How safe is my home in strong winds?
Truck and Wind Gusts
Some tiny homes advertise that their typical 16′ tiny house weighs in at 6000 pounds dry weight. And that is more than a standard automobile. We recently delivered a 14″ tiny house, the Breeze Easy, and it weighed in at 9,260 pounds. In normal wind conditions, tiny houses weigh enough to stay grounded at their parking spots. However, a year ago, while I was all nestled in the loft of the Wildflower during a night of unusually strong wind gusts, I felt the cabin lift slightly off the blocks that the cabin is set on. Not once, not twice, but every time a strong wind gust occurred. That spurred some research in how to provide a tie down for our tiny houses as an added piece for security while sleeping.
An advantages of a tiny house in potential wind, like in hurricanes, is that they can be moved inland easily. Back up your vehicle to them, hitch up, and you can move your home and possessions to a place of safety. We are asked this a lot from people along the gulf coast and they generally have a couple of days notice that a hurricane is headed towards them.
Sleeping Through the Storm
By: Author Unknown
A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the farmer asked for his qualifications, he said, “I can sleep when the wind blows.”
This puzzled the farmer. But he liked the young man, and hired him.
A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace.
The young man slept soundly.
The farmer and his wife then inspected their property. They found that the farm tools had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements.
The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn was properly locked. Even the animals were calm. All was well.
The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man’s words, “I can sleep when the wind blows.”
Because the farmhand did his work loyally and faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke. So when the wind blew, he was not afraid. He could sleep in peace.
At Tiny Green Cabins, we also enjoy a sound night’s sleep, and so we are shipping with each of our tiny houses tie downs and instructions. These are frequently used in mobile home parks.
“Isn’t a tiny house just a funeral pyre?”
Viking Funeral Pyre
A pyre (Greek: πυρά, pyrá, from πυρ, pýr, fire), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon the pyre, which is then set on fire.
Are tiny houses safe from a fire? Most tiny homes are built with wood sheathing and sidings, wood framing members, thin wood paneling, and usually incorporate an insulation foam board in the floor, wall, and roof cavities. Sounds like a structure made for burning.
Tiny houses are outside of building codes and it seems that no one really wants to inspect them for code compliance. Since a lot of tiny houses are built by the DIY market, and then sold, one could be living in a possible funeral pyre. Not a pleasant thought for me. And it is near impossible to meet all the building codes in a tiny house. There should be some key pieces or requirements that should be voluntarily met by anyone that builds a tiny house. One of those key pieces should be smoke detectors and heat sensors installed at specific locations.
At Tiny Green Cabins, we now hard wire smoke detectors with battery backups so that ample warnings can be sounded so that the occupant has time to escape a possible fire. In the larger micro homes, we will also provide two exits to safety…and most of our cabins and tiny houses are built with steel framing, so that eliminates a combustible material, is stronger than wood, and saves a tree.
To be continued….
