Social media account Kaden ‘What Doin Cousin’ posted a house with sandbags on the roof during cyclone Alfred prep. Source: Facebook/Kaden ‘What Doin Cousin’
Aussies – and several Kiwis too – are losing their minds over a unique solution erected to save a home believed to be in the path of cyclone Alfred.
Social media account “Kaden ‘What Doin Cousin’” ignited his own collective storm of laughs, horrors, disbelief and general ‘good on him’s’ when he posted a video of a roof uniquely and neatly lined with what looks to be rows of pigs ready for the spit, dressed chooks or even “freaking processed lambs!”.
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The video showed around 90 sandbags neatly arranged on an erected platform on one side of a home’s tiled roof. Source: Facebook/Kaden ‘What Doin Cousin’.
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“Can someone explain to me what doin cousin,” the original poster asked, in a video that went viral. He expressed confusion over the effectiveness of sandbags on a wooden deck to protect a roof from a cyclone, seeking clarification from others.
“Now, when I first saw this, I thought, damn, that’s a lot of pig on the spit,” he said. “Bring a plate whanau, we on.”
“When you have a closer look it’s sandbags on a wood deck. Now, I’m no roof tiling expert, but please can someone explain to me, will this help the house be safe? Will this help the roof not get blown away from the cyclone?… because that next level.”
Bewarned a leading property insurance expert MCG Quantity Surveyors director Marty Sadlierhas has cautioned against this, saying this is the type of thing that can void warranties and also impact insurance claims – and could also put your home at even greater risk due to the extra weight.
“This is a first for me,” he said of the unique roof measure. “Whilst the idea that adding weight to the roof will help hold them down, it would appear to me to be an ill favoured result”.
“These houses usually have no internal weight bearing walls as they are a trussed roof, so this extra weight could certainly be doing damage to the internal linings (plasterboard by way of cracking) and certainly deflection in the timber supports.”
For the expert’s take on what sandbags on the roof could do, scroll to the end
Tropical Cyclone Alfred forecast map issued at 10:10 am AEST Friday 7 March 2025. Picture: BOM
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A video of the roof job caused widespread disbelief with many having to looking closer considering how much it looked like cuts of meat.
The Maori-Pacific Islander community especially reacted by laughing at themselves for thinking it looked like pork ready for the umu (earth oven) or to be roasted over the spit for a giant Polynesian-style feast.
A respondent said “drying out that skin for crackle hahah”, while another said “my big back thinking these were pigs at first, and a third adding “i kinda thought some sort of poultry until it zoomed in. Hope it works that ain’t no 5 minute job there”.
The job in question is over 90 bags of what were at first assumed to be sandbags, lined in seven neat rows on one side of a tiled rooftop.
Some claimed it was filled with rocks not sand – much like the owner’s head was the view of quite a few people preparing for the storm: “looks smart, until you need to explain to your insurance company why your roof collapsed instead of getting ripped off the house”.
So far no confirmation can be gathered from officials and the video owner account Kaden ‘What Doin Cousin as to whether the home in question is in Greater Brisbane as many seem to think, nor whether any of the dozen or so councils in cyclone Alfred’s path have had complaints from neighbours about potential projectiles on their neighbour’s roof.
From afar it could be 90 dressed pigs ready for the spit. Source: Facebook/Kaden ‘What Doin Cousin’
But it has generated discussion around the pros and cons of measures to prevent homes being destroyed in what will be the first cyclone many of south east Queensland’s four million residents have ever experienced.
One commented “time will tell if it works brother man”, while anothers said “the sand bags are on studs, ain’t no roof caving in hahahaha”, “distributed nicely for sure”, “hope the trusses hold it all up”.
The challenge is real, as one responded explained: “there are cyclone standards in roofing north of Rockhampton – tying down every roof tile instead of only 1/3 and cyclone screws on metal roofs. Down south we skimp on the extras and save a few bucks and then get worried in times like these.”
Another said “I remember seeing a post with four straps pinned to ground anchors from one side of roof to other lol gotta do wat you gotta do for your own peace of mind”.
A picture posted during discussion over sandbags on the roof showing another option believed to have been taken during a US cyclone. Source: Facebook
MCG Quantity Surveyors director and leading Australian property insurance expert, Marty Sadlier, said “among other things, I would think that an insurance company would not be obliged to repair cracked tiles caused by the extra weight and also the fact that someone has been walking around on the roof, extensively, causing cracks and damage to the pointing.”
“The average weight of a tiled roof is 60Kg per square metre of roof. So the average house would see the roof weighing 12 tonnes, dry. When roof tiles get wet, they usually increase in weight, albeit only a minimal amount of around 5-8 per cent.”
“So in the expected weather, the tiled roof will increase in weight from 12 tonnes to around 12.5- to 13 tonnes in total.”
He said if someone has added around 90 sand bags to the total weight of the roof, it would mean a further 1.5 tonnes of weight.
“So suddenly, the existing roof of around 12 tonnes, could now be weighing 14.5 tonnes with sandbags and wet tiles.”
Mr Sadlier said regardless of the damage cyclone Alfred does, “they may well find themselves exempt form repair”.
“Just walking on a roof as a 100kg human, will crack concrete tiles. The Australian Roofing Tile Industry also notes that roof tiles that are stepped on and broken will void the warranty.”
The comments come as MCG analysis of over 2000 insurance assessments last year found most were underinsured by 24 per cent, with houses underinsured by 18 per cent on average.
“Most properties simply don’t have enough coverage to adequately ensure they can be properly repaired or replaced after a crisis event like this.”
Cyclone Alfred is now expected to make landfall on Saturday morning closer to Brisbane with first touch at Bribie Island.
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