Hurricane Ties

One element of properly creating load path connections is installing a hurricane tie. Hurricane ties secure the roof connections to the ceiling joists and/or exterior walls which keeps the roof in place during high wind weather. Simpson Strong-Tie has conducted laboratory tests and shown real life examples where the roofs of homes are blown off during tornadoes and hurricanes when hurricane ties are not used. While the homes with hurricane ties survived with manageable damage.

                A common issue with hurricane ties is that contractors typically install them on the inside of the stud wall because it is easier to do so (shown below).

However, installing the tie on the inside of the wall can cause top plate overturning due to uplift from wind. This can be counteracted by installing a plate to stud connector on the inside of the wall or using a single roof to wall connector. The image below provided by Simpson Strong Tie provides various options for creating a successful connection.

                Team Engineering’s standard detail for the hurricane tie shows it on the outside of the stud wall as this eliminates the need for an extra connection.