Search Storm Shelter - Tornado Approved Products
The Only Storm Shelter Product Directory In The Construction Industry
Made possible only by
the DeepSearch & AI technology of EngineeringPlans.com
The Mission
We were following up on a topic we were researching on tornados when a real tornado touched down in Fort Lauderdale, FL just miles away from us.
We turned our focus to finding websites that have directories of approved tornado-proof building products.
After an exhaustive search and finding nothing, we realized we alone had the technology and building product data to make a building product search directory for sorm shelter products real.
We turned to our DeepSearch system to create the first AI-assisted, dynamic building product directory of tornado-proof products of its kind. And we’re providing this as a public service to the industry.
Jan 6, 2024 footage of a tornado touchdown in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
A Brief History of 'Tornado Proof' Building Products
‘Tornado proof’ building products are construction products that are tested to a wind velocity of 250mph and meet ICC-500 & FEMA P-320 guidelines. FEMA P-320 evolved from FEMA P-361, and ICC-500 evolved from FEMA-320.
IF sections of your home’s walls are used as a safe room, those walls must be designed for the wind pressure and debris impact resistance outlined in FEMA-361/ICC-500.
In the latest edition of ASCE-7 (2022), the publication that sets the standard for building design used in local building codes, chapter 32 was added referencing tornado design-prone areas using ICC-500, indicating the growing importance of this standard.
So what's the difference between a Storm Shelter, Safe Room, Tornado Shelter and a Tornado-Proof Room?
The term ‘tornado shelter’ was universally used in all publications until FEMA 361 guidelines started the use of the terminology “safe room” to be defined as providing “near absolute protection” from severe wind damage. The two terms are truly interchangeable, but many people use the term “safe room” to denote a shelter constructed within a building, and “tornado shelter” to denote a shelter constructed outside a building.
What resources are there for finding storm shelter information?
The National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA) publishes helpful guides and maintains a list of manufacturers that create storm shelters & potential rebates offered.
FEMA also publishes a wealth of information on the topic.
How EngineeringPlans.com Solved The Problem
EngineeringPlans.com continuously collects, reads, and indexes every word from multiple product approval agencies every day. Anyone can search this directory for free.
Our DeepSearch Technology lets us research this data in never-before-available ways.
Using an algorithm we created specifically for this new idea of creating specialized directories, We asked DeepSearch to find any building product that references ‘ICC-500’, ‘FEMA P-320’, ‘Storm Shelter’, ‘Tornado Shelter’, and similar variations.
We then created a filterable listing directory of just these products which is continuously updated as new products are collected.
As of January, 2024, over 100 building products were identified from 35+ manufacturers in our database. This count is continuously growing as more products are tested and registered for these standards.
Search The Tornado Shelter Building Product Directory
The result is the first and only, continuously updated directory of products approved to ICC-500. We hope many more companies take note of this important standard in our world of growing national disasters. Feel free to reach out to EngineeringPlans.com to discuss highlighting products you have in our listings, or creating a custom DeepSearch Report just for you.
EngineeirngPlans.com is looking to create other specialty directories of building products.
We welcome your suggestions. Visit our Contact Us page to offer your suggestions on where else we can take this groundbreaking technology.
