Tornado ??? - Tornado Alley!

Westie

Westie

Westie

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Stupid question but gonna ask it anyway,

been watching this tonight : http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-year-the-earth-went-wild/4od#3286475

Very good programme..

Just wondering while watching it, after it shows the result from a tornado and all u ever see is just wood everywhere, why don't they use brick concrete etc to build with instead? or will the power of the tornado's just smash them to bits too? or are wooden houses more chance of surviving in?

just curious.. anyone know?
 
I've often asked myself this question too.
I think they accept the risk of their house being blown to smithereens, but that it's cheaper and quicker to build with wood than it is with bricks, stone and concrete.
Either that, or they just really like their DIY :p
 
The wooden houses common in the USA are actually surprisingly strong, but the forces of nature are much stronger. One only has to look at the damage sustained by the relatively small tornado that hit Birmingham to realise that brickwork is just as vulnerable. So if an EF5 tore through an English town, I'm pretty sure you would see the same level of destruction.

My sources? I am no meteorologist but have read many books on extreme weather as a spare time hobby/interest.
 
I dont think that brick and mortar is any more likely to survive than the wooden buildings and its more expensive and slower to work with, probably makes more sense for them to work in wood as its easier to rebuild.

Hawker
 
A decent tornado will smash through bricks, they are not very strong. Same for breeze blocks unless you pour concrete and rebar in the holes. Even if you have concrete walls the roof would still be wood so you wouldn't have protection from above.

Houses have just traditionally been built with wood in America and that's how everyone knows how to do it. It's very quick and easy to build that way. Plus it's cheaper.

You can build a bunker inside a wood house for protection though, have it double as a closet or bathroom. The other option is a pre-made bunker buried in the garden, or under the concrete slab of the garage.

I plan on building a 100% tornado proof house at some point, 12" core ICF walls, ICF roof deck, steel roof, steel window shutters, steel doors, etc.

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physichull said:
The wooden houses common in the USA are actually surprisingly strong, but the forces of nature are much stronger. One only has to look at the damage sustained by the relatively small tornado that hit Birmingham to realise that brickwork is just as vulnerable. So if an EF5 tore through an English town, I'm pretty sure you would see the same level of destruction.

My sources? I am no meteorologist but have read many books on extreme weather as a spare time hobby/interest.
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Yeah they can be quite strong when you tie the framing together with metal hurricane straps/ties. It becomes very strong, but the walls can still be penetrated by debris because they are just plywood with a thin brick veneer at best. It's good for earthquakes though because the house can flex and move.
 
Mostly built from wood as that tends to be the natural material about, clay pits are hard to find so making and transporting bricks is very costly, where as the US has lots of wood

Kimbie
 
Brick won't protect against debris being thrown around. They demonstrated that a wooden beam will go straight through brick (at the right angle of course).

You would have to have a reinforced house to withstand a tornado, and then I suspect the roof would be toast anyway. Not to mention the immense cost of building such a strong house, the cost of materials alone would be incredibly expensive.
 
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