The case FOR home ownership

TIME magazine published a story in Sept 6, 2010 issue about the loss of the American dream of home ownership. Not only was it a discouraging article, it was wrong! There is nothing more central to the American way of life than home ownership, and that dream is just as alive today as ever. Young couples can take advantage of the lower interest rates to make home ownership affordable. It gives them a root for growing their families and establishing a stable community.

TIME looked at home ownership as an investment, from a financial side. True that prices haven't escalated as in the past, but it is still a sound investment. A home is far more than a financial investment. It is an investment in the family, which still today, is the American Dream.

Home building has a strong economic impact on the local economy. This is why Obama and the economic stimulus package gives rebates and tax credits to new buyers. The growth of new home construction, some say, will have the greatest impact on overall American economic recovery. Home owners paying real estate taxes are the primary source of local government funds. More home owners, more money in the local ecomony for better schools, better roads, better community!

Studies show that home owners are keeping their houses longer. Therefore, it would make more sense to build a better, more secure home. Spend a few extra dollars to build beyond codes. that includes adding the best hurricane tie-down system available, Cable-Tite. It was designed by engineers to exceed construction codes for protection from high wind uplift by using cables attached from the top plate to the anchor bolts for maximum protection.

Buy a new home with confidence about your investment in your family and your future, and insist on Cable-Tite uplift protection.

Dale Returns.....

Some of you are probably wondering why there haven't been any recent blogs about the goings-on at Cable-tite. I was gone for a few months working on another unrelated project. But, alas.....I'm back, and continuing to post about all the benefits of using the Cable-tite system of hurricane tie-downs for new home construction uplift protection in high wind regions. I will continue to tout the benefits and ease of using Cable-tite over traditional hurricane clips or threaded rods. Your comments are always welcome whether you are a home owner, new home builder, an architect, or an engineer. "Cable-tite - exceeding codes"

Brian Harris Homes - block foundations

From time to time we have questions about using Cable-tite as hurricane and high wind tie-down protection with block foundations. There is a little more work to anchor the top plate to the foundation anchor bolts, but it can be done.

I recently worked with Matt Harris at Brian Harris Homes, a new home builder in middle Tennessee. One thing I liked that Harris did was core fill the block to the footer. This offers much better hold down value than blocks with only the top block filled.

After the house was framed and roofed, I went to the crawl space and installed the anchor nut and cap. I drilled a 3/8 hole for the cable, then attached it to the top plate as standard installation. I crawled back under the house and locked the Cable-tite firmly in place.

NOTE: See the small blue electrical wire sticking through the floor above the drill in the photo above? I drilled a small 1/8" hole in the subfloor and used the blue wire to mark my place. Upstairs, I drilled the 3/8" hole for the cable. This is much easier when working in a small crawl space.

In this photo of the finished installation, note that the anchor nut, cap and cable vise are not seen. They are in the crawl space below.

Texas ranch house update

A In January, I had the privilege of working with an Austin TX builder and a home owner. We installed Cable-Tite in a ranch house. It was a magnificent home site, and a well-designed house.

Here are some photos of the house in May, and it's coming along quite nicely.

The first photo shows columns on the back of the house with lights installed in them. There are two Cable-Tite hurricane tie-down systems in each column. I installed them after the columns were framed. The beauty of Cable-Tite is that everything is hidden inside the walls. No one sees the uplift protection Cable-Tite offers, but the home owner feels safe knowing they are there.

The second photo shows small columns on the front porch. There is a 4x4 post holding the roof, and Cable-Tite in installed beside it to an anchor bolt. The post hold the roof up, and the cable holds the roof down. The tension of approximately 600 lbs. holds the cable, so the system is in constant compression, on a sunny day like this day, or in high-winds and stormy weather.

In addition to Cable-Tite throughout the perimeter walls for the house, there are metal hurricane clips securing every rafter to the top plate.

Thanks to the home owner, the builder, the engineer, and the architect for using Cable-Tite to exceed the construction codes for hurricane tie-down systems.

