We’ve all seen what happens on the news when disaster strikes: shattered homes and lives after the tornado or hurricane, smoking ash after the wildfire, and collapsed rubble after the earthquake. Disasters happen when we least expect them,but are something we need to be prepared for. We wear seat belts and have airbags because we have car accidents. Our buildings have smoke alarms and sprinkler systems because we have fire. We keep weather radios and have radar to keep us aware of severe weather. The majority of residential homes in the US are built out of wood. There is a better way
READ MORE →Educare Childcare & After School Program Building 75+ Person Safe Room & Media Class Room in Perkins, OK Educare child care is using BuildBlock ICFs to build EF5 multi-purpose safe room tornado shelter for children and staff at First United Methodist Church in Perkins, OK. (Oklahoma City, OK, June 12, 2014) Educare child care and after school program located at the First United Methodist Church in Perkins, OK is building an EF5 FEMA compliant safe room and multi-purpose media room for their 75 students and 18 staff members using BuildBlock Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs). The Educare Board decided build this
READ MORE →Perkins Educare Safe Room Construction continues on the Educare safe room in Perkins. While the kids had a blast helping stack the first two courses of block Educare Director Betty Weems and James Ladwig, Ladwig Construction discuss the challenges of the project and their hopes for the future. Look for more updates as progress continues.
READ MORE →Oklahoma has been in the middle of “Tornado Alley” since it was first defined in the early 1950s. We see our share of tornadoes and strong storms throughout the year. In May 2013 devastating tornadoes hit the community of Moore, Oklahoma and took the lives of several children who were sheltered at their elementary school. The community of Perkins is about 45 minutes northeast of Oklahoma City and home to some BuildBlock staff. Their children attend Educare a 75 person early childhood day care and after school program housed at the First United Methodist Church in Perkins, Oklahoma. In 2013 they
READ MORE →Growing up in Oklahoma, BuildBlock is familiar with tornadoes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. That’s one of the reasons BuildBlock designed our products the way we did. Tight interlocks, integrated rebar hangers, and other features that take the hassle out of building with ICFs. BuildBlock has added FEMA Compliant Safe Room Plans to its technical manuals and detail sheets.View the gallery below to see how this product integrates inside a conventional wood built home and visit our Safe Rooms page for more information. Our national design partners, Nelson Design Group is in the process of converting their standard safe rooms and
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