This is for a house in a hurricane zone, just a little bit in from the Gulf of M. House will be elevated on piers. But there will still be other stuff at ground level, including a laundry/storage space and stairs to the main level.
I could design these to be strong and hopefully survive a storm/flood, or to breakaway during a significant weather event. If the goal is breakaway, it seems that we’d want it to break into small pieces so things like stringers and wall panels didn’t snag on the piers and become a trap for debris. But at the same time, we don’t want it to bust apart through normal use, or lesser weather events.
Anyone know good techniques for building breakaway components? Any idea how to balance this against everyday sturdiness and security?
Replies
Set your bricks with great stuff instead of mortar.
;o)
Cloud,
Coastal Contractor has had some articles on this and HUD has some pamphlets.
http://www.coastalcontractor.net.
Found 3 articles with breakaway walls
Design: Seaside Surge Solutions - January 2006
by Gordon Tully
Seaside Surge Solutions
PDF | HTML
Rebuilding the Gulf: Back to the Future - March 2006
by Ted Cushman
The tremendous surge from Hurricane Katrina that washed across Lake Pontchartrain and swamped New Orleans also took a serious toll on the houses in Mandeville, La. Ted Cushman, who traveled to the region to lend a hand in the recovery, was there to document two historic buildings that stood tall despite the devastating wave. This case story provides an interesting lesson in history that suggests the old-time builders in the region knew exactly what they were doing.
PDF | HTML
Piling it On - Fall 2004
by Clayton DeKorne
Storm surge can exert pressures against pilings in the hundreds or even thousands of pounds per square foot. Post-storm analysis may result in new design standards for oceanfront homes.
PDF | HTML
KK
Edited 7/25/2007 5:44 pm by coonass
Kevin, thanks for the constructive answer. I'm reading through that now. I look forward to other practical ideas.
Edited 7/25/2007 6:19 pm ET by CloudHidden
Following up from your links, I had a great time reading through all sorts of materials. Of most immediate use was the FIRM map for my client (FIRM is what is used to calculate flood insurance rates)Through this link-- http://tinyurl.com/2rhp2h --I found out the property in question is in an A zone (wave height more than 1.5' but less than 3') and has a BFE (Base Flood Elevation, or 1% flood elevation) of 7'. It creates maps of any area as a PDF file. Gotta love technology.The other resource, http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=1853 , is titled Recommended Residential Construction for the Gulf Coast. Shows all sorts of foundations suitable to different flood areas, and fortunately, the one we want to do qualifies for the flood rating of the site.Way cool stuff, and all free, too.
you dont have to worry about break away. if a wave hit it,it will break into thousand pieces, no matter how you build it.
You also don't want the "breakaway" to fly off and destroy the neighbor's house.
not much you can do about it, they have insurance
They can sue you.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
no they cant, you cant sue for act of god, If a storm blow your neighbor tree on your house. cant sue.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_GodBut lets go ask BOB,BOB will say the opposite of what ever I say, plus he once was a lawyer. a double negative.
Edited 7/25/2007 7:32 pm by brownbagg
But it's not a tree. Trees are a special case.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
you can't be sued for those breakaways. If you saw Pensacola Beach after Ivan, you would know that would never be sorted out. Debris for a hundred miles
It's happened. If your porch roof ends up imbedded in the side of your neighbor's house the suit can claim that you didn't build to code. Heaven help you if the porch wasn't permitted.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
That may be where ther are no hurricanes, but that isn't applicable in a hurricane area. If the housse is built on piles, you can be sure the county will get their money. Anything you build on the beach will be permitted because the BI is in the area so much
One case I heard of was from hurricane country. The trick is proving where the stuff came from, and somehow showing that it was improperly constructed.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
well, who you going sue- god
But , BOB is Gods lawyer. (G)
Nah, God doesn't have insurance.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
When Dorothy's house landed on that witch, she was held liable.
Will they let you put a laundry room down there? Insurance is only going to cover everything above the floor joists and 1 stairway. At least here in NW FL.
I can't recall anylower walls surviving Ivan but I guess anythings possible.
I shoulda said changing room. The guy's a fisherman, and when he comes home he wants to drop his clothes, shower, and change. So we can make that a place where he can deposit laundry and a dumbwaiter or such can move it upstairs where the washer and dryer would be.It can also be light storage. The weather event would be a hurricane, for which they'll have some notice. They can move important things into the house proper. It'd be different in Tornado Alley. Different places, different solutions.I take it inevitable that in a significant storm, something will be lost or something will break. I'm trying to limit that to an inconvenience rather than a financial catastrophe. Lose a set of stairs. Lose a patio. Lose a railing. But don't weaken the structure or lose the whole house.
consider breakaway and the pieces becoming schrapnel...
may add to the problems at hand...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
when you see 2x4 all the way through a pine tree, not much you can do
Jim,
You may be familiar with FEMA approved flood vents for foundations.
This won't answer your question about the design of breakaway walls or panels, but others might be interested in how a flood vent works.
http://www.smartvent.com/products.php
Greg
Here you go, Jim - a pdf FEMA publication. I don't know how much this will help with your particular design.
http://www.fema.gov/pdf/fima/job15.pdf
Greg
Thanks! That's an excellent one I missed.
shoot . . . i thought this was going to be about Janet Jackson
Remember some conceptual designs for replacement housing after the Indonesian tsunami. They kept the main structural components parallel to the direction of the expected waves, with the perpendicular connecting walls designed to be sacrificial.
Edited 7/26/2007 4:15 pm ET by draftguy