Almost 1000 homes were destroyed by wildfires in Australia between 2019 and 2020. Also, Fire and Rescue, New South Wales (NSW), Australia, reported that there are about 10,000 residential fires in Australia yearly. These fires have created the need to have more fire-resistant homes in Australia.
Patrick Ryan McCann has seen the rise in the request for fire-resistant homes and also understood the need, and as such, are presently tips to follow when trying to accomplish the building of fire-resistant homes. It is practically impossible to have a 100% fireproof house, but with the right materials and the right building, you can make your home as fire-resistant as it can be.
If your goal is to make your home fire-resistant, then following these steps can get you close to achieving your goal.
Use Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) for your Foundation
ICFs are made of concrete, and thus, they are one of the most fire-resistant and heat-resistant materials for construction you can find. They are polystyrene blocks, and they connect thereby locking out weather and sound.
ICFs are known to withstand fire for as long as 4 hours, and they have been the chosen materials when constructing commercial buildings. Competent homebuilders like Patrick McCann are also using them for private buildings as well.
Insulate your Roof
Using the stylish roofing system is very good for the eyes, but the stylish tile roofs are faulty for their cracks and openings which allows embers from nearby wildfires to sneak into the house and start another fire. So, Patrick Ryan McCann advised that instead of using these stylish tiles, you can use a roofing system that interlocks firmly and is of a fire-rated material like metals, slate, or even concrete materials.
Roofs with very low angles at the tip are more fire-resistant than flat ones. It is very easy for steeper roofs to roll off embers than retain them and allow them to burn a hole in them which is common with flat-roof houses.
Staying Detached
Most houses that got burnt during the wildfires got the fires from the neighbors. The embers did not fall on their roof or their garden, but on the neighbor's, and since the house's garden is built side by side with little or no space in between. The fire simply creeps from the neighbor's lawn to theirs, or the roof to theirs.
Patrick McCann suggests that a minimum of 30 feet is a very ideal space to be kept between houses, to discontinue the path of fire from one house to the next.
Installing Sprinklers
Sprinklers have saved a lot of homes from burning down with their timely intervention. You should install sprinklers in almost all rooms in the house, this will prevent the house from external and internal fires.
During wildfires, the electricity of the whole neighborhood would be out, so Patrick Ryan McCann believes that you can as well invest in a mini power generator that will kick in when the power grid of the community is completely out. This will ensure that even without electricity, the power generator will supply enough power for the sprinklers to function.
Insulate the Windows
The windows are the weakest point of the house during a fire. The walls can still keep the fire out for some hours, but the windows are the weakest link. Extreme heat from the fire is enough to shatter the glasses and trigger combustion even without entering the house.
Patrick Ryan McCann suggests that you should fortify your window by using insulated double glazing with tempered glass on the exterior instead of the common single glazing. There are also fire-resistant glasses that can be used for your window. You can also use metal or aluminum framing, as these are known to be as fire-resistant as possible.
Don't forget the Doors
Apart from the windows, the doors act as another entry point for fire during a wildfire, you fortify your door by making use of metal core doors, or fiber-cement doors. These materials are known for their high fire-rated attributes.