Page 4 - Green Builder September-October 2018 Issue

EDITOR’S NOTE By Matt Power

The Inside Scoop Editor-in-Chief
Caption. Text

Science Isn’t Perfect, But It Beats Regret

A homeowners may be asking after the fact, as
These are questions that thousands of upset
SHORT TIME AGO, Hurricane
Florence bore down on North
Carolina. Coincidentally, the
storms such as Florence lay waste to their
investments.
North Carolina Home Builders
The worst injustice of these losses is that
Association’s conference had just
started—but builders left the conference early they don’t have to happen. The latest building
to prepare their job sites and businesses for science of disaster-proo–ng homes rests on
the deluge. decades of post-mortem analysis of storm
A Bloomberg report cited Metrostudy data e—ects. Florida is a prime example, with its
that indicates builders in the Raleigh-Durham new, much stricter building codes. The last
region have about 7,500 new homes in their couple of major hurricanes have done almost
inventory, approximately 600 of which are no damage to homes built to the new code.’
under construction in coastal Wilmington. Raising an existing home from a foundation
Flash back six years: The same builder onto piers can cost $30,000 to $100,000. Instead,
association helped bankroll conservative building “above code” on piers with new
state Rep. Pat McElraft, who put forward a construction can cost considerably less. But
bill rejecting predictions about the state’s vulnerability to massive builders need to get on board with the urgency of preparing homes
‘ooding and damage—made more dire by climate change.’ for the worst. Science shows that the storms of the future will not
Gov. Bev Perdue, a Democrat, let the legislation quietly become law follow predictable patterns. So-called “1,000-year” storm events, with
by doing nothing. Bad policymaking is not always partisan. sea level surging far above current ‘ood maps, may be the new normal.
Mountains of data were shoved under the dunes. In the years since, If you were building a home for yourself on the outer banks
thousands of new homes have been built in the same vulnerable of North Carolina, wouldn’t you apply the best building science
locations, using the same old inadequate building science. Resilience available to make sure the home would survive all but the worst
be damned. storm events? As construction professionals, your clients trust you.
Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that the tiny minority Do them and the industry at large a favor, and take a proactive role
view of climate change deniers is right, and that monster storms like with regard to building science. Make your homes tougher, more
Florence are just part of a natural cycle of nature’s fury. ežcient and more resilient than the climate change skeptics think
Does it make sense, even given this premise, to build to the bare they need to be. I guarantee you that when the ‘ood waters subside,
minimum of wind and ‘ood compliance? Does it make sense to lobby and the home you built is the only one standing on the beach, you’ll
against standards that would increase the strength and resilience of have more business than you can handle—while your competitors
coastal homes?’ battle lawsuits from devastated former clients. GB

Disaster déjà vu? After Hurricane Matthew
slammed into North Carolina in September
2016—causing $4.8 billion in damage to the
state—more than 80,000 homeowners were left
picking up the pieces of their wrecked dwellings.

CREDIT: ACTIVELY AWKWARDFLICKR

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