With an increase in U.S.-based natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires, homeowners and builders are looking for ways to design destruction-proof housing. In a recent CNN feature, reporter Anna Bahney highlights two homes that were built with disasters in mind. The first is a northern California home built with a polystyrene foam, steel, and concrete system developed by RSG-3D. According to the manufacturer, the home can withstand fire exposure, earthquakes registering up to 9.0 on the Richter scale, and sustained 300-mile-per hour winds.
Jennings determined the house cost 20% more to build than a wood frame house. What he didn't anticipate was that it would save him hundreds of thousands of dollars and keep his house from being completely destroyed.
The Valley Fire broke his windows, resulting in some soot damage. A garage door was either left open or blew open, engulfing his workbench and tools and leaving screwdrivers looking like melted lollipops. "It was an inferno in there, but the room above the garage where I had my collectables and my wife's Christmas ornament collection were totally untouched."
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