It is quite possible to build a house that would be "tornado-resistant"
(tornado-proof would be a statement awaiting proof), but the cost would put
it out of the market in most places It is quite possible to build a house
that is resistant to all but the most destructive hurricanes, and I
understand that many of the discovered measures are now a part of building
codes in coastal areas. It could be very easy to build a tornado-resistant
house where I live (one of the cities hit last Saturday night), and I
believe a few have been built. The quick answer is reinforced concrete
construction, and it has other advantages as well, but it is important to
know that we have reduced the costs of building wood-framed homes to the
point that there is no market for safer construction. It is possible to
build tornado-safe rooms in the center of a frame house, and that is now
more common.
Ironically, in the housing section of the local paper SATURDAY MORNING,
there was an article about one of the homes in this year's Parade of Homes,
an annual event by new home builders, about a new concrete home built using
Insulated Concrete Forms, a very durable form of energy saving construction.
The house is said to be able to withstand winds of up to 200 MPH, more than
most experienced Saturday Night. The house is built to look like other
traditional homes in the development, and looks like a typical McMansion.
The house is listed at $580,000, about a $35,000 premium over conventional
construction, and the contractor says there is a 5-9% premium for concrete
over wood. Note, though that it is more energy efficient, and resistant to
bug invasions. I suspect the premium is offset by the lack of need for
yearly termite treatments. Were I in the new house market, I would do this.
I remember seeing on TV a house that remained standing after a LA wildfire.
It was a concrete house in a sea of wood framed houses. Bet there weren't
many ore built after the fire. Remember, our houses are built as they are
because it is an east way to build houses quickly and cheaply using largely
unskilled low paid labor.
Bill Pearce
-----Original Message-----
From: Joel Wilcox
Sent: Monday, April 16, 2012 7:30 AM
To: Olympus Camera Discussion
Subject: Re: [OM] My town on the news
Since one's chances of being hit by a tornado are so rare, insurance
must do. You could never buy or sell a house that was tornado-proof,
and you probably wouldn't want to live in one either. Most tornadoes
don't actually do any damage. They get reported in sheer numbers and it
gives one a sense of the scale of the weather change. I was talking
with a guy in Hawaii about the relative dangers of hurricanes vs
tornadoes. We both thought the other guy had it worse. The mind is its
own place.
Joel W.
On Mon, Apr 16, 2012, at 02:12 PM, Dawid Loubser wrote:
> Ken, as somebody who lives in a country with no natural disasters
> (other than that caused by 90% of the population) I am relieved that
> you are all OK, and personally can't imagine what living in a
> tornado-swept country is like.
>
> One thing that has always bothered me: Why on earth has tornado-
> and hurricane-country USA never bothered to invent hurricane-proof
> houses? You can't tell me it's not possible. It's easy to build an
> aircraft that can stably *fly* 200 miles per hour (nay, 2000
> miles per hour!) so why can't people build dwellings that
> simply have to remain stationary (and not be destroyed)
> by a 100 - 200 mph wind? Every year people go through the
> agony and cost of repairing damage, when human ingenuity
> and will-power could easily result in a design of house that
> does not need to be repaired every year. So what if it costs
> 4 times as much? It will be much cheaper in the long run.
>
> I don't understand the economics / people over there, so I
> am just speculating.
>
> regards,
> Dawid
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