Putting My Money Where My Mouth Is

Resilience is a big concept with even bigger goals. I’ve always struggled with how to materially apply that concept to the individual level. Let me share how I am applying it for myself and family.

I’ve always had the goal to build a new home. After many years of planning, saving, and trying to convince my wife that we “need” to do it, the journey has begun. From the beginning I wanted to make sure I participated in the design, engineering, and construction of the home.

In a conversation with my friend and architect Luis A. Torrado , my number one directive was simple; you are designing a home for an emergency manager, having the roof blow off the house in a storm would be a bad look for me personally and professionally. I think he initially thought I was joking; I was not.

In an effort to better educate myself about construction and the science behind it, I have spent hundreds of hours watching YouTube, following industry experts and practitioners who build homes. From #Perkins Builder Brothers, to Matt Risinger , to This Old House Ventures , I have collected hundreds of notes based on all their home building techniques.

In addition to my YouTube research, I wanted to get into the “weeds” about the science and best practices of resilient home building using the great free resources offered by the FEMA Building Science team on things like hurricane straps and tie downs. One of those resources I have relied on is the “Wind Retrofit Guide for Residential Buildings in Hurricane-Prone Regions FEMA P-804.” I have also relied on best practices from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety - IBHS and #Fortified Homes. I just didn’t want to meet the local building code, I wanted to exceed it.

There is much to absorb and even a greater challenge to put it all into practice, however I believe these are the first and most important steps to building resilience from the bottom-up. A home that can better resist high-wind and water damage is a home that you can safely stay in during a disaster. It’s one less home damaged in a neighborhood full of damaged homes. More importantly it’s less burden and stress on you, your family, and your community following a disaster.

Not to sugarcoat this but resilience does cost a bit more money, but the difference is WHEN you will spend it. In a voluntary way, spending the money up front to create resilience or being forced to spend an even larger unplanned amount after the disaster, just to build back to the status quo. For me, the math is simple.

#leadingfromthefront #resilience National Emergency Management Association International Association of Emergency Managers Disaster Recovery Coalition of America Bipartisan Policy Center International Code Council IIBEC ?#Federal Alliance for Safe Homes BuildStrong America Hill International, Inc. Global Infrastructure Solutions Inc.