TULSA, Okla. —
Quick Facts:
Some Green Country building inspectors say homes in Green Country aren’t built strong enough
Current building code says homes should be built to withstand 90 mph winds
Tornado that hit Owasso and Rogers County in March had wind speeds estimated between 110-120 mph
The International Code Council decided to increase the wind speed for Oklahoma’s region
Oklahoma hasn’t adopted the new code yet; Legislature will decide by the end of May
Oklahoma homes may be too weak for the kinds of storms the state gets.
FOX23’s Janna Clark talked to some experts who think Oklahoma building standards are too low in Green Country.
After an EF2 tornado tore up Bryan Mckay’s Owasso home in March, his shock turned to exhaustion.
“I’m so numb and tired,” McKay said.
It is the same for John Hnath, in Claremore. He had to re-build his home after that same storm caused damage.
“What would it be like for you if you didn’t have to deal with this?” Clark asked.
“That would be great,” Hnath said.
“What we could do to avoid some of the damage we don’t do as a standard practice,” said Robert McGuire, a building inspector.
Mcguire thinks homes in Green Country aren’t built strong enough.
“The code book is letting us build homes too weak. (They) are too weak for the weather we get,” he said.
Current Oklahoma building code says homes should be built to withstand 90 mph winds.
The tornado that hit Owasso had winds speeds estimated between 110-120mph.
“The current standard is not enough when we have winds the way we have them,” said McGuire.
FOX23 found out the council that creates code did decide to increase the wind speed for Oklahoma’s region.
It went from 90 mph to 115 mph, and they also added stronger building standards to go with it.
Oklahoma hasn’t adopted the new code yet. The Legislature will decide by the end of May.
The city of Moore isn’t waiting on the state. They adopted a stronger home building standard after three tornados in 5 years demolished their neighborhoods.
Their homes are built to withstand 135 mph winds, it’s what’s called fortified.
Builder John Madden says with a fortified home damage from EF0 and EF1 tornadoes can be virtually eliminated.
As for the tornado that hit Owasso:
“Would that kind of a home withstand that kind of a storm?” Clark asked.
“It should,” said Madden.
To fortify a home the builder anchors the foundation with a bolt versus a nail used now.
“When it goes in, it embeds about this far into the foundation,” Madden.
Builders secure all the homes’ connections, foundation to wall and wall to roof. And hurricane straps anchor the roof.
The Institute for Business and Home Safety set up a simulated storm to test two homes a traditional build was blown away, but the fortified home stands strong.
“Should the standard here be a fortified home?” Clark asked.
“It should be. This makes so much sense to me. I can honestly see where it would make a difference,” said Hnath.
“How much more cost is that?” McGuire asked.
“What kind of difference in percentage of cost are you talking about?” Hnath asked.
“That’s nothing really. Heck yeah,” Hnath said.
“It’s really a no brainer,” McGuire said.
“I think it would be foolish not to do it. I think all new homes ought to be done that way,” said Hnath.
If lawmakers to make changes to strengthen the building code by the end of May it would go into effect at the beginning of November.
by: Janna Clark Updated: May 15, 2016 – 10:21 PM
