Hurricane Tie
CSI Division 06, Wood, Plastics, and Composites
A formed metal strap or clip that physically connects roof framing members to the wall's top plate, engineered specifically to resist the upward force, or uplift, that high winds create as they try to lift a roof off a building.
Why it matters
Nails alone resist a roof sliding sideways reasonably well, but they resist being pulled straight out, which is what wind uplift does, far less effectively. A hurricane tie adds a mechanical connection specifically engineered to resist that uplift force, which is why it's required in many wind-prone regions regardless of how well the framing is otherwise nailed together.
On a real project
A framing crew installs a hurricane tie at every rafter-to-top-plate connection on a roof, in addition to the normal nailing, specifically to resist the uplift forces the structure is expected to see during a high-wind event.
Who this matters most to
A Carpenter installs hurricane ties according to the engineered drawings, since skipping even a few connections can create a weak point where a roof is more likely to fail first during a severe wind event.
Where this goes wrong
A crew installs hurricane ties on most, but not all, of a roof's rafter-to-wall connections, treating the hardware as a general best practice rather than following the engineered layout exactly. The missing connections become the weak points where roof uplift failure is most likely to start during a severe storm.