HURRICANE AND THYPOON RATED STRUCTURES
Wind loads during a Hurricane or Typhoon are extremely powerfull and can be deadly and destructive in particular for wooden houses which are very sensitive for unbalance if not designed and fabricated acoording to the correct engineering practices (*). It is therefore a prerequisite that wooden prefab houses be designed in accordance with the proper codes if such house is to be built in a cyclone belt. Based on our 40 years of experience we guarantee your Prefab Bali House will be designed accordingly by applying the IBC 2018. For the USA the applicable amendments which are in force for the County where the unit will be built will be applied. Many other countries acknowledge the IBC 2018, Where necessary our designs will be upgraded to cyclone rating against a variation order for the extra costs to reinforce the standard structure.
(*) Wooden structures are normally subject to significant shrinkage and expansion caused by temperature and hunidity changes, which are far higher than those experienced for prefabricated concrete structures and prefabricated steel structures. The shrinkages and expansions in prefabricated wood structures may have a significant impact on the connections, whether this is done with bolts or screws. These constant shrinkages and expansions will cause "slackening" of the connections, whereas unexpected and dangerous connection instabilities will occur, which may induce a sudden disintegration of the structure, in particular durin a hurrican or typhoon. Modern engineering techniques have been developed and codes been issued over the last decade which take such "slackening" phenomena into account. The codes provide formulae and design advice to cope with these aspects, arriving at safe connections which will remain safe over time. Our engineers are very well familiar with these codes and will properly apply them.
FULL SCALE OCCURRENCES WITHOUT MAJOR DAMAGE TO OUR UNITS
| ♦ | In September 2004 one of our buildings withstood hurricane Ivan that struck the Cayman islands |
| ♦ | In November 2009 a 2-storey unit designed and prefabricated by us lost only some roof tiles when the island of Sta. Lucia in the Caribbean was hit by hurricane Thomas |
| ♦ | Early November 2013 the Phillipines were hard hit by typhoon Haiyan. Our A-2 model sustained the 315 km/h (196 Mph) storm |
| ♦ | Early September 2017 most houses on the island of St. Maarten (Caribbean) were destroyed by the category 5+ hurricane "Irma". Structures and houses designed by our company survived this hurricane. If you haven't already read the Irma article on our home page you may read it < here > |
| ♦ | Mid September 2017, hurricane Maria strikes the island of Guadeloupe. The unit that was supplied by us early 2017 fully survived the ordeal without any damages. If you haven't already read the Irma article on our home page you may read it < here > |
