Please note that FEMA does not provide inspection services, nor endorse, approve, certify, or recommend any contractors, individuals, firms, or products. “This research is critically important, not only for the direct use of providing safe shelters for people in tornadoes, but also for creating a vibrant wood-products industry,” he says.Search for safe room case studies in our Mitigation Best Practices library. Department of Agriculture’s undersecretary for natural resources and the environment, is excited about FPL’s work. He hopes they can build a wood storm door that will be more economic than currently available steel doors. By providing an economical and easy-to-build safe room, we will increase the number of people who can afford and install one.” Another option is providing a kit priced at about $3,000 to $4,000 for wood and materials, including a steel door.įalk is also collaborating with a large wood-products manufacturer to investigate different engineered wood products for a safe-room door. “They buy the lumber, take it home, and put it together,” says Falk. “This should verify the wind load capacity of the design as well as connection performance.įalk envisions having online blueprints that can be downloaded so do-it-yourselfers can build their own shelters. “We expect to have a full-size safe room ready soon for lateral wind load and impact testing in the next few months,” he adds. He is also designing the connection system to secure the room to a concrete slab. Falk is trying to further reduce costs by optimizing fastener and adhesive placement, as well as sheathing type. This current model of the safe room is constructed from readily available, low-cost building materials, including construction-grade two by eights, three-quarter-inch CDX plywood, nails, and construction adhesive. This is a testament to the energy dissipation characteristics of wood and wood construction.” Only the plywood layer cracked and no debris was generated. “In fact, it took six cannon shots to fail our latest design per the criteria of ICC-500. “The design easily passes the impact test,” says Falk. The impact tests meet the ICC-500 standard and are conducted at a level commensurate with a 250-mph wind speed: A 15-pound, 2-inch by 4-inch missile fired at 100 mph). “The interlocking design makes constructing the wall easy and results in a layered system that effectively dissipates the energy of debris impact,” says Falk.įalk and his engineers tested the energy of debris impact using a debris cannon. Plywood is then attached, further reinforcing the wall. These beams are then stacked into a wall to the height needed. The construction concept is based on nail-laminating 2-inch by 8-inch lumber into a tongue-and-groove beam that can be easily carried into an existing garage or basement. Robert Falk is the lead scientist on the project. That’s right, engineers at Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, WI, have built an 8-foot by 8-foot safe room prototype out of wood that can withstand winds up to 250 mph. A lumber safe-room wall prior to impact testing (top), and with 2x4 missile imbedded in it. Soon, however, a more affordable safe room may be on the market, made from basic, low-cost construction material: wood. Installing a safe room can cost as much as $15,000 or more, which makes many people decide to take their chances with the weather. These shelters are made from steel or reinforced concrete and are typically located in the basement or under the garage floor. Some climate experts agree that climate change will increase the frequency and severity of these storms in coming years, putting more people in harm’s way.Īs a result, more homeowners are installing “safe rooms” in their homes. every year, killing or injuring hundreds of people and causing millions of dollars in property damage. Tornadoes wreak destruction across the U.S.
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