Tornado Proof and Energy Efficient? Absolutely!

Can you imagine what it feels like to live in a home that is so quiet you can barely hear the neighbors, so comfortable that it takes very little energy to either cool or heat, so safe that even if there is a tornado overhead you don’t have to leave! Most of us in the US can’t for the simple reason that we live in a stick and brick home that cost all we could afford and the option for something better wasn’t either affordable or available. Most of us can’t even imagine such a home much less have the opportunity to live in one. I do and I as well as a few other contractors build them and they are affordable and they do cost very little to heat and cool and they are safe! They also last for hundreds of years. Quiet, comfortable, energy efficient, tornado proof homes that are built from the earth with local resources that last for generations and are beautiful and affordable. What more could you ask for?

The basic premise of an Earth Block Home is all about mass, for our interests today that equates to the weight of the home so it can’t be blown down and thermal capability, ie, heat transfer. The weight of each block is about 26 lbs. which translates to a structure consisting of 5000 block weighing about 120,000 lbs or 60 tons. One of the things we do is build earthblock interior walls for major partitions between bedrooms, bathrooms and living areas which completely sound proof the home and provide a measure of privacy that can only be experienced to be appreciated. These interior walls also provide a huge thermal mass that stabilizes the interior temperature inhibiting the temperature swings so widely experienced by the inhabitants of the standard stick frame home. Gravity is a wonderful thing when it comes to keeping the walls on the ground in a vertical position but we also address the roof and tie it to the foundation as well as use products that will not detach in a major wind storm. The result is a quiet, energy-efficient, tornado proof home and yes, all this is still affordable. We will most certainly be in both the Joplin and Tuskaloosa areas so if you or someone you know need a little home repair job because it was obliterated this spring let us know and if you are building in tornado alley and want a quote we would be happy to oblige.

Dan Powell EarthTek inc http://www.tornadoproof.us

Dan is the CEO of EarthTek LLC and a licensed contractor specializing in Compressed Earth Block Construction and machinery manufacture.