Homebuilders increasingly use new fire resistant techniques

WEEKENDEDITION A growing number of homebuilders have begun using fire resistant materials and designs in response to an unusually large number of burned properties over the last decade.

Those who have lived through a fire are especially likely to rebuilding using commercial-grade building techniques and material, such as concrete, steel and dual-paned tempered glass, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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“It’s like a freeway underpass, with all the rebar and the steel,” Keoni Rosa, an architect working with fire resistant designs in California, said of one of his projects. Rosa added that his client’s mantra throughout the rebuilding process was: “no wood.”

However, building safe doesn’t come cheap, builders told the Journal that employing fire-resistant building techniques can cost about 20 percent more than a typical home. [WSJ]Christopher Cameron