Building Materials One Key To Disaster Resistance

Rendering of a Lewisboro, N.Y. disaster-resilient home by Carbon Custom Builders.

The Up Studio

Coast to coast, extreme weather is becoming an ever-more anticipated phenomenon. Whether the impact is from a hurricane, tornado, derecho, wildfire, or severe flooding, the typical American home, commercial building or municipal structure typically lacks the strength to withstand the onslaught of today’s more virulent weather events.

To bring about a more robust and resilient built environment will require a multi-faceted strategy involving stronger building codes, better urban planning and location, improved building strategies and effective early-warning systems. Along with all these measures, stronger building materials must play a role in effective solutions.

For instance, reinforced concrete, steel framing, roofs and walls and impact-resistant windows have been shown in myriad studies to better weather the effects of airborne debris kicked up by tornadoes and hurricanes. Because buildings constructed with these materials usually suffer less damage, repair costs are lowered, insurance claims are fewer and recovery periods following storms are typically compressed.

Different categories

Resilient materials typically fall under the heading of structural framing and walls, exterior and roofing materials, waterproof barriers and secure anchoring.

Structural framing and wall solutions include concrete fortified with steel rebar to better withstand winds and the impact of wind-borne debris; insulated concrete forms (ICFs) featuring steel-reinforced concrete that can resist 200 miles-per-hour winds; framing that trades wood for steel that beats traditional materials in resisting fire, moisture and wind; and steel rebar-reinforced cement block that delivers strength and rigidity.

As for exterior and roofing solutions, metal roofing provides greater durability and fire resistance and when correctly installed can resist gusts up to 140 miles per hour. A plastic interlayer within multiple glass layers can help ensure impact-resistant windows and doors won’t be shattered by wind-driven material. Under the heading of waterproof materials, fluid-applied flashing can deliver improved air and water tightness by means of a spray-on material similar to caulk. And residences can be more firmly anchored to their moorings through hurricane straps that secure roof, walls and foundation to resist uplift, in which storms lift homes from their moorings, resulting in untold damage.

Ancient methods

Over the decades, Americans have benefitted from countless advancements improving virtually every aspect of our lives. But the homes we live in are built in much the same way and with the same materials as used in colonial America. So says Sam Fertik, founder and CEO of Pound Ridge, N.Y.-based Carbon Custom Builders. The growing impact of extreme weather conditions is likely to be among important forces shaping real estate in the coming years, particularly in coastal areas, he said.

“As these areas experience more frequent and destructive storms, as well as shifting temperatures, buyers will demand homes that are built to withstand the unexpected,” he adds. “Climate resilience will shift from a value add to a market expectation.”

Among the critical construction methods embraced by his company is the pairing of ICFs with steel framing, which results in non-combustible structures resistant to higher wind speeds and seismic loads. That helps ensure damage from wildfires, hurricanes or earthquakes is aesthetic rather than functional, he reports.

Discussions about weather-resistant housing often emphasize incremental advances like better shingles, and fire-resistant siding, adds Mike Kennaw, vice president and general manager of Omaha, Neb. Fox Blocks, which manufactures ICFs for durable, energy-efficient building envelopes. “These retrofits miss the fundamental vulnerability: The building envelope itself,” he says, adding ICF supplants the inherent deficiencies of wood framing with steel-reinforced concrete walls that are structurally strong, fire resistant and impermeable by moisture.

“Some homes are built to last, others are built to be replaced,” he says. “For builders, buyers and policymakers, the real question isn’t whether to adopt resilient building methods but when. That time is now.”

Adds Fertik: “Our industry relies heavily on lumber and the labor trained to work with it; other regions, like Europe have long embraced concrete and masonry. It’s time we break that cycle and build smarter from the ground up.”