Welcome
It’s impossible to grasp the immense scale of climate change. The problem isn’t just that storms are larger, winds are stronger, or that fires now wreck entire cities. They compound each other.
Without the social will to stop these problems individuals must act independently, in self defense. Building a home to handle them seems an obvious first step.
Category-5 has an Answer
The Category-5 system grew out of Houston’s direct experience with Hurricanes Alicia, Rita, Ike, Harvey, and Beryl, and storms like Allison.
Their hard lessons taught us that building climate security is possible at a relatively fast pace and a reasonable cost.
The key is to use well-known methods and materials in a combined system that delivers greater strength, durability and survivability than any other type.
To date, we’ve completed buildings for dozens of owners in locations from Colorado to Texas and Louisiana.
Category-5 is Keyed to Four Critical Goals
STRENGTH
Structures need engineering to outmatch winds of up to Category-5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale (=157 mph), depending on location
ELEVATION
Homes must be sited and designed to ride above potential floods
DURABILITY
Building envelopes must resist fire and decay, and be fabricated from modern, warranteed materials
SUSTAINABILITY
Materials with high carbon overhead (CO2 emissions) should be reduced, substituted or eliminated
Designs should maximize solar, wind and rainwater harvests, and provide off-grid water, power and communications whenever and wherever possible
(See Design section, below)
Where Build a Climate Defense House?
The Cat-5 is suited to any urban, suburban or country location that’s likely to face fires, floods, or major storms, or where the local climate promotes mold and decay. It’s especially well-suited to ocean and riverfront locations, and virtually anywhere in the Mississippi and Missouri watersheds, as well as arid areas in the west and southwest US.
Design
Category-5 Buildings Answer Climate Change
Conservative engineering and extreme insulation counter strong winds and high temperatures
The high strength-to-weight ratio of steel reduces the scale and amount of concrete needed in foundations, and results in much less embodied CO2
Elevation to 60”+ protects from floods by allowing high water to flow through and past the building, and simply by raising it above grade
Proven materials, warranteed (when available) help assure permanence, durability and storm resistance
Our “Climate Safety” pledge equates to structures averaging 25% less embodied carbon than typical stick-framed houses of comparable sizes
Process
Cat-5s are produced one by one, one after another, in coordinated steps:
Assess likely hazards from weather and site conditions
Inventory plants and wildlife, utilities and roads, and available emergency services and points of access
Reflect critical needs and goals in documents shared among owners, designers, engineers and contractors
Synthesize a building design from owner preferences, engineers’ recommendations and site conditions — this step can rely on simple, repeatable structural features or extend to unique design solutions
Decide the extent of Category-5’s involvement, which can extend to overseeing contracts, and assisting with purchases of materials and products
Comparisons
Climate change is bringing obvious before-and-after changes to how we live with nature. Buildings need to be stronger to resist stormy weather, sited to survive floods, and built with better materials for greater durability. They must now also reflect the psychological need for emotional as well as physical security.
Comparisons between the former climate and our likely future can help sketch future requirements. Graphic contrasts can give a sense of the problem’s scale and the pace of oncoming changes.
The code-style stripe shows Houston heating since 1850. The graph shows a 6-degree (F) increase
Strength & Survivability
Engineering to resist winds of up to Category-5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale (157 mph)
Non-combustible, inorganic shells to defend against fire
Elevation to 60”+ to ride above floods and high water
Thermal Insulation
Outer walls with R-48+ insulation, and roofs with R-35+ insulation far exceed the R-19 and R-30 insulation required by building codes
Roofs configured with overhangs of up to 10 feet reduce sun exposure, generate cooling breezes and enable solar and rainfall harvesting
R-10 RADIANT BARRIER
BLOWN INSULATION
R-48+ WALL SYSTEM
R-35+ ROOF SYSTEM
CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS
While wooden homes rely on massive, CO2-heavy concrete foundations, the strength of steel engineering enables Cat-5s to rest on only a few widely-spaced piers — therefore, the “carbon overhead” of a typical wooden house is 25%+ more than for a Cat-5 of similar size, a proportion that will increase with the grid’s growing reliance on renewable energy
Modern US steel comes from Electrical Arc Furnaces (EAFs) that rely on renewable energy (40%+ in Texas) and 98%+ recycled feed stock, with 75% lower carbon intensity than metal from traditional mills
DURABILITY
The pictures below show the shortcomings of conventional buildings in the era of climate change. Cat-5s’ exterior materials usually carry long manufacturers’ warrantees, and interior organic materials are kept 10”+ away from exterior walls. Heat and humidity typical of Houston and the Gulf Coast are becoming common in U.S., with dire outcomes for buildings that do not match these specifications.
STEEL: MINIMAL PIERS
WOOD: MASSIVE CONCRETE
WOOD: ROT AND DECAY
WOOD: CONSTANT REPAIRS
Please contact Category-5 using the form below
ABOUT CATEGORY-5
CATEGORY-5 is a Houston partnership of designers and engineers committed to building strong, durable and beautiful residences across America - houses built for the future not the past. Based in Houston, we’ve seen some of the worst that nature can dish out, and know what it takes to come out the other side.
“HIGHER THAN THE FLOOD, STRONGER THAN THE WIND”
713 . 398 . 5207
FLUKE STORMS
RISING WATER
FLOODED TOWNS
IRRECOVERABLE LOSSES
FIRES IN THE CITIES
BURNT TOWNS
MATCHSTICKS
CONCRETE-CARBON OVERHEAD
MOLD
MOLD