what happens to all the used plywood after boarding up for a hurricane

Semper Paratus · Aug 26, 2020

Way back in the 50's and 60's my father was a maintenance Engineer at the Union Carbide plant. Needless to say he was essential personnel. They would let him go for an hour and he would board the widows in the 2000 SF rancher. When building the place he had 4 Jbolts mounted through the brick fascia around each window and had numbered reinforced plywood panels with orientation marked. Grab the cover slap it up run the wingnuts on top of washers up and move on to the next. After the storm the panels were stored J bolts were greased wing nuts and washers run on three or four threads and ready for the next one.

two_bit_score · Aug 27, 2020

The house where my parents lived when I was born had double hung wood framed windows but the exposed windows were also covered with metal jalouise covers that operated from inside.

They lived just a few blocks from the Houston Ship Channel and hurricanes were a big concern.

By the time Hurricane Carla hit Houston we had moved to a regular neighborhood and I recall my Dad boarding up the windows on the front and sides of the house. The main window at the back he did not cover, I guess because it was under a covered porch.

I remember peering over the back of our couch and watching the rain and winds from Hurricane Carla blowing the trees in our back yard.

Semper Paratus · Aug 27, 2020

We ran from Carla in '61. Mom, Sister Aunt cousin and me. Dad at Union Carbide in Texas City Uncle at Amoco. We ended up north of Dallas some place, we got there by stopping every couple of hours and calling the plant collect to get the best evacuation details.. My dad went by my Aunt and Uncles house in Texas City already had 6 inches of water in it. Took a fire axe and cut holes in the floors to keep the swelling floors from pushing the walls off of the foundation. Boy was my aunt mad. Uncle S. told Aunt L. shut up you have the only house in the neighborhood that the walls are still on the foundation. (about the only time I heard S say a hard word to L)Only usable stuff they had after the storm was a few things on the top shelves in the closet. Ended up with about 6 feet in the house. On the other hand my parents house in LaMarque was fine except the cedar and camphor trees that blew over. Dad and S played orthodontist on a bunch of them and straightened them up.