Here is a link to hear a civil engineer talking about his inspection of the destroyed homes in Moore, OK.
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaP...=186503438

Rebuilding the same way will lead to more loss of life.

Posted By Alton on 25 May 2013 01:23 PM
Here is a link to hear a civil engineer talking about his inspection of the destroyed homes in Moore, OK.
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaP...=186503438

Rebuilding the same way will lead to more loss of life.

The wood industry would have it no other way. I mentioned in a previous post about when I talked to a wood industry sales rep and he told me that a tornado is great for business. When you build a stick frame home with wood and then 10 years later have it leveled and rebuild it again with wood, that makes the lumber industry a lot of money.

Here in the USA the lumber industry is like the oil industry, it has lobbyists and it has a lot of money and power. The lumber reps are out in full force in Moore and I guarantee you that they will not allow any concrete building method like ICF, SCIPS, etc to be properly represented.

I guess the Three Little Pigs story we were read as kids doesn't sink in as adults.

If you go to places like Europe where the homes and buildings are almost all masonry. Even after WWII when the stone buildings were razed by thousands of bombs, they rebuilt with masonry. The wood industry loves to show how some wood framed homes from the late 1800s and early 1900's are still standing in parts of the eastern U.S. The truth is that lumber used back then is night and day difference in the lumber used today. Those beams and posts were huge dense old growth trees and the lumber of today is young, moisture filled and lacks the density.

Wood has it's place, don't get me wrong. It's an easy building method, readily available, and can be built to be very energy efficient. Concrete also has it's place but the lumber industry doesn't like to think so. I love wood on the interior, the warmth it brings, and the beauty is very nice. I get a subscription to a very popular wood building magazine. They disparage concrete and steel every chance they get. The wood industry is now trying to compete with steel frame high rises. They had a 2 page advertisement in the magazine that showed the Great Pyramids, the caption underneath it read, "If we had it our way, we would have built it out of wood." Well, the only reason they are still standing today is because it was made out of masonry, if it was wood, it was would have collapsed and dissipated a long time ago.

The engineer was talking about bad construction, as in not meeting current code to resist a 90 mph gust. (Specifically, lack of anchor bolts to hold plates to slab; poor nailing of studs; cmu walls with no rebar/concrete reinforcing.) You'd think they'd pay attention in Okla. That said, I'm not sure there is any stud wall home that could stand up to a EF5.

Again, the insurers enforce the golden rule. If they say they won't pay for stud wall, or demand exorbitant premiums for same, construction standards improve instantly. The engineer said he saw many more storm cellars in Moore. Everything else is a matter of degree. Even an ICF house likely would be windowless and roofless, with the owner's belongings scattered over blocks.

What we need is tornado warnings in advance like with hurricanes.  With enough advance, shutters could be installed and garage doors reinforced.

Wood walls + a storm shelter or reinforced concrete walls? I don't think it is clear which one is better for various definitions of better. Of course they should build to code, either way.

It is a shame that anyone should lose their life do to inferior construction methods in a high prone tornado area.I have lived out here in California where earthquakes could level neighborhoods at anytime.But most cities have recognized the dangers and have put into place seismic upgrades to old buildings.Disasters are impossible to predict but early preparation to reduce risks can never be a bad plan.

There is a very ironic note to add. Designs and structures already exist for homes and schools that are realistically tornado proof. FEMA offers grants to municipalities that build schools that can be used as community shelters. FEMA endorses the design. The only problem is, vanity and fear of being different prevents many homeowners and communities from accepting dome designs. If you want safety, energy efficiency, century long life, check out Monolithic.com website. There are many examples of houses/schools/churches that have gone through tornadoes, wildfires,termites, earthquakes with minimal damage.