When looking for a home in TV. "WIND DAMAGE"
 

We are future home buyers in TV. Re: Storms, what direction is best for your home to face ? Does it matter ? Should a home face a certain direction to have the least damage to roofs in a hurricane ? Do the winds from hurricane hit TV from the same direction every time ?

Do people cover windows in prep for hurricanes or is TV too far inland to worry about such things.

Tornado alley Nebraskan is just freaking out in advance. :22yikes:

Wind and home facing
 

Over the last 4 years, winds have not been an issue, thankfully. Our lanai faces West and the summer heat is intense. That's solved by dual pane "sliders", shades and ductless A/C. Were we to buy another house (my wife informs me that's not going to happen) it would have North/South alignment.

Welcome
 

Welcome, but alas, you are worried about a non issue. Hurricanes winds blow from two opposing directions. They cycle the first direction until the center passes over, then they go in the other. They of course are circular patterns.

As far as a home facing a particular direction, I would make sure my lanai faced east. It would have nothing to do with wind though.

OP, look for what is called a "hip" roof, basically there are NO eves on this design which greatly limits the ability of the wind to get under the roof. Homes built after 2004(?) have the roofs actually attached to the house walls with special attachments. We have been here since 2013, when IRMA came through, there were a few tornados that spun off of the hurricane, several houses near us had some roof shingles blown off, I think the winds hit over 100 MPH.
As noted above the winds come from all directions so house orientation does not make a difference, we have a South facing lanai which works great for us.

Hip roofs have eaves. What hip roofs lack are gables. The roof slopes down everywhere. They have advantages, which may be reflected in your home owner's policy.

No need to cover your windows during storms. One, we are too far inland. Two, building codes were enhanced 20 years ago. All windows are rated to withstand high winds. However, before a storm, you and your neighbors need to bring inside anything that the wind might pick up and blow around.

Are most houses built in The Villages with hip roofs?

Thanks!

Thank you for the correction, I used the wrong term. To another comment, yes most of the roofs are hip roofs, however there may be some older homes that are not.

Thanks!!! (I was looking at illustrations to try & figure it out & whether the illustrations were poor or not, I was having trouble.)

Hip Roof
 

Older homes and even new ones here in the Villages have eaves. Designs have removed some of these and continued the roof as another pitched portion of the roof with no eave (maybe half the new homes) and this is called a hipped roof. Roofs then breathe through ridge vents and soffits instead, this eliminates some wind catching ability as the air streams over instead of directly into an attic through traditional side walled vents or box vents.

They are more costly, but demonstrate improvement in insulation and resistance to storm damage.

Buy a new Villa house in the southern end for two reasons. They are built to the latest Florida building codes. Also buy in the middle of the block. The lots a very small and the house on either side of you is protection.

Most homes have a combination of hips, and gables in the front. I don't see many homes that have hips everywhere. I have a home with hips everywhere and I do get a discount on my home owner's policy.

Might check those windows. They are not same windows that are used almost exclusively in more hurricane prone areas of Florida. Windows in TV do not need to be impact resistant or require a permanent storm shutter,

No. Bet over 70% of the homes have gables.

Correct. Which is why everyone needs to pick up loose outdoor items, including chairs, grills, the sign on your lamp post, garden flags, lawn gnomes, etc.
I have never heard on a window being damaged by the wind.

Yes, I hoped our Lantana roof was hip. But it has gables in the front and insurance co. classified it as gable.

Rule
 

10% of roof can be gables, the other 90% must be hip.

it gets extremely hot/humid here in the summer. The sun will fry you. A lanai that faces west is not a good idea, whether it is enclosed or not.

The front of our house faces South and our lanai and birdcage faces North. We like the lanai facing North because we do not get the afternoon sun ever and can enjoy the lanai and birdcage even in the summer.

Pay attention to where the sun will shine in the afternoon. If the afternoon sun is on your lanai it be unbearable from June through September. East to north works best.

Hips, gables, and more!
 

I had no idea there were so many types of roofs!!

Hip Roof vs. Gable Roof: Roof Design Advantages & Disadvantages - IKO

Welcome to TV. Frankly, tornados freak me out much more than hurricanes. But that’s me. As far as what direction you want to face, as others have advised here, look for a home where your lanai faces east or north. If it faces west you will cook!!! I’m not sure about south. I’m guessing it would depend on the season. Also, we can see the rocket launches from Cape Canaveral from our east facing lanai. It’s really cool.

we are not too far in from a hurricane and absolutely within reach. Do your research on Gulf Storm paths. Tornados are the main problem. Your Sunroom should Face East or North , the Unbearable Sun will cook you in a west or south Sunroom. Most Yankee homeowners will make that mistake once. Glad you are researching your options...Your Home owners Insurance Company should be called next

The front of our house faces South and our lanai and birdcage face North. As a result, we enjoy the sunrise with our coffee and the sunset with our wine. We never get any direct sun. It was accidental and we are quite happy.

