tracey holden wrote 06/29/2013 01:12 PM Houses and weather conditions #380029 - 06/29/2013 01:12 PM
tracey holden Webboard User Reg: 07-17-2010 Posts: 1442 Loc: UK Offline	Something I am curious about... With some of the States where you chaps live, you definitely have some adverse weather conditions! I was watching the BBC 24 news this morning, and they were speaking to someone in Arizona about the crazily hot weather there at the moment, and it reminded me that I have a question about tornado season. I was wondering why the houses in these areas are traditionally made of wood, not brick, which might stand up to the tornados possibly a bit better?? Sam is at University with a girl from Orange County, and when she asked her this, she said it had never occurred to her why, they have always been built that way. So I thought I would come and ask those of you that DO live there!
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Kelly wrote 06/29/2013 01:54 PM Re: Houses and weather conditions [Re: tracey holden ] #380030 - 06/29/2013 01:54 PM
Kelly Moderator Reg: 06-03-2005 Posts: 1495 Loc: Offline	I think for many people it's a cost issue. Stick built houses (wood) are far cheaper to build than Brick. Around here in WI, the older farm houses are brick, with few new construction projects incorporating brick or stone. For many, the added cost of brick isn't worth it- the odds are pretty long that your house will actually get hit by a tornado. When we put the new roof on our house, Paul used "hurricane straps" to anchor the roof to the house. They are supposed to withstand winds up to 100MPH. In a tornado, once the roof is gone, the rest of the house will fold- even the brick and stone ones. I've been through a couple of tornadoes, and they are no fun. We were never directly hit, though, and had a basement to go to... many people don't even have a basement.
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Cheri Grissom wrote 06/29/2013 02:59 PM Re: Houses and weather conditions [Re: Kelly ] #380033 - 06/29/2013 02:59 PM
Cheri Grissom Webboard User Reg: 09-30-2010 Posts: 2609 Loc: Michigan Offline	I think one of the big reasons houses have commonly been built of wood in the U.S. is because wood was so very plentiful in the formative years of this country. Lumber was big business for many, many generations. Much of the country was covered in forests. Most of the brick houses that I am familiar with (in my part of the country, anyway) are still built around a wood frame.
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Kelly wrote 06/29/2013 03:52 PM Re: Houses and weather conditions [Re: tracey holden ] #380035 - 06/29/2013 03:52 PM
Kelly Moderator Reg: 06-03-2005 Posts: 1495 Loc: Offline	Here's an interesting webpage by NOAA about tornado myths and facts: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/severeweather/tornadosafety.html
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Amy VandeWeerd wrote 06/29/2013 09:19 PM Re: Houses and weather conditions [Re: tracey holden ] #380046 - 06/29/2013 09:19 PM
Amy VandeWeerd Webboard User Reg: 03-14-2011 Posts: 723 Loc: South Dakota Offline	Since we are building a house this year, we had considered using brick but even in a brick home, the debris flying around can still come through our roof and windows easily. Given the enormous price difference, we are opting for a concrete bunker underground with a basement entry for a much smaller price tag. We just had tornadoes roll through near our dairy- we lost over a hundred calf huts- they are still being located in flooded fields up to 3 miles away! Luckily all of our calves had just been moved the day before.
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Bob Scott wrote 06/30/2013 12:01 AM Re: Houses and weather conditions [Re: tracey holden ] #380051 - 06/30/2013 12:01 AM
Bob Scott Moderator Reg: 06-14-2002 Posts: 7417 Loc: St. Louis Mo Offline	After half a dozen tornados in my area in the past couple of months there is now a new law that says any new roof or roof replacement will be required to have the roof trusses strapped down to the walls. old dogs LOVE to learn new tricks
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tracey holden wrote 06/30/2013 01:34 AM Re: Houses and weather conditions [Re: tracey holden ] #380060 - 06/30/2013 01:34 AM
tracey holden Webboard User Reg: 07-17-2010 Posts: 1442 Loc: UK Offline	What Cheri said about the lumber being plentiful makes a lot of sense as to why there are so many wooden constructions, I love the old style wooden houses we see in films and documentaries, they look so grand and regal, the house in Forrest Gump looks colonial to me, I think that was Alabama wasn't it?? Also interesting about the roofs being strapped with new builds, keep the main frame together... How does the risk of wooden houses affect your insurance? Any sort of claim here on structural issues sees the policy rocket.
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christy mascari wrote 06/30/2013 08:49 AM Re: Houses and weather conditions [Re: tracey holden ] #380068 - 06/30/2013 08:49 AM
christy mascari Webboard User Reg: 11-12-2012 Posts: 178 Loc: midwest Offline	We live in Indiana, in an area my husband refers to as "the tundra" Very few wind breaks, even our trees grow at a 45 degree angle. Yes, our house is all brick-and yes we do get a small discount on our homeowners insurance. However, we do not have a false sense of security. Kelly is absolutely right, brick homes still have a wood frame. Anyone who has ever experienced or studied tornados will tell you there are very few, if any structures that could withstand the direct force high level tornado.
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tracey holden wrote 06/30/2013 09:07 AM Re: Houses and weather conditions [Re: christy mascari ] #380070 - 06/30/2013 09:07 AM
tracey holden Webboard User Reg: 07-17-2010 Posts: 1442 Loc: UK Offline	We Brits are famed for moaning about our weather, but I think the worst 'storm' we had was in 1987 when Jamie was a baby, I don't think the wind speed was above 100mph or there abouts,a few people had trees come down on their properties, and I recall watching a sheet metal roof from a neighbouring farm cartwheel across the field to our house and wondering if it was going to hit, but compared to the extremes you have there, it was an isolated incident, you all must dread the season.
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Bob Scott wrote 06/30/2013 11:26 PM Re: Houses and weather conditions [Re: tracey holden ] #380094 - 06/30/2013 11:26 PM
Bob Scott Moderator Reg: 06-14-2002 Posts: 7417 Loc: St. Louis Mo Offline	"you all must dread the season". Something you learn is part of where you live and you just roll with it. It's probably no different then you Brits on the ready with your brellies/umbrellas. With major wind storms, thunder storms w/lots of lightning and we just go sit in the basement til it's passed. Then it's outside to hook up the generator till the power comes back. I've only ran my generator a total of 6-7 days since April. old dogs LOVE to learn new tricks
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