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Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 5:05:10 AM   
MasDom


Posts: 375
Joined: 11/10/2005
Status: offline 		Now that the weathers all shitty.
I was wondering what kind of modern materials  would be good for building a home
to replace the one you just lost,
both cheaply and strong enough to possibly save your ass the next time a bad storm hits.

Any idea's?
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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 5:10:40 AM   
mnottertail


Posts: 60698
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Status: offline 		Geodesics are out of favor with the Birkenstock crowd...they would be the best bet for cheapest to stand up in a tornado.

Bucky Fuller


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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 5:13:02 AM   
MasDom


Posts: 375
Joined: 11/10/2005
Status: offline 		I think adobe, or tera cotta would be nice.

{Especially since you can provide the tera cotta yourself after drinking local water .}

Maybe steal the neighbors wooden frames and roofing.
Re grind some cement, and just tell every one the storm spared you.

However with how bad the weathers getting.
I feel like making a subterranean home in a hill.
  Big aluminum dome over head with lots of inner braces.
You know something really cheap,
that could out last a few more bad storms.
  Replaceable and cozy enough for any family.


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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 5:14:53 AM   
MasDom


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Status: offline 		Do tell, why are they out of favor mnottertail?


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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 5:17:03 AM   
Aileen68


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Status: offline 		Houses of brick...as proven most clearly by the three little pigs. 

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 5:17:13 AM   
mnottertail


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Status: offline 		well, for many they are not aesthically pleasing, and they are a little rough to get conventional loans for but can be done.



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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 5:18:36 AM   
MsSonnetMarwood


Posts: 1898
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From: Eastern Shore, Maryland
Status: offline 		My memory may be wrong on this, but I seem to recall that brick construction was recommended for tornado areas.  Since that's fairly expensive, it was recommended that an interior room like a large closet was built with brick, so it could be used as a tornado shelter.

Typically the technology is there to build homes that will withstand nature's onslaughts; but one of the factors in it not happening more than it does is the cost involved in doing it that way.   After all, if you can afford to build a brick wall mobile home type building, a buyer is likely to just buy a bigger home.

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 6:07:52 AM   
Dtesmoac


Posts: 565
Joined: 6/22/2006
Status: offline 		Living in the US (Brit abroad) I have been amazed at the speed wth which houses are put up appearing to be made of very little other than Industrial grade chip board with an outer layer of Aluminium or plastic laping boards. Recently I watched  skin of  a house removed, a little guy with a hammer started to bash the chip board to se if it was rotten and then they coated it with Tyvex sheets and put a new outer coat back on. The roof is a fancy form of felt. This was in a wealthy Suburb area and not a poor cheap housing location. Temporary housing springs to mind.
In the UK it would have been breeze block innner with Brick outer tied into it. Solid or floating concrete foundation. The inner walls would have been cheep stud work but in most areas the intention is to build a more permenant contruction than the US version.

Of course we're surrounded by Clay and transport distances for bricks are a tad shorter in Britain.

If you don't like the look of brick you can render it with other materials.


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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 6:27:45 AM   
MsSonnetMarwood


Posts: 1898
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From: Eastern Shore, Maryland
Status: offline 		The problem with concrete foundations is that the Brits lay out the water and gas pipes THEN pour the concrete over them - and don't see a problem with this.

Fast forward a few years after construction, when pipes (as they inevitably do) need to be replaced.  The only method of that is basically ripping up all the floors and concrete to access those pipes - with no guarantees they can find the right pipes to be replaced.   My aunt had that problem - they had to redo all the pipes in the house to run through the walls because of this - it was a mess.

But I agree - new construction is generally very poor in quality - these are not homes meant to be around in 100 years.

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 6:54:34 AM   
Dtesmoac


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Status: offline 		Often now the pipes are run through conduit and you reline the pipe etc rather than pooring the concrete directly onto the pipes.

My relations live in a where part of the wall was built in the 1600s - my UK house probably won't last that long but there is a noticable difference in construction techniques. 

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 7:35:36 AM   
cyberdude611


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Status: offline 		Depends on the building codes where you live. If the codes are weak, the contractors are going to do what they can to save money.

They got in trouble with this with Hurricane Andrew in 1992. In South Florida they found out some builders were ignoring the building codes and that caused the structural failure. The state of Florida cracked down pretty heavily after that and now have very strict codes for new homes. And each project must be inspected by the state at certain steps of the construction process to verify compliance.

However, tornados rarely give much warning. You're lucky to have enough time to get into a closet. And when they hit at night, it's worse since most people are sleeping. Also a tornado is a very violent concentrated force. Not much can stand up to a strong one.

