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Tornado proof home......


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With all the tornadoes this year, I got curious about a tornado proof home......then I found this video.....anyone know about these? The article is here Apparently these are hurricane proof as well and cost about the same as regular construction.

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Gee, the last time Vancouver, BC experienced a tornado was in 1988. And that little sucker was only about an F0.

Tornadoes in BC in order of date:

Mainland BC

2 July 1991, Prince George, Columbia: Severe thunderstorms spawn a small tornado at Clucluz Lake outside Prince George. In the city, hail and heavy rains hamper traffic. At the airport, 15.4 mm (0.61 in) of rain falls in 25 minutes.

1988 - Vancouver Tornado, May 1. Weak tornado grazes eastern Metro Vancouver

1962 - July 1: A small tornado is observed near Vancouver, British Columbia, the third since the weather office opened in 1929.

12 July 1926, Lac La Hache, British Columbia: A rare British Columbia tornado strikes Lac La Hache destroying farm buildings and felling trees.

The Island gets an occasional one but not very often at all. Maybe once or twice in a century.

1955 - Nanaimo, British Columbia Tornado, April 25. A tornado in Nanaimo, British Columbia on Vancouver Island, where few tornadoes occur, causes minor damage to the southern end of the city.

1966 - March 7: A tornado affected Ucluelet, British Columbia. Unknown but significant damage

It's believed that the climate has changed so much in British Columbia over the past 20 years that the likelihood of outbreak in this century is going to drop significantly. There has not been a recorded tornadic event in British Columbia in THIS century (2000-onwards)

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Should be pretty safe as the concrete gets poured down in-between all of those foam blocks and locks it all together and the foam on the outside had oughta give the concrete some cushioning against flying debris. Not to say it's not possible, but I have never seen a solid poured concrete wall succumb to wind forces in these parts unless it was not properly secured correctly at the base and shored up with other walls/structure supporting it. Cinder block and brick walls are a different story though... lots of weakness in-between each block/brick, so they can easily crumble and I've seen many of them literally leveled to the ground.

Not sure I would want to be in it in a direct hit by a fully developed EF-5 twister, but a glancing blow by one or direct by a smaller twister might not be such a problem.

Surprisingly, houses are still built in these parts with no basements and on concrete slabs, but what they are doing is making a "safe-room" in the middle of the house that is literally a reinforced concrete "closet" with a heavy steel door and can hold 6-7 people. I believe these came about after several major tornadoes that have hit banks and leveled everything except the vault of the bank.

Surviving a huge twister is always a 50/50 prospect, even with a basement! After the major one we had through here on June 8, 1966, my parents visited one of their former residences (two story) that had been in the path and a good portion of the structure had collapsed down into the basement. If they had been there, they surely would've been trapped and or killed by debris, as it didn't appear that there was a square inch of basement floor that didn't have something come down onto it. This is the major reason why they suggest getting under tables and laying in bath-tubs.

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Surviving a huge twister is always a 50/50 prospect, even with a basement! After the major one we had through here on June 8, 1966, my parents visited one of their former residences (two story) that had been in the path and a good portion of the structure had collapsed down into the basement. If they had been there, they surely would've been trapped and or killed by debris, as it didn't appear that there was a square inch of basement floor that didn't have something come down onto it. This is the major reason why they suggest getting under tables and laying in bath-tubs.

Unless you've got two feet thick walls and a steel door on your interior shelter...on a below ground shelter connected by a reinforced tunnel underground...I'd say...your butt end is toast in an EF5. That's the type of shelter I'd be constructing if I were living in Alberta.

This is how fast debris will be travelling directly at your walls above ground.

Edited by The_Animal
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I did see an ad somewhere for a guy claiming his steel structures could withstand a direct hit from any tornado. I couldn't help but doubt that. Although I do think a 100% concrete home with thick steel shutters over doors and windows could withstand any tornado, but I can't help but think the styroform forms in this design above would weaken the concrete structure, but I guess using less concrete is a good way to save money as concrete is expensive. It's interesting to ponder and I do believe a concrete safe room in a tornado zone does make good sense and I'm baffled why everyone doesn't have one and why they are not required as part of the building code in new construction.

