roof-overs and skirting

[Sheila]

I purchased a 1971 singlewide for my parents a 1-1/2 years ago in Deefield Beach, Florida. They experienced their first hurricane (Frances) in September and I flew in from NYC to join them in a hotel that I had reserved for them because they were frightened.

I'm interested in knowing if there is anyway to make the home better capable of standing up to a hurricane?

Would adding a roof-over and skirting (brick faced, or stone faced) help make it bettter withstands winds?

Thank you for any advice.

[trmimo]

I would avoid a roof over. Many of the homes that were badly damaged were damaged because of the failure of aluminum awnings, carports and roof overs. Once the wind starts to lift the large panels they can literally rip the house apart. I was shocked by how much worse the damage was that I saw on homes with roof overs. Even among pre hud homes, those without aluminum add ons seemed to fare better than those with.

[Roy T. Bonney]

I certainly agree on this, forget the roof over. A well constructed skirt may keep the wind from entering the crawl space, which in turn allows lift. Secondly, check the anchoring system, if there is one in place. The year of the home, if set at the time of manufacture, may indicate that the home is not anchored. This can be done now.

[Sheila]

Thank you. Your response was very helpful as I was planning on spending a lot of money on a roof-over trying to ensure the safety of my parents. I will, however, look into getting better skirting and checking to see if the trailer is anchored properly.