Rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey

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Author Message Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: michael_chusid Post Number: 318 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 08:08 am:    What material shortages do you foresee and how will the shortages affect your projects? What lessons should we learn about: -- Zoning and Development? -- Design and Engineering? -- Product selection and specification? What changes should be made to codes and standards? What are you going to do differently as a result of Harvey? Michael Chusid, RA FCSI CCS www.chusid.com www.buildingproduct.guru 818-219-4937 Liz O'Sullivan Senior Member Username: liz_osullivan Post Number: 231 Registered: 10-2011 Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 08:49 am:    I thought this was an interesting article, and a good way to illustrate some of what might happen in Texas' future, and why. "The consequence of loose or non-existent codes is that storm damage is often worse than need be." Many areas of Texas have a pretty relaxed approach to codes. https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/news/articles/2017-08-30/harvey-could-reshape-how-and-where-americans-build-their-homes user (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 08:53 am:    City of Houston does not have zoning. Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 702 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 09:21 am:    Building codes are by their nature, reactive; look at the changes, especially in the New York City code, after 9-11. So we can expect changes in the IBC based on lessons learned from Harvey (eg related to resilience); the question is what parts, if any, will be adopted by state and local jurisdictions. George A. Everding, FCSI, CCS, CCCA, AIA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 867 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 12:54 pm:    Don't look for massive migration from flood prone areas. During the Mississippi-Missouri River floods of 1993, there was a massive levee breach that flooded the Chesterfield Valley north and west of St. Louis. The levee was rebuilt to a higher elevation. Now that area is developed to a much higher density than it was before the 1993 flood. Our CSI chapter is remembering the 20th anniversary of those floods with three programs this year, including one by USACE on the flooding history of the MOM (Missouri, Ohio, Mississippi) basin, what's happened since 1993, and what the long range future looks like. The aggressive redevelopment in the flood plain has been a controversial issue here. I'm interested to hear how, or if, thinking has changed over the last two decades. Also, I wonder if there are similarities in approach to dealing with what happened here (river flood caused by massive upstream snowfall melt and saturated soil) to what happened in Texas (massive hurricane sitting over the area for days dumping water on top of them). The flooding devastation seems the only common thread between the two events - I wonder if there are any flood control strategies in common. Greta Eckhardt Senior Member Username: gretaeckhardt Post Number: 67 Registered: 08-2013 Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 01:08 pm:    In the article recommended by Liz, I like the quote by a home builder about always building "above code". Many responsible members of the design/construction community do the same. However, updating the code is a way to foster improvement of construction practices across all projects. For anyone interested in improving the code, at the end of today's e-newsletter from ICC, the council looks to the future, with the goal of using lessons learned from recent events, to improve future building codes. To learn more about this effort, one can contact Mike Pfeiffer, ICC Senior Vice President of Technical Services at 888-422-7233, ext. 4338. In the meantime, for those who would like to help with relief, the newsletter also discusses the council's offer to match donations to American Red Cross made by its members, staff and stakeholders, and mentions other ways of helping the hurricane victims. Mark Gilligan SE, Senior Member Username: mark_gilligan Post Number: 822 Registered: 10-2007 Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 02:19 pm:    It is simplistic to say build above the code. How much above? In the case of wind damage suggest that complying with the code would eliminate much of the problem. In the case of flooding refer to IBC Section 1612 which makes use of the FIRM maps. Here again if they complied with the IBC most of the problem would go away. But we understand that this government regulation is not welcome in Texas. Some of the buildings may predate the code provisions but that does not excuse willful ignorance. While undoubtedly the code could be improved the real problem is that they either have no building code or they do not enforce it. Let us start with compliance with the code. Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wayne_yancey Post Number: 831 Registered: 01-2008 Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 02:34 pm:    Rough carpentry lumber prices will increase. Shortages elsewhere Gas prices at the pump will increase. Everywhere. Gypsum board prices will increase. Shortages elsewhere. Low-slope roofing costs may increase or at least divert a large quantity of materials to the region. Shortages elsewhere. Steep slope roofing costs increase. Shortage of skilled tradespeople may cause wage increases, poor quality, temporary housing shortages, etc. Increase cost in motel/hotel to accommodate the influx of skilled and unskilled workers. Like to a gold rush. More con artists. There is always profit to be made. Dewayne Dean Senior Member Username: ddean Post Number: 139 Registered: 02-2016 Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 03:20 pm:    I knew a builder once who added one extra nail in every shingle and proudly claimed that he was building "above the code" J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 988 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Thursday, August 31, 2017 - 04:45 pm:    Hurricane damage is multifaceted to say the least. People probably think of wind and rain, but storm surge, flood, and debris impact are just as nasty. Then there are the tornadoes that are spawned by the hurricane. So, a tropical storm can be devastating in terms of tornado damage and the amount of rain without have wind gusts greater than 60 mph in the storm. Now when you dump the same amount of water that goes over Niagara Falls in a year on a relatively local area, you are going to have some problems. The codes have gotten a lot better over the years about structures resisting forces from sustained winds; this goes from residential wood frame construction (Type V) to commercial reinforced concrete structures (Type I). They are improving with regard to openings although the 2012 IBC simply addresses the wind-borne-debris-resistance of glazing without addressing the framing or other types of openings. Florida Building Code (specifically Miami-Dade County NOA process) and Texas Department of Insurance are important sources for tested opening assemblies as well as cladding assemblies. Development limits are serious issues, and contrary to what you might hear on radio or TV, Harris County (where Houston is located) has had some rather serious limitations on development with regard to flood control for the last 12 years. A critical factor has to do with addressing a good deal of post WWII development that simply needs to be removed and how to deal with the fact that you are talking about taking people's homes. The issue you have relates to the questions of "how safe do we want to make its" and "do we want to pay that much?" I can design a building to withstand a serious tornado (the whole building, not just a designated shelter component) that is elevated above any possibility of flooding, but I am positive that it would be deemed affordable for any but the most critical government facility. Having said that, I drove through Bolivar peninsula (across the channel from Galveston) about 6 months after Hurricane Ike. This low-lying community had been pretty much scoured of any structure built before 2000. Those structures that did survive were elevated above the storm surge and utilized appropriate products and details resist wind forces. Windows and doors were debris impact resistant. The older stuff was largely toast. All along the Texas Gulf Coast are smaller communities (most with populations less than 25,000) that consist of a mix of older (even historical) structures and buildings built to current code with regard to wind and debris resistance. Storm surge and flooding are still a concern, but you can find a great many buildings that have been through a number of hurricanes. I sat through Hurricane Carla in 1961 in a mid-50s suburban tract house. The same house survived Hurricanes Buelah in 1967 and Celia in 1970 as well as several tropical storms since then. At the risk of sounding cavalier and fatalistic, I would suggest that it is largely the luck of the draw as well as reasonably good quality construction and materials. there are needed improvements in the IBC, specifically with regard to protection all openings, not just glazing, but if you practice in "hurricane country" as I do, you will see that regulations are in place for a surprising number of communities. J. Peter Jordan, FCSI, AIA, CCS, LEED AP, SCIP Phil Kabza Senior Member Username: phil_kabza Post Number: 595 Registered: 12-2002 Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2017 - 05:14 pm:    There's no shortage of expertise in our industry; that understanding is reinforced every day here on this forum. We can design and build what is needed. What is short in our industry is political advocacy. We're all so busy designing and building that the special interests that make the decisions about what to build and where carry the day. The lobbyists for NAHB hire the politicians and run the TV ads that rail against socialism, while they continue to thrive on the inherently socialistic institutions of FEMA funding and the insurance industry. We all end up carrying the risk and paying the price through insurance premium increases and tax dollars so that residential building costs can be held artificially low (and profits high). It would be more productive to create a program to underwrite low cost housing built to strict national standards. But we would have to elect representatives who had our long term economic interests in mind in order to see such a program take place.