Library

Guide providing minimum design and construction requirements for storm shelters that provide a safe refuge from storms that produce high winds, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

Fact sheet describing a report providing best practices for reducing damages from floods to manufactured homes.

Fact sheet providing an overview of the FEMA document Wind Retrofit Guide for Residential Buildings.

Report summarizing the requirements to strenghthen new homes against property damage caused by high wind occurrences per the IBHS Fortified Homes High Wind Standard for New Homes.

Report summarizing the wind-resistant provisions of the 2015 edition of the International Building Code.

Guide providing engineering seismic design and building practices based on post-earthquake research.

Report summarizing the requirements for strenghtening and protecting the roof, openings in the house, and creating a continuous load path to strengthen walls and foundation per the IBHS Fortified Homes Hurricane Standard for New Homes.

Guide describing the requirements by FORTIFIED Home™ for improving the home's resistance in severe thunderstorms, straight-line wind events, and high winds at the outer edges of tornadoes.

Article describing how to detail head flashing above a window.

Report describing the experience gained from AIA’s Disaster Assistance Program with first-hand accounts of disaster response and recovery, case studies and other best practices, including approaches to designing buildings to be more adaptable to uncertainty.

Article describing how an airtight home shell helps achieve a tight envelope that is energy efficient and cost effective.

A report that evaluates the force it takes to crack stucco of various thicknesses.

Report describing approaches to insulating basements in homes built to meet Energy Star levels of performance of heat loss reduction.

Article from California Earthquake Authority on the benefits of retrofitting homes to withstand earthquake forces, with a focus on foundations, walls, and chimneys.

Information sheet with details on pan flashing for exterior walls.

Information sheet about insulating slabs.

Report providing water management details for roof assemblies.

Article describing the control layers (air, thermal, and vapor barriers) needed to build homes successfully in very cold locations.

Report about the fundamental concepts that must be understood at the planning or initial nspection of existing homes regarding surface and ground water management.

Article describing correct ways to eliminate water damage by incorporating a sacrificial layer to foundation walls and footings.

Report aimed to quantify the impact of closed crawlspaces in new homes, and investigate modeling software to ensure accuracy of energy consumption predictions in these homes.

Guide about designing and installing closed crawlspaces in the Southeast.

Volume 1 of a two-volume report providing a comprehensive approach to planning, siting, and risk management for homes constructed in coastal environments.

Website discussing building foundation problems caused by settling soil in Colorado.

An article illustrating common errors found in fiber cement siding installations. Many of these errors and poor flashing examples apply to siding materials beyond fiber cement siding.

Information guide describing issues with concrete floors, in multiple climate zones.

Document discussing moisture considerations and testing techniques for concrete floors.

Report covering insulating crawlspaces.

Article describing the process of constructing concrete walls

FEMA risk management series guide on hospital safety and resilience to natural disasters.

Report providing guidance on designing buildings to be flood resistant.

Report providing information on ways to incentivize funding of hazard mitigation programs.

Case study describing foundation wall moisture studies at a research facility in Minnesota run by Building America team NorthernSTAR.

Report providing an introduction to the NEHRP recommended seismic provisions for new buildings and other structures.

Fact sheet describing weatherstripping materials, types, expected life expectancy, installation requirements, and pros and cons.

Information sheet with details on a building enclosure designed for Albuquerque, NM, as an example for building enclosures built for hot-dry and mixed-dry climates.

Case study describing novel technique for installing exterior spray foam on foundation walls that uses high-pressure water sprayer and a “hydro vac” to remove dirt along the foundation wall.

Study characterizing how foundation heat exchangers (FHXs) used in residential ground source heat pump systems represent a potential cost savings due to their lesser first cost over other types of heat exchangers.

Documents describing the similarities and differences between the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) minimum requirements and the requirements of the International Codes® (I-Codes®) and ASCE 24, Flood Resistant Design and Construction, a standard referenced by the I-Codes., and illustrating...

Fact sheet discussing designs for prefabricated safe rooms built to ICC 500 standards mentioned in FEMA P-361.

Report describing dry floodproofing technologies for non-residential buildings, including information about regulatory requirements, design considerations, and descriptions of floodproofing methods and equipment.

Article describing the effective R-values of various subslab insulation products, including foil bubble pack.

A fact sheet on how to prepare for a natural disaster by storing food and water through an emergency food supply.

Checklist highlighting the requirement for metal structural connections and materials fasteners used to retrofit or construct FORTIFIED buildings less than 3,000 ft from saltwater to be suitably protected from corrosion.

Checklist intending to clarify FORTIFIED Home™ eligibility requirements that relate to a home’s foundation.

Report summarizing the requirements for strenghtening and protecting the roof, openings in the house, and creating a continuous load path to strengthen walls and foundation per the IBHS Fortified Homes Hurricane Standard for Existing Homes.

Checklist providing good and bad methods of fortifying the roof, especially in high wind situations.

Checklist providing good and bad methods of fortifying the roof, especially in hurricanes.

Checklist providing information about the specific requirements of FORTIFIED Roof™ design and construction standard for re-roofing specific for high wind resistance.

Checklist providing information about the specific requirements of FORTIFIED Roof™ design and construction standard for re-roofing specific for high wind and hail resistance.