How to make your home disaster resilient

Advancernents in construction and design mean that if the 'Wizard of Oz was set h 2016, chances are Dorothy may not have left Kansas at all. Disaster-resilent homes made with the latest bu Icing technology are now more capable of Wth standing-tornadoes, . hurricanes and fires.

"A huge step forward is to replace the traditional wood framing of your house with Mat we ca I ICFs — insulated concrete forms,' says Keven Rector at Nudura, a leading name in this technology.

With insulated concrete wal systems, you can be sure that your home wi I endure some of Mother Nature's worst. Their ability to provide greater impact-resistance conies from the steel-reinforced sold concrete core. Wien compared to traditional wood frame walls that offer only soft bait insulation and a wood frame, the strength and safety you get w th insulated concrete wall systems is far superior.

'Our advanced design combines two panels of thick (EFS) foam with the structural strength and thermal mass of concrete,' Rector explains. 'The resulting envelope immediately gives your house hurricane wind-resistance up to 250 miles per hour." Insulated concrete well systems have proven resilent in real-life situations. In 2004. an ICF home featuring this technology survived the storms in Florida when other homes in the neighborhood built with wood did not.

ICFs are also fire-resistant, with a non-toxic fire retardant wended polystyrene foam ensuring maximum safety and offering a fire protection rating of up to four hare.

Importantly, homes built with this concrete system are also more environmentally friendly, can be built faster and reduce energy bills.

If you want your builder to use ICFs, be sure to discuss t early in the plans. Find more information onine at nudura.com