Build It Right: Bracing Walls for Wind
It is interesting that as one City increases the requirements of the Building Code one State is decreasing its requirements. Decreasing the wall bracing requirements could have a negative impact on a homes resistance to a tornado. That may be the difference between a City that has seen first hand the damaging effects from a tornado and a State that has not.
The article below highlights findings by a National Science Foundation sponsored research team. Code Authorities should look to studies such as this to aid in decision making when planning for code changes, especially when reducing code requirements.
