Hurricane straps are metal connectors that tie roof framing to the walls so wind can't lift the roof. Here's how to tell if your Florida home has them.

Most homeowners never think about them until someone mentions a wind mitigation report or a reroof permit. Then the questions start. Do I have them? Are clips the same thing? Does a new roof mean I have to add them?

This guide comes from the team at Superior Roofing & Restoration, a licensed Florida roofing contractor (CCC1325604) with offices in Tampa and DeLand and a Panhandle office in Miramar Beach. It's general information, not engineering advice for your specific house.

What hurricane straps actually do

In a hurricane, wind flowing over a roof creates uplift. The roof wants to come off like a lid. Shingles and tiles keep water out, but they don't hold the roof structure down. That job belongs to the connection between the rafters or trusses and the top of the wall, the spot builders call the top plate.

In older houses that connection is often just nails driven at an angle through the truss into the plate. These are called toe nails. They hold the roof up fine on a calm day. They weren't designed to resist much pull in the other direction.

Straps and clips are metal connectors that make that joint much stronger against uplift. "Hurricane straps," "hurricane ties" and "hurricane clips" get used interchangeably in conversation, but the state's wind mitigation form treats them as different things.

Clips versus wraps

Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation uses a standard form for wind mitigation inspections, the Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form (OIR-B1-1802). One of its questions asks for the weakest roof-to-wall connection in the house. The main categories are:

  • Toe nails. No metal connector, just angled nails.
  • Clips. Metal connectors that don't wrap over the top of the truss or rafter.
  • Single wraps. A single strap that wraps over the top of the truss or rafter and is nailed on both sides.
  • Double wraps. Two separate straps, one on each side of the truss or rafter, each wrapping over the top.

There are also categories for structural anchor bolts, "other," "unknown" and "no attic access."

The form was revised. According to Simpson Strong-Tie's engineering blog, the 04/26 version was approved by the Florida Cabinet in September 2025, inspectors have to use it starting April 1, 2026, and it adds a way for some newer connectors to qualify as wraps based on tested uplift capacity even if they don't physically wrap over the truss. The same post notes the form is valid for five years and the final classification depends on the inspector and the insurer.

The form also requires photos to back up each feature that's marked. If a connector can't be seen, it generally can't be credited.

How to tell if you have hurricane straps

You'll need to get into the attic, and you'll need a flashlight.

Go to where the roof framing meets an outside wall. That's the low, tight part of the attic along the eaves, usually buried under insulation. Look at the bottom of a truss or rafter where it sits on the wall. You're looking for galvanized metal: a small bracket on the side (a clip) or a strap that runs up and over the top (a wrap). If you see only wood and nail heads, it's probably toe nailed.

Check more than one spot. Connections near corners and gable ends can be different from the ones in the middle of the house, and the form rates the weakest one.

Be careful up there. Florida attics get brutally hot, so go early in the day, and only step on the framing, never on the drywall between it. If you can't reach the eaves safely, stop. A wind mitigation inspector does this for a living and has to photograph what they find anyway.

Your house's age gives a rough clue, since newer Florida homes were built under tougher wind codes. But age alone isn't proof. Only a look in the attic is.

Do you have to add straps when you replace your roof?

Sometimes. Florida law addresses this directly.

Section 553.844 of the Florida Statutes says a roof replacement must include improvements to roof-deck attachment and a secondary water barrier. For houses in the wind-borne debris region with an insured value of $300,000 or more (or a just value of $300,000 or more if there's no insured value), the reroof also has to include improvements to roof-to-wall connections.

The statute caps that last part. The roof-to-wall work isn't required unless the gable ends or all corners can be done for about 15 percent of the cost of the roof replacement. When the house has both hip and gable ends, the gable ends come first unless the hip is much wider.

The detailed rules live in the Existing Building volume of the Florida Building Code and get applied by your local building department. Whether your address sits in the wind-borne debris region, and how your house's value is figured, are questions for the permit office. A good roofer will look that up before quoting, not after.

Why bother if it's not required? Because a reroof is the cheapest moment you'll ever get to work on that connection. With the old roof off, crews can reach the tops of the walls along the eaves from above instead of crawling through the hottest, tightest part of the attic.

Roof deck attachment matters just as much

Straps hold the roof structure to the walls. Something also has to hold the plywood or OSB sheathing to the structure. If the deck panels peel off, the straps don't help much.

That's why the statute lists roof-deck attachment as part of a reroof, and why programs like the IBHS FORTIFIED Roof standard focus on it. FORTIFIED calls for ring-shank nails in an enhanced pattern and says they nearly double a roof's resistance to wind uplift. It also requires a sealed roof deck so water can't pour through the seams if the shingles or tiles are lost.

On a reroof, the deck gets inspected once the old roofing is off. Soft or damaged sheathing gets replaced, and the deck attachment gets strengthened as the reroof rules require before anything new goes on.

Can you install hurricane straps yourself?

On an existing house, it's hard. The connection sits in the least reachable part of the attic, and retrofit straps often need access from outside, which can mean removing soffit or working from the roof edge. FEMA's Wind Retrofit Guide for Residential Buildings (P-804) lays out retrofit packages for existing one- and two-family homes and is worth a read before you plan anything.

Check with your building department about permits first. And if the goal is a better wind mitigation rating, find out what the inspector will need to see, because a connector that isn't installed and documented the right way may not count.

Mobile homes are a separate subject. Their tie-downs anchor the home to the ground, not the roof to the walls, and they follow their own installation rules.

What about My Safe Florida Home?

The state's My Safe Florida Home program offers homeowners an inspection and, for those who qualify, grant money toward hardening upgrades. Its site lists reinforcing roof-to-wall connections, strengthening roof deck attachment, secondary water resistance and impact windows and doors among the improvements it recommends, and says eligible homeowners may receive up to $10,000 based on their inspection report.

Funding depends on the Legislature, and application windows open and close. Check the program's own site for current status and eligibility before you plan around it.

FAQ

Where do hurricane straps go?

At the joint where each roof truss or rafter sits on top of an outside wall. In the attic, that's down at the eaves.

Are hurricane clips the same as straps?

Not on Florida's wind mitigation form. Clips attach to the side of the truss. Single and double wraps go over the top of it. The form rates them as separate categories.

Do I need straps if my house has a hip roof?

Roof shape and roof-to-wall connection are separate questions on the wind mitigation form, with hip roofs as their own category for shape. A hip roof still depends on a good connection at every truss, so the straps question doesn't go away.

Does a new roof automatically mean new straps?

No. Under Florida law it depends on whether the house is in the wind-borne debris region and on its insured or just value. Even then, the roof-to-wall work applies only if it fits within about 15 percent of the reroof cost. Your building department applies the rule.

Book a roof inspection in Florida

If you're thinking about a reroof, it's worth knowing what's under the shingles before you sign anything. An inspection visit takes about 90 minutes: we walk the roof, take photos of what we find, show you a sample board, take measurements, and give you a firm written number. We work out of Tampa and DeLand. Our Panhandle office is in Miramar Beach. See our Emerald Coast, Tampa and Daytona pages, or book a roof inspection. Florida roofing license CCC1325604.

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