Construction option known for superior fire resistance

My thoughts and best wishes go out to the families of those who died in last week’s fires, as well as to all who suffered lost or damaged homes. I cannot imagine what you are going through.

I was lucky in more ways than one. During the crisis I knew that my home was more likely to survive than most, should the fire reach it. It is a straw-bale home, designed from its inception to be fire-resistant.

The plastered walls and eaves, metal roof and minimal exposed wood get me lower insurance rates and afford a bit more peace of mind when wildfires loom. Straw-bale construction, and newer technologies such as Perform Wall, have been proven to have superior fire resistance.

They also have the advantage of being greener technologies. Bale homes make good use of an agricultural waste product, while Perform Wall panels are made from 85 percent recycled materials. Both technologies are also very energy-efficient, lowering heating and cooling bills.

In general, homes burn from the inside out. Extreme heat – with or without direct flame – can compromise the building envelope of any structure.

At 400 degrees curtains, wallpaper and bedding spontaneously combust. At 450 degrees wood wall studs ignite. Steel studs melt and deform at only slightly higher temperatures.

In the presence of extreme temperatures it is only a matter of time before any structure combusts. The critical question is how much time? Building technologies such as straw bale and Perform Wall dramatically increase the time a structure can withstand high temperatures.

In testing, bale walls have been exposed to exterior temperatures of 1,000 degrees, increasing to 1,750 degrees over the period of an hour. The interior temperature only rose about 10 degrees. They have a two-hour fire rating, compared to a one-hour rating for standard stick-built walls.

Perform Wall panels are constructed of Portland cement and recycled polystyrene (Styrofoam) beads, making them lightweight with excellent insulating properties. They are the load-bearing walls of the house or building, tied together with steel reinforcement and concrete. There are no wood studs at all.

Perform Wall comes in wall thicknesses of 10, 12 or 14 inches and has a four-hour fire rating. (Learn more about this technology at http://www.performwall.com.)

These building methods have obvious inherent value, both ecologically and for fire resistance, but they must be combined with other construction details and proper lot/land clearance to reach maximum effectiveness.

Enclosed eaves, well-sealed doors and (dual-pane) windows, fire-resistant roofing (such as metal, cement shingle or even living roofs of green plants) are just a few of the details that must be included in any plan to build a fire-resistant structure.