And yes Animal.....I'm not thinking of our area of the planet.....earthquakes are our only real ocncern, but Tornados have always been in my mind since visiting the Nats in Kansas.

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What I never understood was why people build wooden homes in areas prone to Tornados.

Over here, where such things are rare, some of the old cottages on the coast have walls about 2ft thick made of Flint, I'd imagine you could fire bits of 2 x 4 at 250mph all day and not make a dint.

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There are companies that make prefab individual "safe rooms" for homes. They're basically closets made of composite materials. I know we did a story about one such company in the past. It seems like that's the way to go, if safety is the main concern; I'd be very wary of trusting any home labeled as "tornado proof." "Tornado resistant," maybe I could buy that. But "tornado proof" is a very, very big promise. Smaller structures made in larger numbers are probably more likely to have been thoroughly tested, I would imagine.

I think there would be some resistance to making safe rooms mandatory due to the cost, though. They can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $13,500, according to FEMA's info. That's a lot of added cost to a new home, though the safety benefits surely outweigh the cost if you live in certain regions.

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ICF homes are very safe and energy efficient.

I've always seen photos of an ICF home being the only home in a neighborhood in South Florida that survived a hurricane with no structural damage.

It is essentially the same construction method (albeit on a much smaller scale) as those multi-story beachfront condos, and they survive hurricanes all the time.

There is a huge strength benefit of monolithic pours of concrete.

I've always said that one day (when funds are available) I want to build an ICF home with an interior steel structure.

I've been in the structural steel business since I was 18 years old, so I've always wanted to build a home of steel. Once I saw the ICF homes, I wanted to incorporate that medium for its energy efficiency.

Plus.....you never have to worry about a termite! :)

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The concrete walls are great for hurricanes and tornados, but what kind of roof is going on it? Anything other than a flat concrete roof will probably just get ripped off and everything inside would get sucked out. Anyone have any insight on this?

Cheers, Lee

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Gents:

There are various types of concrete blocks some of which are solid which would protect the occupants from projectiles. A 12 inch solid block will work. Poured concrete walls also will withstand a tornado with the caveate that the windows need to have the same amount of strength as the walls. Once the winds get inside all bets are off since the furnishings will become projectiles within the rooms. Typically large buildings have concrete walls that have reinforcing bar vertically on 24 or 48 inch centers that is mudded in the open cells of the hollow block. You would need to mix these with the solid ones to get the protection you need.

Industrial steel siding is uusually blown off by tornadoes or high winds. The only structure that I think would work would be one fabricated from at least 3/8 inch steel plate. Once again windows matter.

The same applies to roofs. Concrete planks would work or a poured concrete roof. Think most roof failures are due to winds getting inside and lifting them.

The problem with designing a tornado proof home is making it cost efficient and something that people would want to live in.

Eighty mile per hour wind exerts approximately 20 lbs per square foot of pressure on an surface it blows on. The equation is non-linear so 240 mile per hour winds bear on a surface greater ( I don't have the equations at home) than 60 lbs per square foot.

A tornado proof home ends up being an above ground fallout shelter that will take a near miss!

Mark

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I did see an ad somewhere for a guy claiming his steel structures could withstand a direct hit from any tornado.

And what's the source of his knowledge? How could he *possibly* know that? Advertising at its best. Clinically proven to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles by 52% (BS meter just went off the scale!).

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What I never understood was why people build wooden homes in areas prone to Tornados.

Just because the actual chances of ever being hit directly by a tornado are rare. Take Joplin, MO. that was just hit... there's a guy talking on CNN now that said the last time Joplin had been hit by a tornado was in 1974... nearly 40 years ago!

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This home is tornado proof. :woot.gif:

Looks like there is a few for sale.

http://www.missilebases.com/properties

I'm kinda leery about buying one of those. All it takes is a 20MT present on your front doorstep to ruin your whole day. :woot.gif: I don't think Russia's re-targeted any of their incoming missiles, have they?

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