What is the cost to install hurricane clips to your house?

by | Jan 27, 2025

The cost to install hurricane clips may be more affordable than you think!

Two of the most common questions we get asked are, “can you even install hurricane clips in an existing home?” and “how much does it cost to install hurricane clips?” These are logical questions, as most people don’t really know what a hurricane clip or strap is, let alone what the process entails to install hurricane clips to an existing home. So, can it be done to an existing home? The quick answer is yes, it is 100% possible. Deciding if it makes financial sense is next, and that is where we come in. The majority of the homes are very feasible.  A very important piece of information is what is the size of the discount/ credit from your homeowner’s insurance? Most people already know this part, and that is why they are reaching out to us. But if you don’t already know that number, contacting your agent is the best way to get that figure. Once you decide that roof-to-wall (RTW) “clip” discount is worth the investment, reach out to us to schedule a walk through so we can determine what options are available for your home.

What factors determine the cost to install hurricane clips?

After determining you can and would like to move forward with retrofitting your home, the next question is “how much is this going to cost”?

During the initial walk through, we’re looking for a number of things to help us determine the cost of the project. Two of biggest factors in the cost of a wind mitigation retrofit is probably the roof shape and the spacing of the framing. Those two factors will determine the number of RTW connections that have to be made and where they have to be installed. The roof shape can make a big difference in pricing because the shape determines how it is framed and where the RTW connectors will need to be installed. Hip roofs have roughly twice as many RTW (roof-to-wall) connection points as a typical gable roof. The spacing of the framing also makes a big difference in the total number of RTW connection points. Most homes in our area that are framed with factory-built trusses will have 24” IOC (inch on center) spacing. A lot of homes that are common framed will have 16” IOC spacing. Homes with 16” spacing use approximately 50% more roof to wall connectors. That’s 50% more labor and material needed just due to spacing! The range for total RTW connections can vary widely, for example, we have retrofitted townhouses that had just 18 total RTW connections in each of them which is probably the lowest number possible all the way up to our current single family home record, which had 176 RTW connections.

Building sketch showing locations of RTW (hurricane clips) connections for a typical "gable" styled home.

The building sketch above shows the locations (red highlight), where Roof-to-Wall connectors will need to be installed on this gable style home.

Building sketch showing locations of RTW (hurricane clips) connections for a typical "hip" styled home.

The building sketch above shows the locations (red highlight), where Roof-to-Wall connectors will need to be installed on this hip style home.

 

Another major factor in pricing is accessibility. One way or another we have to get to every single rafter/ truss to add the new connector. Sometimes we have to create access to get to places that had been previously inaccessible. This could be to an attic space or this may just be opening the soffit up. This could also include removing and reinstalling other building components temporarily to allow access for the installation. We have a lot of tricks up our sleeves thanks to a couple of decades in the inspection and construction world so you will likely be surprised at what we can do. Our goal is to be as minimally invasive as possible so we can reduce the chances of anyone else ever being able to tell that we were there.

In order to complete a hurricane clip installation we had to create access to a previously inaccessible attic space.

In order to complete a hurricane clip installation near downtown Tallahassee, we had to create access to a previously inaccessible attic space over a front porch.

Soffits have been opened up to provide access to install hurricane clips on an older brick home in Tallahassee.

A common situation we run into in Tallahassee, are older homes with brick exteriors. In these situations, we have to pull down the soffits in places to provide us access to install hurricane clips.

Reinstallation of soffit and frieze board after hurricane clip installation was completed.

After installing hurricane clips on this older Tallahassee home, we reinstalled the soffit and frieze board and did our best to make it look like we were never even there.

While the above factors are what I consider the big 3 for determining the cost to install hurricane clips there are also a handful of other variables that get factored in like permitting fees and materials etc. For single family homes most (not all) of our installations fall into the range of $1500-$4500. Townhomes can start as low as $800 with most being less than $1400. It is a lot more affordable than most people realize