The increased cost to build underground safe rooms is the major reason that codes in tornado-prone areas of the Midwest do not require them. Houses in Oklahoma, for instance, are usually built on slabs without basements or crawl spaces because the land is flat and the weather is temperate enough that digging a deep foundation is not necessary.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Codes + Standards
Public Comment Period Opens for National Green Building Standard Updates
The 45-day public comment period for draft 2 of the 2024 NGBS begins on April 12, 2024
Codes + Standards
Public Comment Period Opens for 2024 National Green Building Standard Update
The 45-day public comment period opened Aug. 18, and comments must be submitted by Oct. 2, 2023
Codes + Standards
The Inefficiencies of the Latest Energy Code
The 2021 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) hampers the return on investment for builders and homebuyers