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Build Your New Home with a Resilient Design and Shape

05/03/2023

Plan | Stay Safe • Hurricanes | Tornadoes

Why does it matter?

Your house design and shape are critical to handling lateral loads from high-wind events like hurricanes and tornadoes.

What do I need to know?

A square house has the same load in every direction because its size and sides are uniform. Conversely, a long, narrow house will experience a much larger load on the long sides than on the short sides. Walls parallel to the lateral load must be designed and built to anticipate and handle this loading.

Roof shape affects the way a home handles high winds as well. A hip roof will withstand high winds better than a gable end roof as the gable can act like a sail on a ship and provide a large surface area for the wind to be blown against.

Where do I start?

If you are building new or adding to your home, use a hip roof design instead of a gable to benefit from the aerodynamics of the hip shape option. If you already have a gable shape or must use one for design reasons, you can reinforce the gable by bracing it to provide the strength necessary to resist high wind forces.

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