Library

Guide providing information for professional builders and contractors rehabbing flooded single-family houses with emphasis on safe practices and the most important activities in the rehab process.

A user forum discussing ways to reinforce a gable overhand that was framed using the ladder method by Mike Mahan.

Table in the IRC describing bracing requirements for specified wind speeds and building story locations.

Presentation providing information about correctly installing ductwork in new and existing homes.

U.S. DOE report summarizing findings from literature and research relevant to HVAC installation practices.

A fact sheet educating homeowners on the importance of residential safe rooms, including their cost and how to register a safe room with local officials.

Report describing the testing of various siding materials for their ability to resist bullets from small firearms.

Presentation describing RESNET grading criteria for insulation installation.

Fact sheet describing how to install bracing to retrofit roof dormers for increased wind resistance.

A brochure educating homeowners on how to install self-locking devices on cabinets, drawers and doors, including child-proof latches and drawer locks.

Report describing extensive renovations to a historic home.

Fact sheet describing proper roof sheathing installation and illustrating fastening methods that will enhance the durability of a building in high-wind areas; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Recovery advisory guide providing guidance on existing code requirements as well as recommend best practices for attachment design, installation, and maintenance of rooftop solar panels to increase panel wind resistance in the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria.

Factsheet from HUD describing how to properly rebuild following natural disasters in Puerto Rico.

Factsheet from HUD describing how homeowners can retrofit homes following natural disasters in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Factsheet from HUD describing how to rebuild following natural disasters in Puerto Rico.

Factsheet for builders from HUD on how to rebuild homes following natural disasters in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Report covering the planning, design, construction, and operation of residential and community safe rooms. Written for architects, engineers, building officials, local officials and emergency managers, and prospective safe room owners and operators.

Factsheet describing air-sealing.

Report promoting public safety and welfare by reducing the risk of earthquake-induced damage to existing homes.

Report promoting public safety and welfare by reducing the risk of earthquake-induced damage to existing homes.

Technical study exploring the impact of different installation faults on heat pump performance in a single-family house.

High-density sidewall cavity insulation can be a major comfort and savings boost. It saves energy by slowing both conductive and convective losses, but only if the right things are done and done right. This always requires site-specific thinking.

Technical report providing site selection guidance for installation of small wind turbines.

Webpage describing the STEP campaign encouraging the use of smart diagnostic tools to reduce installation faults.

Guidelines to assist builders in designing and constructing homes equipped with a set of features that make the installation of solar energy systems after the completion of the home’s construction easier and less expensive.

Standard document establishing construction standards for one- and two-family dwellings constructed in high wind regions.

A website providing timely and accurate forecasts and watches for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes over the contiguous United States.

Report recommending strategies and approaches that the Federal government and other stakeholders may take to encourage and aid States and local communities in the adoption of the most current building codes.

Article describing three ways to strengthen the roof-to-wall connections in an existing home.

Article defining structural design loads and ways to calculate them, including dead loads, live loads, soil lateral loads, wind loads, snow loads, earthquake loads, and other loads.

Recovery advisory presenting key wind retrofit guidelines for buildings located in hurricane-prone regions. These retrofit guidelines are intended to help building owners and designers prevent or limit wind damage and water infiltration during high-wind events.

Article describing suggested food supplies, sanitation, safety, and cooking for during and after an emergency.

Presentation by the Washington University in St. Louis Office of Sustainability on saving energy.

A guide for homeowners on determining the risks from tornadoes and hurricanes and selecting a safe room type and location, as well as providing detailed plans for safe room construction.

Report presenting safe room designs and showing the homeowner and builder/contractor or local design professional how to construct a safe room for a home or small business.

This guide and workbook offers practitioners with the knowledge to properly implement the measurement and documentation procedures required in the ANSI/ACCA 5.

Brochure with information about how to select and install house wrap and other weather-resistive barriers.

Fact sheet providing the wind resistant provisions of the 2015 International Residential Code.

Projectile missile testing of various wall panel configuration to understand how the different wall constructions would perform when struck with wind driven debris from a hurricane.

Conference paper summarizing the relative performance of currently available Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWH) models, the energy implications of different installation locations (garage, basement, or conditioned space) and ducting configurations (exhaust ducting, full ducting, or no ducting), as well...

Report illustrating CAD drawings and modeling of bracing layouts for a gable roof truss.

Report descrbing an early study pointing to the significant improvement, >50%, of a hip roof in reducing peak wind-induced pressures.

Manuals describing design, materials, and installation techniques applicable to almost all types of roof systems; four-volume set includes Metal Panel and SPF Roof Systems, Membrane Roof Systems, Architectural Metal Flashing and Condensation and Air Leakage Control, and Steep-Slope Roof Systems.

A book describing seismic retrofits to help contractors and engineers understand how to properly retrofit a home in a cost-effective manner.

Guide describing details that serve as a visual reference for each of the line items in the Thermal Enclosure System Rater Checklist.

Information sheet about types and installation of insulation.

Tool designed to find utility partners that can help with the installation of EV chargers.

Website providing guidance for people to find and use tools, information, and subject matter expertise to build climate resilience.

Information sheet providing definitions, applications, and techniques for applying air barriers.