New church near Republic aims to be tornado-proof

[Willow]

http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-insulated-concrete-forms-new-church-in-republic-built-with-aim-of-being-tornadoproof-20120911,0,1946887.story

New church near Republic aims to be tornado-proof

It's built with Insulated Concrete Forms -- basically giant blocks that can withstand winds up to 250 miles per hour.

REPUBLIC, Mo. -- A local group is building new churches that can stand up to Mother Nature's fury.

The Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses already built one in Joplin following last year's deadly EF-5 tornado. A brand new church on Highway N north of Republic is built with Insulated Concrete Forms -- basically giant Styrofoam-type Lego blocks that can withstand winds up to 250 miles per hour. The blocks are a foot thick with a six-inch reinforced concrete center.

Once the foundation is poured, more than 500 volunteers built the new church in about two weekends -- all without accepting paychecks.

Builders say, if a tornado ever strikes, they hope the building will stand strong and can serve as a shelter.

"We realized if another tornado hit, it would be nice to have a building that withstood with perhaps just some minor repairs that we could use as a service center to go out and help people in the community to rebuild their lives and rebuild their home," project overseer Mike Hart said.

"You get to learn a little bit of everything this way so when you have an opportunity to do it again, you're ready and willing and able to do it," volunteer Paula Hart said.

The initial cost is a little more, but they say it was well worth it -- especially when you pay zero for labor costs.

The group plans on building another church in Salem in October. It too will be made with Insulated Concrete Forms and take about two weekends to build.

[Dages]

Very nice !

Other churches maybe will want to do the same, but no wall is HM-proof in their case ^^

[retroHelen]

It's a with a lovely stone finish outside and quality dark wood furnishings inside and artistic tile work - a first-rate Kingdom Hall of a design that has windows, which I prefer where safely possible.

Hope the tornado-proof idea works, though, for the sake of the folk living there, we hope it never gets the kind of test this area has had!!

[hayhauler]

The Stone work by the doors and on the corners is recognizable to me fro a particular Kingdom Hall in Perryville,Mo. on the other side of Mo. from Joplin. 13 mi. west of the Missippi River and about 40 mi. south of St.Louis,Mo The member of the Perryville congregation in an Instructor for the Bricklayers union. He, at Perryville at least, cut the stone from a creek bed on his own property. Much rock in Mo. There Kingdom Hall built in 1994 has only the laced limestone corners.

The Joplin Kingdom Hall Is a beautiful shout of praise in may ways to Jehovah!!!!

[DLM]

"The Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses already built one in Joplin following last year's deadly EF-5 tornado. A brand new church on Highway N north of Republic is built with Insulated Concrete Forms -- basically giant Styrofoam-type Lego blocks that can withstand winds up to 250 miles per hour. The blocks are a foot thick with a six-inch reinforced concrete center."

In 2002 we built a new house with Insulated Concrete Forms, not because of winds but because of the cold and the earthquakes we have in Alaska. Our house withstood a 7.9 earthquake while we were gone to an Elders meeting in Anchorage and when we returned we found a tube of Chapstick still standing upright on a window sill. We have gone thru 10 cold winters without so much as cold feet. All KHs should be built with these. They make a wonderful building!