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Daunting as the coastal climate can be, the home-building industry has the capacity to construct homes capable of withstanding the ravages of hurricane-force winds, floods, home-crushing waves, incessant rain, high humidity, short drying cycles, scorching sun, and corrosive concentrations of salt...
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Following the 2004 hurricane season, Florida-based Mercedes Homes paired up with researchers at the DOE's Building America program to design and build a truly hurricane-resistant home. But as researchers and builders have come to understand only too well, a home that provides complete protection...
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As CEO of Stormont and Company Builders of Kitty Hawk, N.C., Paul Buske builds homes on the Outer Banks that are a far cry from the simple one-story cottages he spent summers in during the 1960s and 1970s. These typically wide, tall custom homes stand on piling foundations; include complex roofs...
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Sculpting with Light
Some projects simply include lighting in their design, others root light in their core. The Bloch Building, the new addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri, is one such project.
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Highlight: House of Sweden
With the recently completed House of Sweden in Washington, D.C., this Nordic nation has created a “home away from home.” Located in Georgetown, on a prime waterfront site overlooking the banks of the Potomac River and bordering Rock Creek, the building celebrates the country's Scandinavian...
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The small, gasoline-powered portable generator is the classic ad hoc response to a major power outage. Yet it may be the homeowner's worst possible choice. Able to provide only enough output for a few lights and a refrigerator, gas-powered generators need frequent refueling and make a lot of noise...
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As federal and state governments try to get a handle on the pollution problem and the impact of "volatile organic compounds," or VOCs, they're turning their attention to paint. A cascade of regulations, moving from the EPA down through regional commissions and finally taking effect at the state...
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Along the coast where wind-blown rain is a regular weather feature, it's no surprise to builders that the exterior of a home must be carefully detailed to manage water. Properly installed housewrap and flashing are the key elements of an effective water-resistive barrier. But rainwater is not the...
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As building codes address wind-zone construction with extra vigor, more metal hardware is being required to tie buildings together than ever before. Framing anchors, ties, hold-downs, braces, tie-downs, hangers, connectors, straps - every year more steel is needed to build and remodel houses. And...
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Where the codes once concentrated mostly on verifying that buildings could handle gravity loads, now coastal homes must also resolve the complicated load effects associated with high winds: uplift, shear (or "racking"), sliding, and overturning. Ted Cushman takes a closer look at one kind of...