Library

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

Guidance document describing urban heat islands, what they are, how they form, why we care, and including some strategies to reduce them.

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.

Report describing a study using parametric computer simulations of 112 single-family and 63 multi-family residential building prototypes to quantify the contributions of building components such as roofs, walls, windows, infiltration, outside air, lighting, equipment, and people to the aggregate...

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.

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.

Webpage discussing the characteristics of sunlight and how cool roofs work to reduce solar heat gain.

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.

Website tool that can search for trees by name or characteristics and retrieve data describing tree attributes including site preferences and general characteristics and considerations.

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

Document providing incident solar radiation data and window overhang sizing guidance for multiple locations across the U.S.

Spreadsheet tool that computes solar reflectance index (SRI) and roof surface temperature based on solar reflectance and thermal emittance using ASTM standard E 1980.

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.

Paper describing landscaping influences on heat gain through shading, infiltration shielding, and microclimate creation for nearby buildings.

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.

Paper describing case studies on urban vegetation and greenways and their impacts on city climate and building performance.

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 on sustainable development including water conservation, passive solar, daylighting, natural ventilation, and land use.

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.

Presentation on urban land use and sustainable building design.

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

Study on the effects of wind, radiation, and pressure on apparent temperature.

Presentation describing how to make a Corsi-Rosenthal Box for air cleaning.

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.

Study comparing the thermal performance of phase change materials to concrete construction during heat waves.

Document describing the impacts of tree cover on property values.

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

Article from Green Building Advisor on the importance of window selection in hot climates, with an emphasis on window glazing.

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.