RICHBURG — In the midst of an active hurricane season, a $40 million research center in rural South Carolina is developing methods to better protect homes against natural disasters.
This town of fewer than 300 people in Chester County, is home to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety.
The facility opened in 2010, said Rachael Gauthier, meteorologist and science producer for the IBHS Research Center. It’s funded by dozens of members of the casualty and property insurance industry across the United States.
"The reason we exist is to do scientific research on four different perils," Gauthier said. They are wind, hail, wind-driven rain and wildfire.
The two that are sure to be of most interest South Carolinians between June and November are wind and wind-driven rain.
"We do a lot of research on different types of building components to see how they stand up to the various natural hazards," Gauthier said. "Our goal is really to make houses stronger and minimize damage."
Inside the test chamber
The main building at the research center, known as the test chamber, contains the second-largest wind tunnel in North America. At six-stories tall, the setup allows researchers to conduct wind tests on full-scale one- and two-story houses.
A wall of 105 six-foot fans, each equipped with 350-horsepower engines, simulate Category 3 hurricanes with winds approaching 130 mph. Spray nozzles add water, up to eight inches of rainfall an hour, to simulate wind-driven rain seen during real hurricanes.
At the center of the test chamber is a massive turntable, allowing the research team to rotate model houses 360 degrees during tests.
"We do everything ourselves here,” said Amanda Aycock, public relations manager for the IBHS Research Center. “We make all of the machinery and the homes.”
From welding and hammering to 3D printing, everything needed to simulate extreme weather is made in-house by IBHS engineers.
"You would never guess that right here in Chester County we're doing all of this, some of the only research like this in the entire world," Gauthier said.
Fortified building standards
One of the research center's cornerstone programs is Fortified, a set of building standards that go above and beyond required local and state codes.
A decade of scientific experiments in the test chamber led to the development of the Fortified building standards. It includes simple substitutions in building materials like 8D ring-shank nails rather than smooth nails and a heavier roofing underlayment between the roof deck and roofing material to protect against moisture and prevent water entering a home if shingles are blown off.
"Our research has shown that shingles can start flying off your home in winds as low as 60 mph," Gauthier said.
Perhaps the most important part of preventing water damage, IBHS found, is using flashing tape to seal seams between the wood beneath a roof's shingles.
"Once your roof cover and this underlayment is ripped off, for every one inch of rain that falls, up to nine bathtubs full of water can go through these cracks and into your home," Gauthier said.
No one wants water to enter their home, whether it be a drip or flood. Water inside a home is called a “damage amplifier,” as it leads to water damage, mold and more.
Bringing a roof up to the Fortified standard adds 5 percent to 15 percent to total costs when re-roofing, less when building new, Gauthier said. Just adding flashing tape to a roof can cost as little as $500, she added.
A case study following a tornado outbreak in Tuscaloosa, Ala., showed that having a Fortified roof can prevent damage from EF-1 and EF-2 tornadoes.
"Nobody wants to be displaced from their home, especially for long periods of time," Gauthier said. "That's certainly our goal — if people do have to leave their homes, really minimize that disruption.”
To date, around 75,000 houses across 32 states have received a Fortified designation, according to IBHS.
Roof aging farm
Outside the facility is a roof aging farm, referred to by some as a "roof graveyard."
"We have multiple types of products out here," Gauthier said. "All different types of asphalt shingle brands. Some are impact-rated, some are not. We also have a few less commonly used roofing materials."
Asphalt roofs get very hot, experiencing huge swings in temperature — increasing to 120-plus degrees in the afternoon, and cooling to well under 100 degrees overnight.
Some roofs at the aging farm date back 10 years to the research center's opening, and the plan is to age some roofs for a total of 20 years before testing them.
"Your shingle manufacturer or contractor may tell you that your asphalt shingle roof is meant to last you 20 or 30 years, and some roofs do,” Gauthier said. “It depends on where you live, it depends on what type of weather hazards your roof has experienced. We've seen brand new roofs a year old be hit by hailstorms out in Texas and a year after their roof is replaced, they're putting a new one on."
Researchers have learned that after about five years, shingle performance begins to decline, Gauthier said.
There are a few simple things anyone can do to better protect their roof: trim back overhanging tree branches, clean out gutters to prevent water backups, and have a roofer inspect the roof for damage or missing shingles ahead of hurricanes.
As for protecting the interior of a home, caulking gaps and cracks around windows and doors can help prevent water damage from wind-driven rain.
Solutions developed by the IBHS Research Center range from cheap and easy to large-scale upgrades, and the testing conducted in rural Richburg so far, and in years to come, could have an outsized impact on keeping South Carolinians’ property safe during a major hurricane.