I'm sorry but does anyone in Florida KEEP their plywood?

[underpants]

I hope for the best for them of course but why in the world don't these people already have the materials they need to protect their households?

Hell I have enough plywood stored in the basement of our apartment building to cover our windows just in case (I've never had to use it-even in Hurricane Isabelle last September). I have always had "worst case scenario" stuff on hand.

Now I see that people are waiting 1 hour+ for sheets of plywood and people buying flashlights as if they don't have any.

Am I OVER PREPARED? Is this not the norm? Does plywood go bad that fast? -I know the answer to that one-

Again I wish them the best.

BTW- as an armchair meteorologist I wouldn't be surprised to see Frances skip through Florida and get into the Gulf- a scary thought.

[freetobegay]

1. I do!

:)

[blueknight]

2. my neighbor and i

were discussing the same thing last night. just put the shit in the garage and wait on the next one!

[cmf]

3. good question

we had shutters my dad kept in the shed. I grew up in Louisiana. Florida gets hit way more often. If I lived there, I would definitely have some shutters.

[DS1]

4. I got your wood right here, pal

:7

[underpants]

7. Board?

Bored? :bounce:

[Ducks In A Row]

5. I was thinking this watching the coverage

[MuseRider]

6. I was wondering that

just this morning. When my kids were little I loaded our tornado area with juice and fruit snacks along with the usual radio, flashlights, blankets etc. Every year I restock in the spring. I wonder why there are others who do not when they know this could happen? Just musing.

[underpants]

10. ~"Well that is next on my list...OOOH! FearFactor is on!"

Something like that?

[redqueen]

14. LOL!

Most likely. :7

[BiggJawn]

19. Winner!!!

"honey, I think we should go get some hurricane supp....Oooooooh! A NEW "King of The Hill"!!"

[underpants]

20. I'll just have me a beer while I watch this

HEY! It's a Fear Factor marathon on Fx! (teo hours later) Wow! Look *hic* at the boobs on that blonde oh boy I can't wait 'till she is down to her bathing suit and hanging from a helicopter *hic*......

[yellowcanine]

8. A lot of Florida houses are built on slabs - no basements for storage

So they may have no place to store the plywood. Still - you would think that anyone who lived in "Hurricane Alley" would figure something out to store the stuff. Better yet - install real shutters on your house that can be closed and latched in case of a hurricane. That is the purpose of shutters and a lot of people have fake ones for decorative purposes anyway - might as well have "the look" and have it be useful as well.

[underpants]

12. I great up on the Va. Peninsula

we didn't have a basement either but we did have a garage and we did have a crawl space.

I understand what you are saying but I just don't get it.

BTW- Is it okay to put shutters on a stucco house?

[Squeech]

9. You wouldn't believe

how bad a termite problem Florida has :D

[midnight armadillo]

15. How about some corrugated steel or aluminum?

The roofing stuff is cheap enough and I imagine would do as well as a 1/2" sheet of plywood to protect against debris...plus no termites.

[XNASA]

11. When I lived on the Gulf Coast, it was kept in our garage.

The previous owner had already seen to it. It was precut to fit the windows.

I had a bag of V-shaped clips about 3 inches long and 1.5 inches wide made of tensile steel. These clip could hold the plywood in the windows without drilling or nailing.

Luckily, I never had to use any of it.

[underpants]

17. Right exactly that is the same type thing my stepfather had set-up

Woodworking was a hobby so that explains some of it. I talked to my brother about this and he said he had everything in one of his storage spaces under his little house too.

I guess it is a learned thing or something.

[soothsayer]

13. you could only use it twice

since you have to spraypaint Go Away Frances on it!

[underpants]

18. Like this? "Don't call me Frances"

I personally would have gone with "Lighten up Frances" (Stripes)


And I really like the chat room language on this one.


You'd have thought that the goatee alone would keep people away.

[Richardo]

21. "Looters! Get a brain, morans!"

"Be ware!"

That's a new one for Lounge threads, like "moran" and "I'm series!"

[underpants]

22. u will C God

Looters: Okay this dumbass DESERVES to get ripped off.

[Philostopher]

23. Hey, he's got God in there!

I'll bet Jesus is behind the sofa, too! C'mon, guys -- get the chainsaw revved up!

[underpants]

24. Here ya go-"Lighten up Frances"

[watercolors]

16. Have hurricane shutters

we did the plywood thing for some years. kept in garage, now with the light weight shutters, it is such a breeze to put them up and be ready. Usually after one of these large storms a good many people get them. They are expensive, depending on your house and types you buy. I think they should be a must here on the coast. We got ours just before Flyod in 1999 and this is only the second time we have had to use them. Another good use for them , if we leave for a month it is great security.

[Misunderestimator]

25. I don't have any... can you send me some?

They're all out of it here. Seriously though, I'm far enough inland and in an area that hasn't been hit by a hurricane in 75 years... er... 2 weeks, I mean... doh. :D... nope, no excuse.

[underpants]

26. DO you still have your duct tape?

Get working now.

[RobinA]

27. I Asked This Exact Question

yesterday and was told that a lot of people in Florida don't have any place to keep plywood out of the weather. I asked the same about generators, which seem to run out every hurricane. I mean, generators don't go bad. I would think it would be the first thing you'd buy when moving to hurricane country.

[fishnfla]

28. plywood from when?

I've seen some 2 year old plywood today. Soft enough to wipe your ass with.
the stuff just dont keep. also people seem to think that every hurricane hits in the same place, that is simply not the case. In most major coastal areas a hurricane come once every great while. before floyd here it was over 20 years since one hit.

[underpants]

29. Well they stuff I have in the dark damp basement is just fine

I have it off the floor. :shrug:

[skygazer]

30. I know!!!

When I lived in Alabama, our neighbors who'd lived there for years had pre-cut, pre-drilled pieces of plywood to fit all their window. When a hurricane came up, they'd simply pop them on - took maybe an hour.

I live in CA and I have everything I could possible need for an emergency (which would probably be an earthquake) - generator, gas, propane, water, canned foods, candles, flashlights, you name it.

I always scratch my head in wonder at these people who rush to the store to stock up while the hurricane is closing in.

[politicat]

31. My grannie does. And puts it up herself with her cordless Makita.

We're self-sufficient in this family.

I don't understand it. Sept. 10, I put the space blankets in the car, buy a box of Balance bars and 2 gallons of water; a unisex urinal; a dozen pillar candles and a box of chemical hand and foot warmers, the emergency radio and the red roof flag. That's the car blizzard kit. There's a similar one in the house, with powdered creamer and dry milk and other necessities as well as a ventable kerosene heater.

And we don't live in an area likely to have too many problems. We've only been snowed in a few times and never for more than a week or so, and never lost gas.

I don't understand the whole problem with being prepared and thinking ahead... but then again, I know a LOT of people who don't think ahead.

Pcat

[Kat45]

32. That's like the run on stores for shovels every winter, when a

snowstorm is about to hit. Here in the Northeast, we get some snow every year; I would think everyone would have a shovel. And brushes and scrapers to clean the car off. Plus, they flood the supermarket to stock up on food just in case it's one of those infrequent blizzards that closes everything down for a week. Makes me wonder: don't people by a week's worth of food on their regular shopping trips anyway?

I always call this their "bunker shopping." And good luck to you if it's time for your regular weekly shopping trip.