A better foundation!

Building a better foundation is the philosophy of Matt Harris with Harris Homes, new home builders. Cable-tite is working with him to install our hurricane and high wind tie-down systems in a new home for Tonya and Chaz Jetton.

My big complaint has been that most of the time the anchor bolt is only secured in the top block of the foundation. This makes the weakest part of the tie-downs the mortar joint between the top block and the one below it. As you can see in the right photo above, the mason is filling the entire cell with mortar, all the way to the footer. He also uses an 18" anchor bolt which secures it to the second block. This creates a much better foundation with which to attach the Cable-tite anchor nut. For Cable-tite to work correctly, the elements surrounding installation need to be strong. Harris believes the same, and proves it by filling the block. Thanks! Cable-tite will attach to the anchor bolt then connect to the top plate for the ultimate in uplift protection.

In the left photo you will notice that some of the anchor bolts are not perfectly straight. That is not a problem for Cable-tite because of the flexibility of the cable. It would not work with threaded rods.

Floods in Tennessee - May 1-2

For those reading this blog living in Tennessee, you know all about "The Flood" of 2010. Very difficult to absorb and comprehend. Our hearts go out to those who had losses, and wish them Godspeed in their recovery.

On Saturday afternoon the non-stop broadcast showed a spot on the weather map and told those residents living near there to expect "shear winds" as strong as 100 MPH. The weatherman followed that warning for an hour or so as these high winds traveled across middle Tennessee.

So many new home builders, architects, and engineers say that Cable-Tite is not needed in the "non" wind zones, and so often I say "what if". This weekend that "what if" came true. Winds at 100 MPH are the same as a Category 2 hurricane. Codes in non wind regions do not require tie-downs. Even though this is somewhat rare, what if it were your house in the path shown on that weather map? Wouldn't you be thankful your builder installed Cable-Tite.

Middle Tennessee locals will recall the video of the school portable floating down Interstate 24 near Bell Road. WOW!!!! If they had used Cable-Tite to anchor it to it's foundation, it would not have floated away.

If you are reading this and building outside the high-wind regions of the US, please.....consider Cable-Tite for your safety.

WKRN Channel 2 News story

http://www.wkrn.com/global/story.asp?s=12223631#

(video on website)

GALLATIN, Tenn. - A Gallatin company has designed a system that may keep homes in one piece during high winds.
Cable-Tite installs high tension cables within the walls of new construction homes. The cables are anchored in the foundation and tied to the roof.
"What we're trying to do is hold the roof to the foundation," Cable-Tite's Dale Richardson explained. "We want to keep the square of the top plate and the bottom plate and the walls as a cube and hold it together."
The science behind Cable-Tite is that if the home is kept squared, with the roof intact, the construction can withstand higher sustained winds and wind gusts.
Richardson said, "When you have high winds, it's trying to push the roof off the top of the house and when the roof goes up, then the walls fall over."
Cable-Tite has only been in business for two years and has done most of its work so far along the Gulf Coast and in Houston, Texas.
As for costs, according to Richardson, in "most houses, it's going to be maybe 1% of the total cost, if you're talking a $200,000 home, maybe $1,200 to $1,500."
Gallatin builder Fred Yates told News 2 he wouldn't think of building another house without Cable-Tite.
He's currently including the system in a massive upper-scale home on Old Hickory Lake.
"Anytime [the wind] starts whipping up, you can see it can get under that roof and lift it up," he said. "If you don't have something holding it down, it can tear it right off."
Yates said he can see the system gaining popularity quickly among other builders who build upscale homes, and once others see the benefit, the cable system will be in demand in mid-priced houses.
"This system will probably not withstand a Category 5 [Hurricane], but nothing will, but the peripheral winds, the ones that are 60, 70, 90 miles per hour, you don't have a problem," he said. "It'll hold it down.
Richardson said the system has been lab tested to withstand winds of up to 90 miles per hour, but so far, none of the homes where the system has been installed have been tested by Mother Nature's highest winds.