Library

The next generation of building enclosures is a key step toward achieving high-performance goals through decreasing energy load demand and enabling advanced space-conditioning systems. Yet the adoption of high-R enclosures and particularly high-R walls has been a slow-growing trend because...

Website providing guidance about mold and moisture for homes, schools, multifamily and commercial buildings.

Online course providing an overview of mold prevention and mold remediation.

Report on a study monitoring moisture conditions of double-stud wall assemblies with different insulation in Devens, Massachusetts.

Article describing mulch requirements and benefits.

Website providing information on tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, thunderstorms and more.

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale is a 1 to 5 rating based on a hurricane's sustained wind speed.

Report updating and expanding on a 2005 study that found, among other things, that every $1 of natural hazard mitigation funded by FEMA between 1993 and 2003 saved the American people an average of $4 in avoided future losses.

Website containing USGS-related publications related to natural hazards.

Building science insight into crawlspaces.

Article describing a steel connector product for jack rafter connections.

A website containing a video series by NW Seismic illustrating how a seismic retrofit should be done and ways they are done incorrectly.

Report providing quick reference guide information to help a family prepare for hurricane season, including seven steps to a wind resistant home, a wind inspection checklist, and how to find a contractor.

Study examining how design features, such as building envelope openings and compartmentalization, affect the wind pressure in typical low-rise buildings with gable and hip roofs.

A fact sheet educating the public on the potential hazards and safe use of portable generators.

Database describing FEMA preparedness webinars including natural hazard preparedness.

Fact sheet describing how to prepare for a natural disaster and assemble a disaster supply kit.

Fact sheet from Wisconsin Focus on Energy explaining how to prevent future ice dams on homes by learning about their formation and mitigation of contributing factors.

Database of approved products that meet the requirements of the High Velocity Hurricane Zone.

List of recommendations from IBHS on how to protect homes from ice dam formation.

Recovery Advisory document provide guidance related to the use and installation of opening protection systems to protect glazed openings (windows) from wind-borne debris during high-wind events.

Article describing how structural screws can be used to provide resistance to wind uplift in buildings.

An example of a form a building codes department created to ensure builders are fully aware and have taken steps to provide drainage so that water doesn’t accumulate behind siding. This example is from the city of Newberg, Oregon.

Report providing strategies to support occupant behavior changes for enhancing resilience, and to reduce a building's vulnerability to extreme weather, climate change, and loss of power.

A fact sheet providing tips on how to assemble a kit of food, water and other disaster supplies in the event of an emergency.

Report providing recommended designs and guidance for rebuilding homes destroyed by hurricanes in the Gulf Coast.

Report describing the REDi™ Rating System, which is a framework for implementing “resilience-based earthquake design,” a holistic “beyond-code” design, planning and assessment approach for achieving earthquake resilience.

An EPA guide describing the causes and impacts of summertime urban heat islands, promoting strategies for lowering temperatures in U.S. communities.

Article describing moisture and ice dam issues in attics and how to air seal the attic floor.

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.

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.

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

Fact sheet describing methods for flashing and air-sealing windows and doors.

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.”

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.

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.

Report from FEMA describing techniques for floodproofing structures.

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

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

Standard describing a simple, relatively cost-effective approach to evaluating the ability of a variety of materials to support microbial growth using a small chamber method. A preview of the standard is available at the link, with the full version available for purchase.