Selling Peace of Mind
Residential Storm Shelter Design
by Chris Anderson
Homeowners are looking for builders and contractors to offer peace of mind in areas of high storm activity. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), Texas leads the U.S. with an average of 137 tornadoes each year. More specifically, NOAA reports that from January through June of 2008, 108 tornadoes were documented. Now, many Texas builders are offering protection from heavy wind loads and wind-borne debris using high-performance storm shelters.
To ensure proper protection, some localities are adopting storm shelter construction and severe weather protection in new and existing building codes. In particular, the 2008 International Code Council (ICC)/ National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA) will now approve a number of residential storm shelter design and construction methods, some of which are being installed in homes above ground and secured to a concrete slab.
The goal of these new construction guidelines is to increase public safety for those who use storm rooms in their homes during hurricanes and tornados as protection from potential wind-borne debris. With the adoption of the ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters, the standards for minimum wind resistance requirements has increased to provide better protection from high wind loads. As builders look to meet consumer demand or additional safety measures in new and existing homes, storm shelters are seen as a product that not only adds value, but also could potentially save lives.
"The building community identified a need to determine an official standard for the design and construction of residential storm shelters that architects, engineers and builders can all adhere to," says Dr. Ernst W. Keisling, executive director of the National Storm Shelter Association. "Builders throughout Texas who choose to offer storm shelters to their customers are not only providing a safe place within the home for family and valuables, but also the peace of mind that comes with protection from extreme weather."
Make It Multifunctional
To meet the demand for increased public safety and to utilize new technology, manufactures such as DuPont and others are creating storm rooms that exceed the guidelines put forth by the ICC/NSSA and the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA). While these rooms are designed to protect residents during extreme weather, they are also being built as functional space that can be used all year long in the form of bathrooms, bedrooms, closets and pantries. Many also allow for radio communication and wireless service that often is not available in underground shelters.
As consumers become more aware of the storm shelter category, builders can expect demand for these potentially live-saving products to increase. Even before the storm shelter guidelines were adopted by the International Building and Residential Codes this past September, progressive builders such as Lifestyle Homes of Texas, a division of Head Construction in Prosper, Texas, were including state-of-the-art storm shelters in each of the 32 homes. The new Eagle Ridge community outside of Dallas will offer the storm rooms as a standard feature rather than an add-on cost.
"It was our goal when we started the Eagle Ridge development to make a safety product like a storm room affordable as a standard feature in all of the homes we are building," says Ken Head, president of Lifestyle Homes of Texas. "By installing the storm room as a functional pantry within the home, we are giving families a place to go during a storm without making them sacrifice usable living space."
In Texas, protection from heavy wind loads and wind-borne debris is something builders will continue to address as extreme weather remains a threat to residential building. Homeowners will look to builders and contractors who offer the valuable safety features as trusted partners that are providing piece of mind in the form of innovative, high-performance storm shelters.
Chris Anderson is Team Leader of DuPont? StormRoom? with Kevlar®, a strategic business unit of DuPont Building Innovations.
Infolink:
DuPont StormRoom
800.448.9835
www.stormroom.dupont.com
