We count on our homes to shelter us from the rudiments and keep us safe. Unfortunately, as we have seen from the destruction caused by the tornadoes in Alabama and Missouri, occasionally, our homes are no match for Mother Nature. Fortunately, when houses fail, safe apartments live to give homeowners and their families protection against the most critical tornadoes and hurricanes.
The right place at the right time
Because tornadoes can strike with little to no warning, safe apartments are most effective when they’re readily accessible. A safe room can take several forms. Performing apartments on the ground bottom of a home similar to a restroom or closet can be corroborated to double as a sanctum in severe rainfall as long as the walls, ceiling, and foundation of the room are structurally independent of the rest of the home. Basements or garages can also be retrofitted to meet federally regulated storm sanctum guidelines.
Safe-deposit box apartments can also live outside of the home, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency( FEMA) recommends an” in-hearthstone safety room” in a basement, in a centrally located room on the first bottom of a home, or on a” concrete arbor- on- grade foundation or garage bottom”( 1). Homeowners with in-hearthstone safe apartments do not have to go outdoors during severe rainfall and threat exposure to high winds and flying debris. FEMA also notes that homeowners living in flood tide zones shouldn’t make safe apartments for hurricane protection or for williwaw protection where heavy downfall may beget flooding.
safe-deposit box apartments add value to your home
Although storm harbors can be installed in the pre-existing home, they’re significantly less precious when included in the original design. According to the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, when installed during the construction of a house, a homeowner can anticipate spending between six and eight thousand bones
. When a being home is retrofitted for a safe room, the cost is generally near to ten thousand. * Although the cost can be high, adding a safe room increases a home’s value and, in some regions, can qualify a homeowner for duty breaks. Federal subventions also live to help homeowners with construction costs.
Choosing the right accouterments
In 2003, experimenters at Texas Tech University’s Wind Science & Engineering Research Center conducted a series of trials during which a variety of wall assemblies were tested for hurricane and williwaw resistance. Experimenters dissembled 250 afar per-hour winds and the impact of storm debris on a home by firing a 15-pound 2×4 wood bullet at 100 long hauls per hour at several different wall panels to see which accouterments could absorb the impact without being perforated. The results of these trials were used to produce the publication FEMA 320 Taking sanctum from the Storm, a homeowner’s companion to safe room structure accouterments and procedures.
Traditional safe room accouterments
Walls erected with concrete masonry units and corroborated with rebar are classic results for safe room construction. Provident and durable, one trial at Texas Tech tested the resiliency of this wall by firing dumdums at the same assembly over thirty times( 2).
Wood-framed safe apartments corroborated with essence sheathing give homeowners a way to add protection to a home with a concrete arbor foundation. According to the Wind Science & Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech, plywood and heavy-hand distance essence can be added to a room’s walls and securely anchored to the foundation to produce a durable storm sanctum.
Arising technology
Isolated concrete forms( ICFs) were among those accouterments tested by Texas Tech University. ICFs are created by pouring concrete into the earth made of froth sequestration. When the ICF wall assembly was tested, the concrete was entirely unharmed by the flying debris. Used to construct safe homes in addition to safe apartments, ICFs also give stellar separating performance. According to the separating Concrete Form Association, houses erected with ICFs bear 44 lower energy to heat and 32 lower energy to cool than traditional frame homes.
Another arising technology in williwaw and hurricane-resistant structure design is structural insulated panels( drafts). Drafts are produced by stuffing rigid froth sequestration between two wastes of acquainted beachfront board( OSB) or essence substrate. Some have been especially finagled to meet the wind and debris impact guidelines set by FEMA 320. This means that safe apartments erected with drafts are strong enough to repel 250 mph winds and the impact from performing debris. Because they come in pre-fabricated panels, currents can increase construction effectiveness and reduce cost when compared to traditional accouterments.
Doors and tackle
A storm sanctum is only as safe as the sum of its corridor. When erecting a safe room, all structure accouterments must be precisely named and installed. This includes doors and tackle. During a williwaw, an open door or window makes a structure significantly less sound. In addition to the walls, ceiling, and foundation of a safe room, the door must also be suitable to ride the same impact to keep inhabitants safe.” FEMA doesn’t certify specific products for use, but any manufacturer can have their products tested to demonstrate that the FEMA criteria have been met.”( 3)
Not a Do-It-Yourself Project
In order to ensure continuity and performance, safe apartments must be constructed or installed by a professional builder with expansive knowledge of the guidelines expressed in FEMA 320. unborn advancements in technology will eventually make immolating one’s home to a storm a thing of history. Until also storm harbors remain the most dependable and provident way to keep homeowners and their families safe from tornadoes and hurricanes.