During Severe Weather Awareness Week April 22-23, people in Burnsville, Minn. had the opportunity to visit more than 70 storm-resistant homes and commercial buildings featured in the first ever Minnesota State-wide Concrete Home Open House.

This open house event was being sponsored by the Aggregate and Ready Mix Association of Minnesota (ARM). The goal of the open house was to provide greater awareness of the safety provided by concrete homes constructed with insulating concrete forms (ICFs).

Homes built with ICF technology are highly resistant to severe weather and provide homeowners and businesses a safe place during tornados, hurricanes and high winds. ICF walls are built with foam insulation forms into which concrete is poured. Structures built with ICF technology are able to withstand severe storms and storm damage much better than conventionally framed walls.

Debris driven by high winds presents the greatest hazard to homeowners and their homes during tornados. Laboratory testing at the Wind Engineering Research Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas compared the impact resistance of residential concrete wall construction to conventionally framed walls. The frame walls failed to stop the penetration of airborne hazards. The concrete walls successfully demonstrated the strength and mass to resist the impact of 100 mph wind-driven debris.

Besides providing a safe environment, ICF buildings and homes are also highly energy efficient and environmentally friendly.

The Minnesota Statewide Concrete Homes Open House featured completed homes, homes under construction and commercial buildings throughout Minnesota the weekend that coincided with Severe Weather Awareness Week.