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As an aside, I now live in a place that regularly sees proximal wildfires, and I've thought to myself, if I ever build my own house, there is zero chance I woul

As an aside, I now live in a place that regularly sees proximal wildfires, and I've thought to myself, if I ever build my own house, there is zero chance I would build it to current building standards. Admittedly, I don't know to what standards I would build, but building mostly below ground is one.

mtnops 3y ago
Look at commercial zoning fire protections for your zip code and apply those standards to residential. Additionally, use non-combustible external materials and incorporate an exterior fire suppression system that draws from your own underground water source. You'll need to have your own power source and battery backup to run these pumps. You're looking at $100k for a modest residential structure. Insurance does not give you break for having this in a residential, outside of an insurance rating with -W modifier for the water source.
- bombcar 3y ago
  Even commercial buildings are built "fire-resistant" and often built to contain interior fires (a commercial kitchen fire is a matter of when, not if). You'd want to go beyond that to specific materials and thought thereof if you want to survive with a usable building in a wildfire - things like working out of the concrete will be stressed by the heat, etc. Underground is a good option.
worik 3y ago
> Admittedly, I don't know to what standards I would build, Check out Australian research
happytiger 3y ago
There’s a LOT you can do. Look into intumescent paint. Use it over a primer before your top coat and you can retrofit many buildings that would otherwise just torch. You can use similar stuff for the landscape around a fire applied as it approaches.
amluto 3y ago
California’s WUI code is a decent start. Rather unintuitively, the first thing to do isn’t to worry about combustible exterior materials — it’s to worry about vents and anything else that lets embers in.
- gdubs 3y ago
  As someone who lives in the PNW and has to be aware of fire, I've recommended (and implemented) a lot of the advice outlined here: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/built-to-burn/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/built-to-burn/
- jjeaff 3y ago
  ya, in socal, many of the homes that burn during an event, that aren't right in the path of a major fire, get embers into an exterior vent or they leave the garage door open, or they have a clay tile roof where embers are able to get under the tiles and ignite the wood underneath.
dbetteridge 3y ago
Look up the Australian BAL system. There's defined protection measures for different levels of fire exposure.

mtnops 3y ago

Look at commercial zoning fire protections for your zip code and apply those standards to residential. Additionally, use non-combustible external materials and incorporate an exterior fire suppression system that draws from your own underground water source. You'll need to have your own power source and battery backup to run these pumps. You're looking at $100k for a modest residential structure. Insurance does not give you break for having this in a residential, outside of an insurance rating with -W modifier for the water source.

bombcar 3y ago
Even commercial buildings are built "fire-resistant" and often built to contain interior fires (a commercial kitchen fire is a matter of when, not if). You'd want to go beyond that to specific materials and thought thereof if you want to survive with a usable building in a wildfire - things like working out of the concrete will be stressed by the heat, etc. Underground is a good option.

worik 3y ago

> Admittedly, I don't know to what standards I would build, Check out Australian research

happytiger 3y ago

There’s a LOT you can do. Look into intumescent paint. Use it over a primer before your top coat and you can retrofit many buildings that would otherwise just torch. You can use similar stuff for the landscape around a fire applied as it approaches.

amluto 3y ago

California’s WUI code is a decent start. Rather unintuitively, the first thing to do isn’t to worry about combustible exterior materials — it’s to worry about vents and anything else that lets embers in.

gdubs 3y ago
As someone who lives in the PNW and has to be aware of fire, I've recommended (and implemented) a lot of the advice outlined here: https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/built-to-burn/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/built-to-burn/
jjeaff 3y ago
ya, in socal, many of the homes that burn during an event, that aren't right in the path of a major fire, get embers into an exterior vent or they leave the garage door open, or they have a clay tile roof where embers are able to get under the tiles and ignite the wood underneath.

dbetteridge 3y ago

Look up the Australian BAL system. There's defined protection measures for different levels of fire exposure.