Hurricanes are a much easier to protect against. First being that there is plenty of warning. Even New Orleans had about 4 or 5 days to prepare. The city and state kind of dropped the ball on that and didn't start to prepare until the day before. That's why they had a problem. 
But in areas that get a lot of hurricanes like Florida, you will see people boarding up their houses and stocking up on food and water 5 days before the storm. Even if the storm misses, it isn't a loss since most of the supplies will last for the rest of the season. FEMA is already put in place in advance. The power companies and utilities have all their trucks and staff on standby. Price gouging is banned and violators may even see jailtime. Each county maintains a list of special needs people who are on oxygen or have serious medical problems and those people are evacuated well in advance. Even though Florida got hit by 4 major hurricanes over the past few years, the death tolls have been very low. They got it down to a science. In fact, Homeland Security gave Florida the best rating in the nation for disaster planning. They got an A. Every other state, except New York which also passed with an A, either had a D or an F grade. Even Louisiana continues to have a failing grade. So the politicians of that state are dropping the ball once again. That's what happens when the people keep re-electing the same inept leaders.

The big problem is these mobile homes which practically explode during weather events they are so weak.

< Message edited by cyberdude611 -- 2/3/2007 7:37:44 AM >

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 7:47:50 AM   
sharainks


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Status: offline 		Living in the middle of tornado alley I can tell you that nothing built above ground is exempt from being totally destroyed by a tornado.  What will help you survive is a reinforced basement room designed to withstand having the weight of the upper part of the house falling on it.

In an F 4 or 5 tornado brick, wood, metal will all crumple.  The suction of a tornado is incredible.  Building materials will be sucked up into it and redistributed. 

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 7:51:48 AM   
LaTigresse


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quote:

ORIGINAL: sharainks

Living in the middle of tornado alley I can tell you that nothing built above ground is exempt from being totally destroyed by a tornado.  What will help you survive is a reinforced basement room designed to withstand having the weight of the upper part of the house falling on it.

In an F 4 or 5 tornado brick, wood, metal will all crumple.  The suction of a tornado is incredible.  Building materials will be sucked up into it and redistributed. 


Most definately. After seeing a beam from a church sticking through a 12" thick concrete wall of the building next door, from a tornado in Iowa City last year, the only place I know I would survive is underground! Everything else is a gamble.


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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 7:53:49 AM   
cyberdude611


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Status: offline 		The strange thing also about tornados is that they are very selective. One house could be completely and totally destroyed while the house next door is untouched.

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 8:04:11 AM   
julietsierra


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quote:

ORIGINAL: cyberdude611

The strange thing also about tornados is that they are very selective. One house could be completely and totally destroyed while the house next door is untouched.


Except in my case, where modular homes just seem to have targets painted on their roofs. Basically, you live in one of those - you're toast in a storm of that severity.

When I lived in tornado alley, the siren sounded.. I had 3 small children, a dog and a cat...by the time I got them all into the bathtub in an inner room and dragged a mattress down the hall for whatever protection that could afford, the all clear had sounded.

After that I begged for a "dorothy hole" Now that I'm back up north, I am definitely looking for a house with a reinforced basement.

juliet

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 8:27:10 AM   
gandalf0297


Posts: 148
Joined: 8/6/2006
Status: offline 		Stand up to a tornado? good luck and may god be with you your gunna need em

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 8:56:55 AM   
gooddogbenji


Posts: 5094
Joined: 11/15/2005
From: Toronto
Status: offline 		I've always wondered about people who choose to live in areas like tornado alleys.  Granted, it may be cheaper, but seriously, what fun can it be to fear for life and home, and get to rebuild every few years?

Hey!  We haven't had a tornado in 5 weeks!  It must be all clear!  Let's set up another toothpick house! *WHOOOOOSH*

Oh.  Fuck.

Yours,


benji

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 9:17:23 AM   
LaTigresse


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Status: offline 		Probably the same reason people live where there are hurricanes or earthquakes, etc. It is home to them. And, we all think the bad stuff will happen to someone else.

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Just because you are well educated, articulate, and can use big, fancy words, properly........does not mean you are right!

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 10:41:11 AM   
sharainks


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Joined: 12/13/2004
Status: offline 		goodbenji, having lived in tornado alley for my entire life I can tell you one thing.  Tornados or not its no more dangerous than any other part of the country.  We don't have earthquakes or hurricanes.  They last seconds not hours or days.  At least we are prepared here.  Tornados can occur in just about any part of the country.  They are just more frequent here. 

My mother has an old victorian style house that has stood for over 120 years.  Many communities have exactly the same situation.   A tornado does not devastate a whole coastline or a huge portion of a state. 

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RE: Modern living for tornado's - 2/3/2007 10:46:35 AM   
popeye1250


Posts: 18104
Joined: 1/27/2006
From: New Hampshire
Status: offline 		I'd say quarter inch thick stainless steel anchored ten feet deep into the ground.

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