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 Tampa – The Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity dedicated Iowa’s first Fortified…for safer living® home.
Fortified…for safer living® is a national, all-hazard initiative featuring a package of construction options to help better protect new homes from natural disasters. The Iowa Habitat home has added protection against high wind, hail and severe winter weather.
The Fortified program is sponsored by the Tampa-based Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), a nonprofit engineering, research and communications organization funded by insurers. The disaster-resistant upgrades were made possible by a grant from EMC Insurance Companies, an IBHS member. Wells Fargo and The Sunderland Foundation of Kansas City also sponsored the home.
Fortified upgrades include stronger connections that tie each part of the building together and anchor it to the foundation, well-attached roof sheathing with a secondary moisture barrier, hail (impact) resistant shingles, ice dam protection and higher design pressure rated windows and doors.
Built utilizing insulated concrete form (ICF) technology, the above grade exterior walls of the home are made of poured concrete, providing higher energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Viewed from inside and out, the home appears typical with a vinyl-siding exterior and traditional interior wall finish.
The home now belongs to Regina Rokes and her four children. Regina successfully completed Habitat’s homeownership coursework and with her older children, contributed sweat equity to the construction project.
For more information on the Fortified...for safer living® program, click here.
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