A steel reinforced concrete wall can withstand winds of up to 250 mph. An airborne missile study at Texas Tech University shows that concrete walls are also impervious to projectiles traveling over 100 mph, the speed they would be carried at in 200+ mph winds. Concrete does not burn, and homes built with Phoenix ICF have a 4 hour fire rating. In the unfortunate event that a tornado, hurricane, or fire were to hit an ICF home, you can feel secure knowing that you are living in the safest possible type of construction.
ICF homes have proven time & time again that they can withstand hurricanes, Tornados, fires and other disasters. The pictures & articles below show the strength of Concrete Homes
The Sundbergs' home, shown in the yellow circle, is a prime example of the durability of concrete homes.
The Sundbergs had been building their fully mitigated home for eight years, and it was 85% complete, when Hurricane Katrina slammed into their area on Aug. 29 with a huge storm surge and reported sustained winds of 125 mph. The water reached an elevation of 28 feet.
After the winds had died down and the water retreated to the Gulf of Mexico, the Sundbergs found that their home had survived the storm largely intact, with some blown-out windows, lost materials and missing upstairs panels. Now they are focusing their efforts on finishing the building before the next storm strikes
Early on the morning of June 26, 2004, as Mr. Demczyk and his wife quietly slept inside their concrete home, tragedy was unfolding outside. At approximately 2:00AM an intoxicated driver was speeding down the Demczyk’s neighborhood street. According to police reports the driver of the Pontiac Firebird lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway and slammed into the exterior wall of the Demczyk’s residence at a speed of 90 miles per hour.
The concrete wall’s sound class rating of 48 offered the sleeping Demczyk’s no clue of the disaster. Stirred awake by a light thud, Mrs. Demczyk leisurely strolled through the house assuming a household object had fallen to the floor. To her surprise what she found was a set of headlights shining brightly through her living room window.
Proof of the concrete home's strength was evident once the clean up had been completed and the damage was accessed. There was only a 3’ x 5’ section of the wall’s exterior finish damaged by the crash. There was no damage to the concrete wall itself.
The 5800 SF, two-story, stucco home was constructed in Cape Coral, Florida in 1997 at a cost of $496,000. When asked if he was surprised by the strength of the wall, Demczyk responded “I can believe it. I have known that this house was solid since the day I built it. Strength, wind resistance, and insulation are the reasons I chose to go with ICF. Demczyk told us that emergency workers on the scene commented that the speeding vehicle would have penetrated the residence had the walls been concrete block or wood-frame. back to top
The ability of ICF homes to withstand hurricane- and tornado-force winds has long been known, but was made even more evident on August 18th, 2005 when a tornado destroyed most of the homes in a Stoughton, Wisconsin neighborhood. When the air cleared, one home was still standing with almost no damage: a concrete home, currently under construction, built with insulating concrete forms (ICFs).
Concrete Home before exterior finish
Concrete Home after exterior finish
Concrete Home Survives F3 Tornado
Concrete Home Survives 90 mph Car Crash
Concrete Home Survives Hurricane Katrina
Concrete Home Survives California Wildfires
In the summer & fall of 2003, Wildfires destroyed over 800,000 acres and over 3300 homes in Southern California. Insurance claims topped $12 billion. This was one of the most devastating natural disasters to hit California. The picture on the left shows one of the developments hit by the fire. The only home left standing was a Concrete home. If more homes had been built with Concrete the damage and cost could have been minimized.
