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Building for the Elements

From "Best Built Home"
episode DBBH-103F

Mother Nature can pack a hard punch in the form of heavy winds, hail and earthquakes, which is why builders around the country are developing ways to increase a homes durability during these trying events. DIY visits Colorado to see a builder who is using concrete tile roofs that can withstand the heavy winds and hail in that region. We then travel to California to see how a builder adds something called a shear wall during construction to help a home withstand the forces of an earthquake. Both of these approaches prove to increase a home's durability and the safety of the homeowners.

When you have to deal with hail and heavy winds, what goes on the roof is vital for the durability of your home. Concrete tile is seen here.

In Colorado severe weather brings heavy winds, snow and too often -- damaging hail. Builders such as Oakwood Homes in Denver have to take special care when building their roof systems.

Traditionally the roof covering of choice has been asphalt shingles, but they don't hold up well over time in the severe conditions of Colorado, so builders are turning to an old material that's making a comeback in durable home building -- concrete tile.

Donald Carpenter, director of product management for Oakwood Homes in Colorado, explains that concrete tiles have been used 100-percent of the time no matter what price range -- from starter homes to estate homes. "It's really become our signature in the market," he said. "We feel it's a quality standpoint. It's a 50-year roof [that] withstands Denver's notable hail seasons. It gives an aesthetic to the streetscape that I don't think many communities have."

Figure A

Installing the Tiles Roof Tiles

The installation of these shingles is straightforward. The shingles are "staged" around the roof (figure A) to help speed the process, and like the more traditional asphalt shingles, the installers work from the bottom row, up toward the top ridge, overlapping the shingles as they go. This gives water a plane to run down, keeping the moisture from getting behind the lower tiles.
Each shingle is tacked down, and finally the hips and ridges get cap tiles to finish off the roof.

Rob and Amanda Vargo, who you met in the last episode's "Keeping Warm" section, love the roof on their new Oakwood home, both for the way it looks and for its durability. "It makes this home look distinguished," Amanda said. "It looks a lot different than the other neighborhoods built by other builders."

Builders in California must be well versed in the earthquake zones throughout the state and the laws attached to those zones.

Dealing with Earthquakes

While Mother Nature brings hail to Colorado, in California the concern is earthquakes. Building homes that can withstand the tremors is no easy task. Rich Coyle, purchasing director for D. R. Horton, says, "In California we have strict earthquake laws. There are different earthquake zones throughout the state, and within those zones there are certain requirements that have to happen to make sure the house performs in the event of an earthquake."

These laws also require builders to use a third-party structural engineer to make sure they're building durable earthquake-safe homes. "A structural engineer is a consultant that is retained to make sure that the building is designed to stand up under the anticipated loads that it's likely to experience in its lifetime," Dave Bubeck, structural engineer for Borm Associates, said.

Shear Walls

A load could be anything that's due to gravity or lateral forces (wind or seismic). The engineers are brought on to add structural design and integrity to the home. This challenge includes the placement and location of shear walls (figure B), which is generally plywood in the form of a skin applied to the exterior framing of a wood wall, based on the thickness, grade, the nails and the nailing pattern used on the wall. There is a certain allowed capacity of that wall to resist motion.

Shear walls are created every few feet on a wall during the framing stage, and they may not look like much but there is a great deal of science behind them. Connector clips are tied to the trusses transmitting the loads that are received from the roof diaphragm into the top plates of the wall (figure C).

At the base of the wall it may be necessary to fix the corners to prevent it from tipping over. A hold-down (figure D) is anchored to the base of the wall in contact with the foundation in order to steady the wall if there is a force at the top. "The actual forces are transmitted into the foundation via the anchor bolts or other connectors to get it into the concrete," Dave said.

Builders such as D. R. Horton say that the measures they take "may" not prevent damage during an earthquake, but their homes are designed to save lives.

Figure B

Figure C

Figure D

In the final on-air segment find out how the elements of a house work together as one big system providing durability as host Lynda Lyday visits CEO Michael Dickens of Build IQ.