Is there such a thing as a 'bushfire-proof' house? | The Drum

More than 3000 homes were destroyed this bushfire season. Residents looking to rebuild will be considering just how fire-resilient their next property will be. But can a home ever be truly fire-proof?
President of the Australian Architecture Association and Director of Environa Studio Tone Wheeler explains to the Drum what a home’s weakest links are - through Lego.
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[@paulmaxwell8851]

A structure ignites through one of three methods: direct flame impingement, radiant heat energy from burning structures nearby, and wind-driven firebrands or 'embers'. This last one is the number one cause of structure ignition here in North America, and is the one I focus on the most. Those firebrands can bombard your home while the fire is still several km away.

[@linmal2242]

How about an Earthship with fire shutters on the main windows and a sprinkler system!

[@DBRGB]

The truth is this: if the building is made of 2’ foot to 4’ foot walls and roof of earth lime and sand, imitating concrete, with fire proof window covering and an enclosed air system within, then you can weather the bushfire. You could even use car tires filled with earth and covered in 3inches of earth, with the roof being covered the same way and you would have a fireproof home. The windows again would need to be covered, but if all flammable vegetation is kept 100 foot from the windows, you would have a buffer zone. All trees should also be outside that zone and, since nothing else is flammable, you and your home would be safe. We think wood is a good building material, but it isn’t. It’s because of wood that fires kill. Remove the combustible material from the building and you’ll have a fireproof structure. And stop allowing building codes that permit wood asphalt shingles, or rubber roofs to be part of the building code. Think about the earth under your feet and build smarter.

[@twelvestitches984]

The answer is "Yes." A cement home will not burn. There are many cement homes that survived the recent fires in Los Angeles. A cement dome home will withstand a tornado. You could cover the cement dome home with one foot of dirt and a grass fire would just go over the top and not affect the home at all.

[@steveswafen2528]

Why isn't hemp being mentioned as a bushfire proof building material?

[@henrybush904]

@James Rowden and very very expensive!!

[@binaryglitch64]

Because I'm burning cannabis as I'm watching this lol. But seriously, James is right... because of availability.

[@suchdevelopments]

Yes, but with clearance and provision particularly with protection windows. One method is Cross-Laminated Timber with a Weathertex cladding, with additional design components. Designed it is a passive house certified building, Hello Tone Wheeler.

[@edbouhl3100]

Ah, fire resistant roll-down residential window shutters! Anybody manufacturing these yet?

[@OWK000]

Any air crete domes or earth bag domes down under?

[@supernova8962]

this is existing house.....title should had been " how to prevent fire from spreading ."

[@craneman12]

Why do you always pick the most expensive way to fireproof your house? Here is my fire prevention strategy. I covered the entire exterior of my 1000 sq. ft. house with 1/2" sheetrock, then house wrap, then 1/4" cement board, then 1\2" cement board from ground level to three feet up. All exterior wood trim is covered with galvanized metal and the windows are plugged with removable 1/2" sheetrock. There is absolutely no combustible material on the exterior of the house including the roof. As an extra measure during fire season, I lean two foot tall 1/2" thick panels of sheetrock against base of the house to create a fire-resistant berm which keeps fire two feet away from the walls. Even if the sheetrock deteriorates and crumbles after several hours of intense heat the fire still has to burn through 1 1/4" of noncombustible cement board and sheetrock, which will not happen! The ground around the house has been cleared of any combustible material to a distance of at least six feet all around the house and any vegetation within sixty feet of the house is kept to a height of no more than four inches. Trees are kept far enough away so should any tree catch fire the flames will stay at least ten feet away from the house. To test my modifications, I built a four foot by eight foot test wall which replicates the house wall construction and two three foot by eight foot wing walls on each side of the wall, in order to contain the heat of the fire that I built at the base of the wall. I fanned the fire to simulate a twenty mile per hour wind which brought the fire up to around 1000 degrees. I kept stoking the fire for five hours. (I did the test without using the two foot tall 1/2" thick panels of sheetrock leaning against the house.) The end result was the that the first 12" of the exterior 1/2" cement board crazed, cracked and crumbled, however the next layer behind the 1/2" cement board which was 1/4" cement board became slightly brittle but did not crumble and the next layer behind that was 1/2" sheetrock which was unscathed. I also did a heat test on the entire wall while the fire was burning with the following results. The temperature within the first 12" was approximately 1000 degrees Fahrenheit, at 20" up the temperature dropped to approximately 600 degrees, at 40" up the temperature was approximately 350 degrees, at 60" up the temperature was 200 degrees, at 80" up the temperature was 125 degrees and at 96" up the temperature was basically ambient temperature. I found that the first 20" from the ground level are by far the most vulnerable.

[@Scrumptious-b2q]

Is the sheet rock aqua rock?

[@binaryglitch64]

I'm thinking it's theoretically possible... with aerogel and/or starlite... though it would be prohibitively expensive.

[@fitkit69]

0:12 no its for the prices of city house.

[@Scrumptious-b2q]

What is gauze?

[@williamoloughlin8298]

in this context, fine wire mesh

[@DoubtingThomas333]

Yes, it's called a steel shed.

[@thucydidesvonschlieffen893]

Maybe if you make it out of lego...

[@bjstudio4865]

adobe mud... rammed earth homes - and of course corrugated iron, steele, all very superior at achieving this.

[@houzaa1906]

360p and mono sound. welcome to 2020. why not do a b&w silent film. gosh!

[@gigilaroux762]

Hemp bricks

[@gyptax]

what is fibro??

[@paulmaxwell8851]

Fibre-cement wall panels. Here in North America the big name is Hardi. Hardi-panel and Hardi-plank siding is completely fireproof, termite proof, pretty much indestructible. My wife and I used it on our house and several other buildings. Only a fool clads his house in wood these days.

[@richdobbs6595]

@@paulmaxwell8851 In practice, just using fiber cement siding doesn't do much for making a house fire resistant. The frame starts burning from wind blown embers getting into duff blown up against the house or into eaves or landscaping too close to the house. We had 1000 structures burned down, and fiber cement siding has been the most popular siding here in Colorado for years. You couldn't tell what sort of siding the charred remains had. Essentially every structure that was exposed to ground level fire burned, and many burned from embers that where blown far enough that the fire leaped a freeway. A well detailed wooden sided house would perform better than a typical fiber cement sided house. That said, I'm going to use metal siding and roofing with rock wool insulation underneath the side, detail everything careful, and clear all burnable stuff from near the house. The property is only partially wooded, with no continuous crown connection with large wooded tracts. I expect that it won't be possible to get fire insurance in my lifetime, so I will do what I can, and if I fail, I will end up living out of a replacement car or cardboard box!

[@PureVikingPowers]

Lies! U can have a fireproof house if it's made with aerogel