About how much overall cost does hurricane proofing a house add to buliding it? Would the same techniques for hurricane proofing work in tornado zones (barring a direct hit)?

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

No, tornadoes are localized decimation, hurricanes are much larger but do less targeted damage. I've seen houses survive hurricanes, many do. If your house took a direct hit from a tornado without need for massive repairs you consider that your miracle.

Edit: apparently there are light damage tornadoes. The Enhanced Fujita Scale is used to describe tornado intensity in destruction. Ultimately though the point remains, that tornadoes are a lot more likely to do more direct wind damage to whatever they hit

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

the problem from hurricanes is mostly flooding, where most of the damage comes from.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Yeah, they can rip your siding or roof off if your house hasn't been designed for them (and if you live where they usually hit your house should be), and major hurricanes can beat that hurricane proofing. I've seen the dry remnants of a hurricane do some pretty nasty damage like that. But yeah it's mostly flooding that's the problem where hurricanes tend to be.

Tornadoes on the other hand, are a lot less likely to hit any building in its path, don't flood (meaning underground shelters are safer), and when they hit your home are a lot more likely to look like a bomb went off

[–] cardboardboxfort@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Not really sure. Some stuff like the hurricane screws is something typically only for new builds. Stuff like storm shutters are fairly common add-ons in Florida. All these tweaks are added costs, adding extra insulation in colder climates adds costs too but the point is that modern construction techniques have evolved to address pretty much every scenario you can think of. Thats why things like shipping container houses are stupid.

[–] historicaldocuments@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

I was thinking in terms of new builds. I learned about Intermittant Bracing and circumstances allowing I'll build my next house if at all possible.