Are hurricane straps the answer when Mother Nature strikes
It's a small metal bracket, but experts say hurricane straps could help prevent catastrophic damage like the devastation caused in mid-July by an EF-2 tornado that hit the south end of Barrie.
"The clips themselves have been tested to help withstand wind uplift for tornadoes that have an EF-2 rating," says Dufferin County chief building official Greg MacNaughtan.
In 2017, Dufferin County teamed up with the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction to create a Hurricane Clip Rebate Program.
With 16,377 clips installed to date, it's the first of its kind in the country.
"We've had a number of tornadoes over the years, some more severe than others," MacNaughtan says.
"The response has been very positive, and it is increasing over the years. We are seeing an increase in a response from our subdivision builders. We have builders right now in the town of Shelburne who are using the Hurricane clip."
It's one measure experts and industry leaders are asking for in the push to strengthen Ontario's building code.
"We do an awful lot for fire, and to me, this is just another life safety issue that should be included in our homes," says Doug Tarry, owner of Doug Tarry Homes.
The push comes after the tornado, with wind speeds clocking in around 210 kilometres per hour, damaged upwards of 200 homes with roughly 20 roofs ripped right off.
"We know if we can keep the roof on with that wind load, then the house is going to survive," Tarry says.
Tarry uses hurricane ties or six-inch screws to secure the roofs on his builds in St.Thomas, Ont., something he learned in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
"We are literally trying to make it doable and scaleable, fast and affordable. That's the entire point," Tarry says in a video by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction.
Tarry says the cost to a builder all in is between $500 and $1,200, with the cost then passed on to the homeowner.
If he were in Dufferin County, for example, builders or homeowners would get an average of $300 to $400 back.
"Yes, it's got some cost to it, but it's a lot better than the house going to the landfill or someone getting injured," Tarry says.
Barrie Ward 6 councillor Natalie Harris took shelter in a home with her son during the tornado when the roof was torn right off.
"If we didn't make it to the basement, I don't know what would have happened," says Harris.
She plans to bring forward a motion to city council on Aug. 9 for changes to the province's building code.
"I'm also asking city council to potentially look at rebates and incentives for builders to move forward using hurricane straps, even if the building code isn't changed," Harris adds.
Now, it would be up to the province to implement any changes.
But Harris says she will be taking part in a virtual building code roundtable early next month with the province and key industry leaders.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.