Kinda Technical--garage doors and HURRICANES!!!

Scott
Sounds like that should hold and would be pretty easy to do. Here is a rough draft of what you are talking about I think. Good luck
Tim

 

i can say this..... since it is already a Cat-4.... up from a Cat-2 just yesterdayl.... this storm is gonna be THE storm.... it has nothing to slow it down.... nothing to stop it from building and it has the ENTIRE gulf to build from....

houston is where you are going? i heard houston cannot withstand a cat-3 or higher.. word of advice... go west and north,... the farther inland you are, the less the storm will be when it gets to wherever you end up being...


everyone from texas to florida better be thinking of this.... if you take Ophilia's track...it looked like a top that you spin on the table to play with.... rita could do the same and completely wipe out the gulf coast line.... and then again, it could not... problem with hurricanes... we can predict all we want... but they truly have a mind of their own

all i am saying.... this is the storm to watch..katrina was bad.. only becuse of the flooding and that flood water going back south and breaking a levee that was already to small to do much good...


i hate to say these things, especially since alot of people dont like to think of the bad... but it is a reality.


good luck

 

I still have those 2 rooms, two nights at College Station, another 150 miles or so north, I think we will end up using those. Just keeping our ears and eyes open, at this time.

My comet, that is what I am thinking of, except adding an additional brace at the rafter above the garage ceiling. Into the frame of the house, pushing against the wood that goes down to the cement lip.

3 at 2x6 will be the best I can do in the short time we have to prepare, and get out.

If we aren't out of town by 6pm, they herd us to wherever they want to, and they close the "non-hurricane" routes, which lead to the friends and safe-houses we have access to.

 

Use Bolts nuts, and self tapping screws to tie the door to the rest of the garageThey have some t-post about 4 ft. in length that are stamped steel, and you can drill a hole in them. Drive them in the ground at an angle to a couple of inches above the ground. Attach cables going over your garage, and tighten up with a turn buckle on each cable. If you can't find cable use #9 Wire, and twist it tight just like a fence corner post. You can usually find #9 Wire at a Feed & Grain Store. Try Bay City, Texas for your supplies. I'd use plastic and tarps tied on with rope to cover the car the best possible in case all else fails, and hope it limits it's damage.

Good luck to you with the Hurricane.

 

Hey!
Where did you get a pic of my garage?
Oh, wait, my car is backed in.
You have my garage door and your car is the same color.

 

Demo

Great idea, but I didn't read it until out of town.

We made it as far out as 290 at Clay Road, which is far Northwest corner of Harris County. Traffic was horrible, as you probably saw on TV. We got an early start, so made our 1-hour trip in 7 hours. Idling most of the time, gas tanks got to 1/2, so we pulled off the road and made it to a friends house with some good elevation, so our cars wont flood. The storm has made a turn toward Louisiana border, which means that we should get 40-60 mph winds here. If the trees stay up, we have no problems.

At home, we are expecting no more than 70-80 mph, and I think my garage setup (which ended up being only 2 2x6s, due to time and space in the garage) and the boarded windows of my home should hold up. Estimates right now are 5-10" of rain, so we shouldn't flood.

We just might make this one. I hope that Houston learns a lesson...open up all freeways in one direction, early on, so everyone doesn't sit in their cars on the freeways during the storm. This could have been a MAJOR disaster, a stupidly foreseeable and preventable one, if the storm continued on into Houston.

We literally burned ALL THE GAS in Houston over the course of two afternoons. Everyone is sitting on the freeways, idling, and running out of gas on the streets. The gas stations are all empty. When one gets a tank truck in, the line is half a mile long, and the first 20-30 cars empty the place out in a couple hours.

That is why we stopped with half a tank. I don't plan on seeing gas for a few days, maybe weeks, so at least I can get home with the gas I have left.

Are we having fun yet? Got to keep a light heart through times like these. Just glad my family and all our pets made it out together.

 

Ivan was on the west of us and blew out 20 something roll up doors facing east in Demopolis, 150 miles inland.

We actually caught less from Katrina and we were in the strongest part (northeast) of the storm when it got here. Most of our winds from Katrina came from the south. With Ivan to our west, the strong stuff came from the east and really tore us up.

 

I can't believe how hard the wind has been blowing here for 2 days straight now.
Nothing like a direct hit, mind you, but 25 mph winds for 48 hours is pretty freaky.
Are any of you seeing the feeder bands yet?
They have been streaking across the sky here for a couple days.
They are long stretches of clouds moving relatively fast, followed by another stretch, and another...
I have come pretty good at picking them out... so many have gone over in the last 18 mos...
Dave

 

man hope everything goes ok for you guys tonight! these last few weeks make me wanna take an earthquake any day!

 

Scott; keep you head down, and I hope all is well when you return. These TV people are all talking up the worse case scenario, and sometimes, I even think the wish for it. Take care, and let us know how you make out.

Earl

 

I'm Baaaack!!!

We made it back home, with absolutely no damage, flooding, nothing. I don't even see evidence of any significant rain. My hot-tub is actually about 2" low. There are a few down branches and lots of leaves in the road, but no structural damage.

We left north-of-Houston area to head south early this morning, and made it home in just about an hour. Still a little wind, but we wanted to beat the crowds. We only had 1/2 tank of gas per vehicle, so we didn't want to waste it sitting in traffic for hours.

Still no gas stations open, and most (98%) don't have gas anyway. Have (had) 3 beers left, one is open in front of me right now Shore would like some ice...

Best of all, A/C and phone are all working. I don't think it even blew our power out, since no clocks are blinking.

Thank you all for your help/wishes/prayers. This could have been a really bad one. I now have the supplies ready for the next one, and will be out of town a bit earlier, just to beat the rush.

 

Hey .. thats great news!