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Connecting hardware helps tie the roof to the walls to ensure a continuous load path to improve a building’s resistance to high winds, floods, and earthquakes.

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Wrong - Utility trim was substituted for the starter strip and the bottom lock was cut off this vinyl siding so the siding pulled loose under wind pressure.

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Wrong – For proper detailing of vinyl around windows and other obstacles, use utility trim, punch snaplocks into siding, and do not overlap directly beneath a window.

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Wrong – The underside of the first course of siding extends beyond the underlying sheathing leaving it vulnerable being pulled off by pressure from high winds.

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Building A Safer House

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Video describing home strengthening efforts in Alabama following 2011 tornados including recommendations based on FEMA guidelines.

Add metal connectors to strengthen framing connections in an existing wall from inside the home by removing drywall.

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Right – Correct fasteners and nailing pattern for structural wall sheathing

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House Siding Options, Plus Costs, Pros & Cons 2020

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A starting point for ballparking and comparing the cost of different siding materials and a brief overview of the pros and cons of different siding materials.

Resistance of Exterior Walls to High Velocity Projectiles

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

Assessing the Impact of Thickness of the Performance of Stucco Cladding

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

Connecting hardware helps tie the walls to the top plates and rim joists to ensure a continuous load path to improve a building’s resistance to high winds, floods, and earthquakes.

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Protect Your Home from Flood Damage

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Video showing steps to protect homes from flood damage using both dry flood-proofing and wet flood-proofing methods per FLASH Strong Homes guidelines.

How To Strengthen Your Home for Under $10,000 – Insulated Concrete Forms

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Video interview explaining the benefits of installing insulated concrete forms for both energy efficiency and disaster resistance in either new or existing homes for under $10,000. Recommendations from FLASH Strong Homes.

Improper continuous load path design lacking bracing results in the failure of gable end walls under high wind conditions.

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A plastic fiber drainage mat rainscreen provides uniform support for the siding and allows moisture to flow horizontally and diagonally in addition to vertically.

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ICC-ES Evaluation Report, ESR-1679

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ICC-ES Evaluation Report reviewing proprietary steel shear wall panels developed by Simpson Strong-Tie Company to resist vertical and lateral loads in walls resulting from wind or earthquakes.

Maximum spacing between braced wall lines, Table R602.10.1.3 in the IRC

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Braced wall lines in a typical house plan, Figure R602.10.1.1 in the IRC

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IRC Prescriptive Wall Bracing Methods, adapted from IRC Table R602.10.4

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Protect Your Home from High Wind and Earthquakes

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Video showing how to protect your home against both earthquakes and high winds and how similar design strategies can work for both events per FLASH Strong Homes guidelines.

Critical connections for providing a continuous load path in buildings and storm shelters

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Right – Horizontal bracing is added to strengthen the gable end wall

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Right – Proper bracing hardware for retrofitting gable ends

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End conditions for braced wall lines with continuous sheathing, Figure R602.10.7 in the IRC

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APA Building for High Wind Resistance in Light-Frame Wood Construction

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A publication highlighting recommendations that contribute to improved overall performance in the structural shell and focus on good connection details to tie together exterior walls, roofs and floors.

Redundant moisture barriers including siding, house wrap, and coated sheathing can help protect walls from excess moisture, while vapor retarders prevent vapor from entering the wall from the house, for example from a bathroom or kitchen.

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How To Strengthen Your Home for Under $10,000 – Simpson Strong Tie connectors

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Video interview explaining the use of Simpson Strong Tie connectors for making walls and roofs more disaster resistant at a price of under $10,000. Recommendations from FLASH Strong Homes program.

Rigid foam insulation can serve as the drainage plane when all seams are taped. Furring strips provide an air gap behind the cladding.

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What Type of Connection is Critical in Creating a Continuous Path Differing Loads?

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Video demonstrating how all connections are critical in creating a continuous path for loads acting on a building (from the exhibition Designing for Disaster at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.© National Building Museum (2014))

FEMA P-320 Safe Room Design Tables

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