Tornado in Cleveland TN.

Wednesday afternoon a tornado touched down in Cleveland TN, near my daughter's house. She sent me a photo of damages to a house nearby. I am posting it because this is a classical mistake in building codes, and a mistake that Cable-tite can correct. Look at the close-up on the left of the foundation. Notice that the top block is still attached to the house. This is because the anchor bolts were set in the top row. They held......but what didn't hold was the mortar joint.

The sad part is that this house is built "to codes". At Cable-tite, we have pushed to build "beyond codes". If the builder had installed the anchor bolts into the footers (or slab) and attached Cable-tite to them with extended cable attached to the top plate, this problem would have been avoided. The cost during construction for Cable-tite could have been approximately $1000, and the house would have been secure.

Cable-tite is not considered tornado protection. A heavier wind would have destroyed the house with or without Cable-tite. But in this particular case, it would have saved the house.

For builders reading this.....please.....sink the anchor bolts into the footers, EVEN if you chose not to use our products. There is virtually no cost for doing that. Call me and I'll help guide you in building a more secure home.

Homeowners.....ask for Cable-tite by name. Cable-tite is the leader in hurricane protection and straight line winds that create uplift. This most recent flurry of tornadoes had straight-line winds, some over 100 MPH in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Cable-tite is concerned about your safety.

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.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! Today our "official" Evaluation Report came, Report #0170, and is posted on our website. It is amazing that it has taken our own in-house testing during 2008, Smith-Emery Laboratory testing in April 2009, and further review and scrutiny until today.....March 1, 2010 to receive an "official" response from IAPMO, an Evaluation Service. Nevertheless, the claim that we made in the beginning has now verified. Cable-tite has been dissected many ways to get the same conclusion.....Cable-Tite is the best, most robust system for anchor tie downs of your new home to offer high wind protection typical of a hurricane over 150 MPH. It meets and exceeds all construction codes for hurricane tie-down systems in the high wind regions for uplift protection.

Designed, tested, proven, and today.....stamped OFFICIAL!

INCAST Magazine is the trade publication of the Investment Castings Industry. Cable-tite anchor nut, cap and top plate are made using the investment casting method.

We are thrilled that the January issue has a case study on Cable-tite and how Precision Castings of Tennessee used investment casting to satisfy a need in the housing industry to meet and exceed construction codes.

Please look at our NEWS page for the entire article.

And.....thank you, INCAST!

Product EXPO - October 22

Houston - The Product EXPO at the Sam Houston Racetrack on October 22 was an excellent success. Thanks so much to all the GHBA builders who came by and talked to me about hurricane tie downs and the Cabletite system for uplift protection. Mr. Jay Conner with MLAW Engineering in Austin helped me man the booth and was also thankful for those who came by the discuss windstorm engineering.

We had some displays available for demonstration of the cable attachment to the anchor bolts and the top plate and the vise that holds the cable. There were several who asked how the cable meets construction codes for high-wind areas. With it's 3200 lb hold-down strength, it far exceeds codes requirements, and is much more robust than hurricane clips. We look forward to working with several new home builders in the Houston area in the weeks and months ahead.

THANKS, Houston

THANKS to everyone who made me feel so welcome in Houston Aug 3-7, and to all those who had such interest in our Cable-tite hurricane tie-down system. I had the opportunity to meet a number of builders, both large and small. And everyone had a welcome and nice word to say about our high-wind uplift protection. I also met engineers who loved our system because it ties the house to the foundation with the anchor bolts.

A huge thanks to Lisa and D'Nita at GHBA. They were so helpful with suggestions about how they could help through GHBA. By my second visit, I felt right at home. Thanks for introducing me to so many people in the Houston home building market. We have volunteered to help and donate for the Benefit House, and want to participate in the upcoming Product Expo.

We are anxious to get started with projects in Houston. We will work with the developers/home builders any way needed to move forward with Cable-tite.

June housing starts UP

June housing starts are UP!!!!! According to economist Dr. Ken Mayland at ClearView Economics, the bottom for housing starts has been hit, and we are slowly rebounding back towards growth. New single family housing starts increased 3.6% in June, and forecast for 2009 have been increased by 8.7%. The recovery is underway!