The wind could come from any direction depending on where the hurricane is. To the right of the eye of a hurricane produces the most damages because that’s where the tornadoes are.

As for direction to face, the last few houses in the south, we made sure the house front and back are facing north and south if you want to enjoy the lanai year round. Take your phone with the compass app to verify the direction of your lanai.

I think it’s better to be facing gators in the morning and fire ants in the afternoon. Or maybe I have that backwards

I would be more concerned about afternoon sun on a porch or where you want to spend leisure time. My 1st house faced W and you would burn your hand on the front doorknob. For a porch face East would be my recommendation. Hurricanes barely hit T V. Lightening is a big thing here. Wind is what it is.

LOL ok calm down. Here is what the essentials are.

Forget about Hurricanes around here, Tornados might be a different story. So far it's faring pretty good for weather. We are too far inland to have to worry about any hurricane (unless a rare 'cross the state' on occurs but I wouldn't worry. It's nowhere close to how it is on the coast.

What you do need is this -

IF you enjoy planting things and watching them grow in your back yard, then you want that to face east. Keep the tree lines to a minimum especially oaks, the moss is very damaging. We grow flowers in the back which faces east, I used to have a back facing west - nada anything I put back there didn't work except for plumeria (nice) and moonflower (highly do NOT suggest them) . Everything else burned up and died.

as for the roof, again hurricane doesn't matter here. Everything is built to code which means 125 MPH winds. I prefer to think 100mph winds, nothing is perfect. There are specifications for roofing, shingles, etc.

You're better off just being concerned on which way the front of your house faces.

Definitely better solved by not buying a house with a west facing lanai where it can cost $20k plus to enclose it, put ac in, and put in blinds to keep the hot sun out and to prevent baking in your family room. We made that mistake one time! No real concerns about hurricane issues here being pretty far inland and experiencing minimal to no damage throughout TV in the storms that have come through during the 8 years we’ve been here.

Roof and direction
 

Morning all, we have a hip roof facing all directions, meaning we have no flat surfaces above the eves. As far as the direction our lani faces ours face north and we love it and wouldn’t have it any other way. No direct sun in the morning or evening.

Sun is the issue
 

We made sure that our lanai faced east when we bought our home. Only gets morning sun and not the brutal afternoon heart.

wind
 

We are too far inland hurricanes lose power I was here 2017 for IRMA cat 5 - news gets hyped to holy heck saying we'd get gusts to 100-115
NWS - Leesburg Airport
11 4:53 SE 38 G 59
11 3:53 SE 43 G 69
NWS - Spanish Springs The Villages
11 5:50 E 31 G 43
11 5:30 E 33 G 51
11 5:10 E 32 G 54
11 4:50 E 36 G 51

These are some of the funniest posts I have read in a long time. I have a west facing lanai with a fantastic golf view and some of the most spectacular sunsets ever. Yes, the afternoon sun can be hot, so you adjust accordingly. I garden and my west facing plants are doing very well, thank you, probably because I plant according to the exposure and not against it. I had an east facing lanai once that faced a neighbor. Did not do much for me. You can only make the right choice if it appeals to you when you see it. Happy hunting!

Great point. My house faces south. It is one of the best choices I made when choosing my home. My lanai, with its northern exposure, never gets the hot sun that affects so many.

We live at Linden. Sun comes up in the front and sets in the back. Easy to West. Most winds are from the south. Beautiful sun rise and sun sets. Of course hurricanes don't follow rules. Sumter calls our home a stay in place shelter. USAA insurance rep said our roof is designed to withstand high winds. Block home. My Brother lives 5 minutes away and will shelter here.

Not sure about the winds, but If you will be a snowbird, a house with the lanai on the south side will give you the warmth of the sun during the winter. Not sure if that’s desirable in the summer months.
A Snowbird

Agree, see many people that live by us in their carts looking at the beautiful sunsets outside in the heat. Plus we have a solid wall on the south side of the lanai and i also told them to set our home back 12 feet in order to have a cart garage. No eight foot fence in the back.

I agree generally with the other answers here. For winds, try to get a house with hip roof all the way around (no gables), block and stucco will be better than stick built and sided. Facing direction will make no difference for winds but makes a difference for the sun - try to get a house with the lanai facing east if you can because you will get a nice warming sun in the cool mornings and shade in the hot afternoons.

I get a kick out of the statements "We are too far inland to worry about hurricanes" We are currently in NC and we are farther inland than The Villages and we did lose a roof (shingles only) to a hurricane. But then we have hundreds of acres of farmland around us so nothing to block the wind. But then again, I always say " Never say never". All in all after being there for a couple of stays and looking at construction practices I wouldn't worry too much about storm shutters. Just the basic practice of bringing patio furniture and smaller flower pots etc in when a storm is coming. East facing lania would be a must for me. Hot is HOT no matter how you sugar coat it. Good luck with your home search.

Everyone's house here in TV is the best. None of my friends made a mistake picking their house. They even researched the best location. They did their due diligence. Yet on average they moved three times.