Page 58 - Green Builder Magazine May-June 2019 Issue

Resilient Housing

BUILDINGS AND SYSTEMS THAT ARE READY FOR ANYTHING

Safety Shield

Chosen for its looks, the metal roof on a Florida resident’s home ends up saving her
family during disaster.

BY GREEN BUILDER STAFF

ANAMA CITY, FLA., homeowner Kristi
considers herself lucky, thanks to a less-
than-thorough inspection that missed
the obvious fact her 1940s home needed
P a new roof when she bought it in 2014.
By chance, she replaced her leaking asphalt roof
with metal as one of the „rst home improvement
projects she tackled. Kristi, who prefers her last
name not be used for personal privacy, says she
decided to go with a metal roof because she liked
the appearance and thought it would „t nicely with
her home’s cottage style. “I didn’t even really consider
safety at the time,” Kristi says. “[I remember] thinking
that metal would help keep the home a lot cooler in
Florida’s heat.”‹
Fast forward to fall of 2018, when Hurricane
Michael hit Panama City dead-on as a strong Category
4-plus monster storm. Now, Kristi credits her roof
choice for something much more important: saving
her life.

UNEXPECTED TERROR CREDIT: METAL ROOFING ALLIANCE
When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle,
Kristi, her „ancée‹and her son had decided to ride it
out in her home. A sheri•’s o–ce employee, Kristi Wreck support. Hurricane Michael sent this massive tree crashing onto this Panama City,
and her „ancée, a local „re„ghter, knew their services Fla., home—but its metal roof held up perfectly.
would be needed in the community in the aftermath
———
of the storm. It was a decision they soon came to question as the full A TRUE TEST OF METTLE AND METAL
power and terror of Michael descended on Panama City. The storm’s When the storm „nally subsided, Kristi dreaded going outside to
155-mph winds wiped out nearly everything in its path. That included inspect the horrendous damage. Homes in the area with shingle and
tall trees that were snapped o• at the trunks, causing them to fall asphalt roofs had not fared well. Many roofs were half-destroyed or
and slice some homes clean in two. Roofs ripped o• and homes blew all gone, literally shredded in some cases.
apart, leaving much of Panama City in rubble.‹ Yet Kristi’s home was completely intact, and to their surprise, it was
When the hurricane hit, Kristi huddled in her home’s bathroom holding up a giant 60-foot pine tree that had toppled directly on their
with her son and „ancée. They could feel the house actually lift up from metal roof, right above the bathroom where they had been hunkered
the foundation and shake, with winds screaming and howling as loud down during the hurricane. Not only was the roof supporting the
as a jet engine as the hurricane smashed into homes and buildings. massive weight of the fallen tree, it had sustained almost no damage.
For more than two hours, the terror of possibly not surviving “Our roof literally saved our lives,” she says.
Michael’s severe lashing was excruciating. “We had no idea what Kristi’s „ancée had decided to re-roof his own nearby home with
we were in for,” Kristi says. “Sitting in that bathroom, we honestly a metal roof a couple of years earlier, and it too survived Michael’s
thought our lives were about to end.” wrath with very little damage. Both homes remained water and wind

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