It is particularly interesting to note this increase when foreclosures and existing home sales have increased in units and decreased in prices, making many bargains available to the buyer. Yet, new housing starts increased. This tells me that once the abundance of inventory is depleted, new housing is set to boom.

Don't forget Cable-Tite when you plan your new house. It's the most robust hurricane and high-wind tie-down system available. It exceeds construction codes by offering a continuous anchor from the foundation to the top plate for uplift protection.

Look at the porch now!!!

I thought you'd like to see the progress that's been made in last few weeks on the porch. Remember I blogged earlier about the telajack posts and Cable-tite working together. The Telajack is holding the porch up, and the Cable-Tite is holding it down. They work together inside the columns.

The columns are finished now and look terrific. The Telajack and Cable-Tite are totally enclosed so you never see them again. But Fred Yates knows they are there when the storm's high winds come across the lake, and he's glad they are there. They are securely anchored.

I have a ton of photos showing the column construction. This is not only necessary to hold the roof up and down, but cost effective and easy. Try it on your next project!

Building Site Lunch HUGE success!

May 19, 2009 - The lunch open house at 931 Lake Park Drive hosted by Cable-Tite and Fred Yates Homes was a HUGE success. It was attended by other builders, architects, designers, inspectors, and community leaders. The purpose of this lunch was to aquaint the local community of builders and home owners with our Cable-Tite system. It is a tie-down system that attaches to the anchor bolt and the top plate. It's designed to secure the house from high-wind uplift caused by straight line winds or hurricane force winds in high-wind regions.

The house has 61 Cable-Tite systems installed in the walls and everyone enjoyed walking around and seeing them first hand. And "twang-ing" the cables. It's easy to see how this eliminates the need for all those time consuming and labor intensive hurricane clips and tie-downs other anchor systems require.

The house also has 38 Telajack posts, featured in the basement and on the deck. Cable-Tite and Telajack work together inside columns because one is holding the roof up and the other holding it down.

Above photo shows the Cable-Tite boys in yellow and Mr. Fred Yates. Everyone has profited in the partnership.

The house is still available for inspection for a couple more weeks, for anyone that missed our event and has a desire to see it. Please don't drop in....call me or Fred first. Call me 451-9080 I'm happy to give you a tour, but sorry....no strawberry pie! (you really missed something there)

May 19th

NEW DATE!
A new date has been set for the open house at Fred Yates custom built home. It is May 19, 2009 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM at 931 Lake Park Drive, Gallatin, TN http://www.mapquest.com/

Cable-Tite is launching the robust hold-down cable system at this house. It secures the top plate to the foundation and offers high wind uplift protection. This adds peace of mind in an area of strong shear winds.

This house has 61 Cable-Tite tie down systems in it. The walls are open so you can see the installation. You will see how easy it is to install from the anchors to the vises, cables, and top plate.

There will be engineers at the site this day to explain our system and answer any questions.

A nice lunch is planned, FREE, but....please.....call us an let us know if you plan to attend so we can have plenty of food.

We all look forward to meeting you.

APRIL 30 - Circle that date!!!! We are currently working to complete the Cable-Tite system for our Lake Park Drive test house. Mr. Fred Yates has agreed to open his house to builders, contractors, and inspectors to show the robust hurricane tie down system we've installed in his house. And the best part.......lunch is provided.

If you'd like to see this exciting new anchoring system, then you'd be welcome to attend. Please let us know so we can "throw another cup of water in the soup" Thursday, April 30 11:30AM-1:00 PM

Beta House

Mr. Fred Yates of Fred Yates Home has agreed to a beta test for the new home he's constructing for himself on Lake View Dr, Gallatin. We will keep you posted on the developments of the house. Here's today's look. The first step for installing our hurricane tie-down system is to screw the anchor nut to the existing anchor bolt. It can be done now to secure the sill plate, or later when installing the complete system. Even though Gallatin Tennessee isn't in the hurricane zone, Mr. Yates home is on the lake which in prone to high winds. This high wind uplift protection will add less than 1/2 of one percent to the cost of his home.