Concrete Added to Gulf Coast Housing Mix

Concrete may be gaining more prominence as a building material along the Gulf Coast as the 2005 hurricane season has caused builders and buyers of homes to seek maximum structural stability.

Both builders of new homes and those seeking to replace homes destroyed by last year’s storms appear to be willing to try the non-traditional concrete format, according to news reports from the region.

The Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill., has made a concerted effort to remind builders and residents of the storm-troubled region that concrete homes can provide a solid alternative to timber-framed construction.

Kits for home owners and contractors with information and advice on building a home with concrete blocks, forms and poured concrete are being offered by the association.

The trade group and its Concrete Home Building Council (CHBC) subsidiary is holding a forum in New Orleans at the end of September.

It is being billed as “for families who are rebuilding their Gulf Coast homes [and who] want to take whatever steps are necessary to protect their home, possessions, and most importantly, their loved ones.”

The workshop is part of the larger Guidelines for Hurricane Resistant Residential Construction event being sponsored at the New Orleans Convention Center by the Institute for Business & Home Safety.