 |
| Thompson "Thomp" and Karen McCall's house was leveled when Hurricane Rita rammed the Southwest Louisiana coast in 2005. The McCalls have built an elevated house and believe they will be ready should the Gulf of Mexico send its waters inland again. |
Hurricane Rita leveled Thompson “Thomp” and Karen McCall’s Cameron Parish home. So, when they built their new home, they built it safer, stronger and smarter.
The McCalls' house in Grand Chenier was left unsalvageable when Hurricane Rita ravaged the Southwest Louisiana coast in September 2005. The house was a one-story, ground-level home. Their new house is elevated on concrete piers.
“It’s sad we lost our home,” Thomp McCall said. “But now we have a better house than we had before.”
Features of the McCall’s new house are:
-
Elevated house supported by concrete pilings, tied together by grade beams and topped with an integrated slab on grade.
-
A grid-like series of trenches was dug between pilings, fitted with rebar and filled with concrete to form the grade beams.
-
On top of the grade beam, a 4-inch slab was formed, connected to the grade beam by rebar.
-
Additional rebar protrudes above the slab, serving as connectors for the support piers.
-
Piers are made of 12-inch by 16-inch concrete blocks, reinforced by rebar inside and filled with concrete.
-
Piers are connected to the house support beams with 1-inch-diameter bolts.
-
Sturdy, wind- and flood-resistant foundation which is well-connected to the floor support beams. Steel rods connect foundation to top of walls.
-
Additional structural strength is provided by the exterior wall construction — ½-inch wood sheathing nailed to the wall studs in a wind-resistant pattern to resist racking (leaning), pushing and pulling forces.
-
Hip roof design is less vulnerable to wind forces than gable roof.
-
Two water heaters operating in zones, providing energy savings.
-
Windows made of UV-resistant glass.
-
Attractive, functional features include:
Work on the McCall house began in October 2006. It was completed in August 2007. The McCall’s said it was “well worth the wait.”
“We believe we are more prepared now,” he said. “Our new house is anchored down and it’s elevated. It’s built to withstand a lot more (weather-related events) than our other house was.”
Disclaimer:
The LSU AgCenter offers this information as encouragement for citizens in storm-damaged areas to Build Safer, Stronger, Smarter as they recover. The LSU AgCenter does not investigate every aspect of homes selected for Design and Construction Success Stories, nor does selection imply the home is code-compliant or an example of design, engineering or workmanship, except as specifically stated in the story. We appreciate the homeowners sharing their stories with us and with visitors to our Web site. We encourage you to honor their generosity of spirit and respect their privacy.
To share your story of successful (re)building in Louisiana, click here. Please include your name, phone number and e-mail address.