a reflection of its overall strength... but they go up in about a month from the time you break ground... which is a big benefit if you need a house really bad, and plenty people do... and they are affordable ...

[Dionne]

I'm having a little trouble seeing any shingled gable end roof surviving sustained 150 mph winds....without some damage.

Full hip roofs stand a much better chance.

Irregardless of the design, I would not trust any structure in 150 mph winds unless I was there during construction to insure proper glueing, screwing and strapping.

[DanKellFla]

How much does one of those cost?

And, other than a full concrete reinfoced structure. I am FAR FAR away from 150 MPH winds.

[dizzyfish]

I saw this on the Discovery channel show, "Build it Bigger." It is a modular home that is rated to 150 MPH. Somebody in Pass Christian had a house like this placed on their property. Here is the website:

http://safewayhomes.com/default.asp

I saw this too. Very interesting. I believe that they put it up on 10 ft poles to help with storm surge damage. I had an appointment and couldn't stay to see the end of the show. I would have loved to see how they got the house up there!

I have a hard time believing that it could withstand sustained 150 mph winds.

[DanKellFla]

How much does a home like this cost?

The home comes in three parts and they use a big crane to put it up on poles.

I checked out the website. There are some certification agencies that are cited. I don't see a problem with sustained 150 mph winds in a structure like that. It is the debris that will cause a problem. Once the strutural integrity of the unit is compromised, I think it would suffer severe damage.

[Recurve]

Friend just placed a 2000 sq ft factory-built home in Key Largo. Built to exceed Keys/Dade county code. Two parts joined at the site and put on stilts. It's made with all PT 2x6 lumber, and the main hallway where the two halves join down the center of the house ends up with 12-inch-thick walls. The rim joist all around is three 2x12s. The siding is hardiplank lapped siding, all windows are double-pane storm-rated windows. Roof is truss, plywood, solid weather membrane and then metal (peaked, not hip). It's a very sturdy house, I'd probably feel safer there than in a 1960s cinder block typical of older Florida homes.
It was manufacured in Georgia but I'm sorry I don't know the company. It's listed here for $499,000 -- but a lot of that cost is the Keys land premium.

[Category 5]

IMO, all the houses along the immediate gulf coast should be dome shaped.