Hurricane Damage

I included a picture of my mother's home that was about 2 miles away. Much of Broward County looked as least as bad this. The original size of my patio was 10' X 16'; I had planned on closing it in when I had some extra money. Such a project would cost very little to accomplish because the roof structure was in fairly good shape. The problem that would have to be addressed would be the steel support columns. After 40 years exposure to the elements, the bottoms of the columns were completely corroded. So much so that they were no longer attached to the concrete slab below. This is what ultimately caused the roof to fail during the storm. The wind was able to push the structure from underneath with nothing holding it down. The entire structure was lifted up and over the house landing in the front yard.

I suspect improper fastening to the house caused the awning damage. I noticed after the storm that the hold-down clamps were not only flimsy but also difficult to attach to the awnings. Since I was not there to button up the house, I can only speculate.

When the patio roof came off it hit the house roof in several places before landing in the front yard. It also hit a plumbing vent, driving a larger hole around the pipe.

The wind had such force, the ¼" steel angle brackets holding the patio roof to the rest of the house were bent up. The only remains were a large hole along the new eve of the house and a 6" concrete slab.