(©2005 Bangor Daily News)

Published Sept 1, 2005; written by Ruth-Ellen Cohen

ORONO - Wind damage from hurricanes would be significantly reduced if buildings were constructed with new materials now being developed at the University of Maine, researchers said Wednesday.

UM's Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center has come up with new technology using fiber-reinforced polymer that strengthens the roof and wall joints of a building, increasing the structure's ability to withstand high winds by 50 percent to 100 percent, said professor Habib Dagher, director of the center.

"We found a way to strengthen joints by inserting synthetic materials in the panels," he said during a demonstration at UM.

The center recently obtained patents on two products that can make buildings less vulnerable to the destruction wreaked by hurricanes, he said.

One is a building panel into which a layer of composite is inserted. The reinforced layer, which is as strong as steel, works to prevent nails from being ripped out, thus securing the joints and helping to keep the building together.

The other patented product is made up of a strip of composite applied to the panel joints of a roof. The strip bonds to the joints, "like putting duct tape over the panels to keep the roof together," said Dagher.

A structure currently designed to withstand winds of 120 miles per hour should be able to sustain winds of 170 miles per hour with the new technology, Dagher said.

Another product still being tested consists of a strip of composite wrapped around the stud itself.

The cost of replacing the walls and roof of a 3,000 square foot house with the new wind-resistant technology would be $3,000-$5,000 more, according to Dagher. The cost is minimized because the composite is applied only to the joints, he said.

Dagher said that in a hurricane the key is to keep the shell of a structure intact so water is less likely to get into a house and cause major damage.

Now UM's plan is to make the new technology available to homeowners - at least those in hurricane zones, Dagher said. To that end, Eric Cassidy, a structural engineer with the center, is working with a Maine entrepreneur to market and commercialize the products.

Two Maine manufacturers potentially could produce the new materials, according to Dagher: Louisiana-Pacific Corp. in Houlton and J.M. Huber Corp. in Easton.

In addition, the center is hoping to sell the technology through the engineered wood composite industry association in Tacoma, Wash.

UM's research on hurricane-resistant building materials began years ago and was accelerated in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew, Dagher said. Federal Emergency Management Agency engineers discovered at the time that most construction damage caused by high winds occurred at the joints.

With the frequency of hurricanes - and the damage they cause - increasing, the insurance industry is thinking seriously about better construction codes, according to Dagher.