When you think of high winds and severe building damage, what image comes to mind? Tornadoes? Hurricanes? Blizzards? A brief thunderstorm?
Many building owners may not consider an isolated thunderstorm to be the cause of high-risk damage. But recent tests conducted by the Institute of Business and Home Safety (IBHS) prove otherwise. Here are the wind speeds at which components of standard masonry buildings failed:
- Flashing: 73 mph wind gust, which is the equivalent of a 52 mph one-minute sustained wind speed (not uncommon for severe thunderstorms).
- Roll-up door: 110 mph wind gust (which can occur during a straight-line wind storm known as a derecho).
- Walls. Two test buildings were subjected to an initial hurricane-force wind gust at 136 mph, which is the equivalent of a 97 mph one-minute sustained wind speed. Both buildings survived intact. But when, subsequently, a simulated tree branch was used to shatter one window in each, the walls of both buildings separated from the structures during a 110 mph wind gust, which is the equivalent of 79 mph one-minute sustained wind speed.
Note the importance of window and door protection. Once a roll-up door or window gives way, compromising the structure, wind in even the briefest storm can pressurize the inside of a building — and significant damage to the interior and inventory begins.
Moral of the IBHS story? The way you put a building together makes all of the difference in how it performs in high winds. The study also revealed that less than 5% of the total cost of the masonry building used in the test would have resulted in a building that was significantly stronger and safer. And an experienced claims adjuster estimated the repair cost on the stronger building to be 10% of those required by the standard masonry construction.
How would your building have fared? What types of materials or modifications can make a massive difference in the odds between minor inconvenience and total disaster? For more information on how a 5% increase in building cost could lead to a 90% reduction in damages, click here.
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