The bottom of the clip should be positioned at the side of the top plate, so the nails are in shear. The first level that receives a worthwhile discount is Clips, also known as “Hurricane Clips,' and a photo of one is shown at the top of this page, and also an illustration below.Īnd here’s an example of an incorrectly installed hurricane clip that will also get kicked back to the toenail discount level because the nails connecting to the truss to the top plate of the wall are in withdrawal.

See our blog post Is it worth it to upgrade my roof tie-down hurricane straps for a better wind mitigation insurance discount? if you want to improve your roof-to-wall connection for better hurricane-resistance and insurance discount. The photo below shows a strap with only two nails securing it to the truss, so it will be dropped back to the toe nails level discount. The nailing of the connector to the wall below it is not required to be inspected because it is typically not visible when construction is completed. Shown below is a hilarious example of where a builder tried to do a work-around after setting the straps far away from the trusses. This usually happens when the straps are placed incorrectly in the wet concrete of a freshly-poured tie beam and cannot be relocated. An offset of more than 1/2-inch between connector and truss will void the strap discount. The higher-rated connectors are metal plates that are secured with nails that are are perpendicular to the uplift force (in shear).Īlso, connectors that are not nailed to the truss/rafter with a minimum of three nails, or are offset so far as to reduce their structural effectiveness, are kicked back to the Toe Nails level. They offer little resistance, and the nails simply pull out under uplift. The reason it has a low rating is that it is just nails, and they are approximately aligned with uplift force on the roof framing caused by a hurricane (in withdrawal). In an older masonry house, the truss/rafter may be toe nailed to a wood plate that is bolted to the tie beam at the top of wall. “Toe Nails” is the way a roof structure was secured to the walls until around the 1960s, and it is nails driven diagonally through the side of the roof truss/rafter into the top plate of the wall. If there are several different types of connectors, which would occur when an older house has had a more recent addition, the weakest connection is required to be used for the form. As part of explaining each category of connector, we will show the actual text in the Florida wind mitigation form, outlined in yellow, and include an illustration of each one.

It is exceeded only by the discount for a hip roof (sloped on all sides), which averages 47%. The reduction on the windstorm portion of your homeowner’s insurance that is allowed for a strong roof-to-wall attachment averages 35%, and is the largest discount for many homeowners.

Flat roof rafter ties in to another