Actually, with the proper preparation and a better roof my house would have
survived Andrew. I didn't have shutters. With the steel shutter panels I
have now I don't think I would have had any penetration of the exterior
(concrete block construction). As it was, I only lost about three windows.
The real damage was done when my fiberglass roof shingles peeled off and
water came into the ceiling from the joints in the roofing plywood. I only
lost about one sheet of plywood from the roof. The insulation got soaked and
its weight caused all of the interior ceilings to collapse. That caused all
of the damage (totaled the house as far as the insurance company was
concerned). Now, I have a cement tile roof which would probably stand up.

"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
Rich writes:

Rich, I'm happy you didn't sustain any major damage, but I don't think
Frances was the storm to learn from. ... Specialists later determined
that the winds exceeded 200mph in Country Walk.

Not wanting to get into a "can you top this" contest, but remember:

You prepare for the middle forces, a kind of "triage". Below a certain
strength, you don't need preparations, above a certain strength, they
won't
matter. I believe H. Frances was in that middle strength.