Nominal Costs, Greater Wildfire Resilience

It’s been a month since IBHS launched our Wildfire Prepared Home designation as a way homeowners can meaningfully reduce their home’s chance of igniting during a wildfire. Since the announcement, we’ve had a tremendous response from local leaders, construction officials, and homeowners who are interested in learning more.

The question of cost is one we’ve heard repeatedly. Now, we have answers for new construction in California.

$2,800. That's the number we need folks to remember. Actions starting at as little as $2,800 can change the future wildfire risk of a new home in California.

Partnering with Headwaters Economics, today IBHS is releasing a new study examining the costs of building more wildfire-resistant homes in California.

Every dollar matters in a family budget. A modest investment in wildfire resilience at the time of new construction is more affordable and practical to achieve than through a later retrofit. Delaying these wildfire-resistant actions just shifts the burden to the future homeowner who will, undoubtedly, need to address the survivability of their home later.

The study looks at wildfire-resistant construction in both Northern California and Southern California to account for differences in material and construction costs, as well as local design preferences. It analyzes the costs of five building components and assemblies – roof, under-eave area, exterior wall, attached deck and near-home landscaping – and compares three levels of protection – Base (Chapter 7A), Enhanced (consistent with Wildfire Prepared Home ) and Optimal (consistent with Wildfire Prepared Home Plus ).?

This analysis finds that building an Enhanced wildfire-resistant home in California adds just 2-8% to the total new construction cost. Lifting a new typical new build home to an Optimal wildfire resistant level, inclusive of the first-tier actions and materials, adds 4-13% to the standard costs of new construction. In addition to reducing wildfire risk, these wildfire-resistant enhancements provide enduring energy efficiency and durability benefits.

Not only does the study fill a key information gap for wildfire construction costs, it also shows that even small choices can have a significant impact on a home’s wildfire risk.?

We cannot completely reduce a home’s wildfire risk, but homeowners are not powerless. IBHS science in collaboration with other partners demonstrates there are actions you can take to bend down your risk – and a modest investment now can make all the difference later.