[elfyum]

So - to those who bash FL - where would you rather be now - sunny & 85, or stranded in sub freezing temps with no power?!
My heart goes out to all those who have lost their lives, have suffered, & are suffering.
Winter is evil.
Lets here it for the state with the BEST weather!!!!!!!!!!
****ay for FLORIDA!!!!!!!!!!!
(What is H o o r?! W h o r e in another language? )
YIPPEE FOR FLORIDA!!!!!!!!!

[BlueWillowPlate]

The Parade of Lights in Denver is going to be mighty chilly tonight.
The icy streets are what really would get to me--they are really dangerous.
Yes, Florida weather feels pretty good tonight, and my heart goes out to anyone who was adversely affected by the winter storms in the midwest.

[tallrick]

I would rather be in freezing temps with no power, you can run a generator on heating oil or even wood and use the waste heat for your home. It's better than going through a hurricane and dealing with the mess left behind, the looters, etc. I designed a system for a friend in Indiana which heats his home, produces electriclty and runs on waste oil and old tires! If you are going to live in the frozen north you need a bigger home, and homes often come with a basement you can use for a rec room and invite friends over. In Florida most people have warm weather and cold neighbors. If it's so evil to the north, why did people build cities there before in Florida?

[elfyum]

"If it's so evil to the north, why did people build cities there before in Florida?"
Cause the smart Indians didn't wanna leave paradise!!!
(And for some reason we couldn't all coexist... )

[macguy]

Originally Posted by tallrick

I would rather be in freezing temps with no power, you can run a generator on heating oil or even wood and use the waste heat for your home. It's better than going through a hurricane and dealing with the mess left behind, the looters, etc. I designed a system for a friend in Indiana which heats his home, produces electriclty and runs on waste oil and old tires! If you are going to live in the frozen north you need a bigger home, and homes often come with a basement you can use for a rec room and invite friends over. In Florida most people have warm weather and cold neighbors. If it's so evil to the north, why did people build cities there before in Florida?

Winter is a guarantee every year. In the 55 years I have been living in Fort Lauderdale we have had damage from one hurricane and that was Wilma last year. Winters do tremendous damage every year and takes lots of lives. People can't get to work, it can cost a fortune to heat your house. Kids lose school days, people lose work days and pay.

The roads end up full of cracks that have to be repaired. Your car gets rusted out prematurely and becomes worthless. They have multi car smash ups on icy roads and I could go on and on and this is every year, year after year, guaranteed. Yea, winter is great.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by elfyum

"If it's so evil to the north, why did people build cities there before in Florida?"
Cause the smart Indians didn't wanna leave paradise!!!
(And for some reason we couldn't all coexist... )

Florida didn't just happen, it was built. You go back just a hundred years and much if not most of Florida was almost uninhabitable. When we came to Fort Lauderdale in 1949, there was nothing west of 441. As kids we had to learn to live with the possibility of running into a Rattle snake any time we left the house. There were no sea walls and finding a gator in you front yard was common.

A lot of the areas where people live in their luxury homes today was just swamp that had to be filled in and developed. I am not talking in the glades but much of the coast line. No one wanted to come here except to certain areas like Palm Beach and so on and they were only developed in the begining of the 1900's. My father bought acreage along the coast in the 40's that we later sold by the foot he made a fortune in Florida. You had to be a 20 century pioneer to live in southern Florida. Go back to when place like new york or much of the east coast was being settled, much of Florida would have been out of the question.

[JUalumni]

Question about the building code. Why are houses built with wood in FL?. I would imagine that lately with such bad hurricane experiences houses would be built out of cement blocks with concrete roofs. I've gone through several hurricanes down here and really nothing bad really happens except for some down trees, no electricity and water, and that gets fixed within a week. Could be that I'm acostumed to it, but after so much damage why is wood still the main material used?, are brick houses any safer?

[Blue Grass Fever]

I would never live in a state that looks "phalic". (j/k)

[macguy]

Originally Posted by JUalumni

Question about the building code. Why are houses built with wood in FL?. I would imagine that lately with such bad hurricane experiences houses would be built out of cement blocks with concrete roofs. I've gone through several hurricanes down here and really nothing bad really happens except for some down trees, no electricity and water, and that gets fixed within a week. Could be that I'm acostumed to it, but after so much damage why is wood still the main material used?, are brick houses any safer?

To be honest, you can go anywhere in the country and you will find construction methods that haven't changed in a hundred years and Florida is no exception. When I see them building a house with the gable roofs and trusses that arrive on a truck that look like they are ready to fall apart before they are even in the roof I get almost sick. There are methods to build houses that would stand for centuries and not even cost that much more to do but they just don't do it. Here is just one method.
http://www.cement.org/homes/brief05.asp

I doubt many people have any idea what a piece of junk their houses may be.

[connielynreturns]

Originally Posted by macguy

To be honest, you can go anywhere in the country and you will find construction methods that haven't changed in a hundred years and Florida is no exception. When I see them building a house with the gable roofs and trusses that arrive on a truck that look like they are ready to fall apart before they are even in the roof I get almost sick. There are methods to build houses that would stand for centuries and not even cost that much more to do but they just don't do it. Here is just one method.
http://www.cement.org/homes/brief05.asp

I doubt many people have any idea what a piece of junk their houses may be.

I agree Mac and they say the Code is better now, yet I saw a guy drop a CBS block the other day and it crumbled and this what our houses are built with.