hurricane proof?

[Linda Harriman]

Hi we want to purchase a new manufactured home and put it on the coast. Who manufactures the most hurricane proof dwelling? I would like to be able to insure it reasonably so I don't mind spending more. Or will I just have to wait until I can afford a concrete structure?
linda

[Pendragon]

While I suppose it possible, the chances of finding a home zoned for that wind area seem very low. I'm probably 20 miles from the coast, and still had to get a 140mph rating to place a home.

[Dan Rogers]

My daughter is doing a report on new orleans and rebuilding that area can you please help me on some information on you answer to Hurricane proof homes? for her report
thansk
Dan Rogers
Urbana Il

[rmurray]

Hurricane proof...???.. Wind zone III manufactured homes are designed to withstand sustained winds of 120 mph...Coastal modular homes (and site built) are designed to withstand 3 second gusts of wind to 140 mph....Does that mean any one of these are hurricane proof??...Cat 5 have up to hours of sustained winds over 150mph....Both of the above homes should be able to withstand a cat 3 hurricane up to 120mph sustained winds...The majority of damage in a hurricane is from surging water...That is why coastal housing of any kind is built far above ground level.....

You might want to suggest your daughter research homes being built in the Netherlands (it was called Holland when I was a kid)...There all the land is like New Orleans..below sea level...They are building homes on hydraulic jacks that lift the home in the event of a flood....Good idea...but expensive...

[David Oxhandler]

Here is a few facts, lifted from BuiltStronger.com Visit them for a full picture of how manufactured homes stood up to the nasty Florida storms of the past 2 seasons.


"Many Americans have been victimized by an outdated conception of manufactured homes......


IN FACT, according to state officials, in all of Florida, 16 people died as a result of this deadly storm. Only two of these fatalities were related to manufactured homes, and those deaths occured when the residents of a decades-old mobile home ignored an evacuation order.....


IN FACT, manufactured homes held up well, even when compared to site-built homes. That this was be the case should not really surprise anyone: since 1999, manufactured homes have been built and installed to standards tougher than any but the most recent codes for site-built structures. As required by the Florida Building Code, all manufactured homes sold in Florida's coastal counties since 1994 are engineered to withstand sustained winds of 110 mph and 3-second gusts of 130 to 150 mph.


IN FACT, the State Bureau of Mobile Home and RV Construction surveyed 11,800 manufactured homes among 77 parks in seven counties, including hard-hit Charlotte and DeSoto. Of the manufactured homes installed according to Rule 15-C—the most stringent tie-down regulation in the country—the Bureau could not find a single home that had been moved from its foundation. And RADCO, an independent engineering firm, revealed that manufactured homes produced and installed in accordance with the current Federal Standards successfully withstood the effects of Hurricane Charley.


And in the end, responsible reporting did win out: after touring the area, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was quoted by the media as saying, "the new construction standards for manufactured homes are working." Such news organizations as Fox News, CNN, and the Associated Press were finally forced to admit that homes built to the new codes didn't budge an inch in the 145 mph winds recorded at Punta Gorda.


Despite the public misperception and media misinformation, the FACT is that modern manufactured homes, intelligently engineered and well-built, are fully the equal of other building types when it comes to safety and security."


www.builtstronger.com