Specifications for prototype storm shelters, ranging from family-sized to community-sized assemblies, have been released to inform contractors and facilities managers on effective concrete masonry applications for safety and code compliance. They’re found in new guidance from the U.S. Concrete Masonry and Hardscapes Association (CMHA), which draws on the expertise of masonry engineers, code professionals, mason contractors and product suppliers to devise cost-effective resistance to hurricane and tornado wind forces.

CMHA’s research and education foundation and the industry resource centre, Masonry Institute of St. Louis, jointly developed the guidance and specifications that align with the requirements of the U.S. International Construction Code (ICC) for storm shelter design and construction. Under that code, larger buildings and homes in designated storm zones must have either a stand-alone shelter or a reinforced room, in the case of homes, that can withstand high wind speeds and fallout of windborne debris.

The ICC’s storm shelter parameters, first introduced in 2008 as section 500 of the code, are generally less stringent than the recommendations for concrete masonry’s impact resistance in the forerunner guidance from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA). That has allowed for the more economical wall designs in CMHA’s prototypes.

“The strength of this manual is the calibre of professionals who contributed to it,” says Mark Wilhelms, chair of the program review committee within CMHA’s research and education foundation. “It demonstrates how industry-funded research can address complex technical challenges and make masonry easier to design, specify and build.”