New standard for building in hurricane, high wind areas

New construction guidelines developed by the International Code Council will increase public safety in hurricane prone areas and other high-wind regions. The Standard for Residential Construction in High Wind Regions (ICC-600) provides wind-resistant design and construction details for residential buildings. The standard applies to areas where wind speeds reach 100-150 miles per hour, including the hurricane prone regions of the east and gulf coasts, coastal Alaska, and the special wind region of the Columbia River Gorge in Washington and Oregon.

“Communities that adopt this new standard will have a tool based on sound science to help them save lives and protect property,” said Code Council CEO Rick Weiland. “It’s necessary if we are to reduce the billions of dollars in wind-related damage this country faces year after year.”

ICC-600, approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National Standard, uses the latest engineering knowledge to improve the structural integrity and performance of homes. The standard is an update to SSTD 10-99 and includes new provisions such as prescriptive designs for wind speeds up to 150 mph with three-second gusts, designs for cold-formed steel framing and exterior wall coverings for high wind.

“The High Wind Standard will help First Preventers protect the communities they serve,” said Code Council CEO Rick Weiland. “First Preventers, those many unheralded and mostly unknown code officials who check and double-check code compliance and administer building safety codes, play a major role in saving lives, protecting property and reducing recovery costs often paid for by taxpayer dollars.”

The Standard for Residential Construction in High Wind Regions, available in September for communities to adopt, will be considered as a referenced standard in the 2009 International Residential Code.

The International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states choose the International Codes, building safety codes developed by the International Code Council.