| "We wanted people to see these techniques in practice." | |
| Sandy Bernard, South Carolina Sea Grant Extension Program |
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What was once a dilapidated house in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina, is now an award-winning example of how to retrofit a home to withstand a multitude of natural hazards. It also helps teach homeowners and contractors how to use research-based techniques for building and retrofitting area structures to be more resistant to wind, flood, and earthquake.
Since the house was restored in 1999, the South Carolina Sea Grant Extension Program has used 113 Calhoun Street as an exhibit and classroom for homeowners, builders, and architects to learn about low-cost mitigation tools and techniques.
"We have a lot of interest in it," notes Sandy Bernard, South Carolina Sea Grant coastal hazards specialist. "One of the reasons it’s successful is that it’s long-term. People aren’t renovating their homes all the time. People only have an interest in these things when they are going through a major building or rebuilding effort."
Sea Grant’s outreach for 113 Calhoun includes tours, workshops, brochures, and a Web site. Additional educational activities and technical assistance programs were developed when the house was restored but have been put on hiatus because of recent budget cuts, Bernard says.
"We’re not actively able to go out and do presentations at meetings, fairs, and hurricane expos," explains Bernard. "If we could, we would have someone on the road getting this project out there."
Before its refurbishment, 113 Calhoun was an already dilapidated house that received significant damage during Hurricane Hugo. After sitting empty for a number of years, Sea Grant, Clemson University, and the City of Charleston partnered to restore the house with the idea of demonstrating hazard retrofitting techniques. The project received its principal funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
"We wanted people to see these techniques in practice," Bernard explains. "What we have are a number of different visuals that were built into the house or were added on to it to let people see how things work—or how they might be added at various phases of construction or renovation."
The project demonstrates a variety of hurricane-related techniques, such as different types of shutters for doors and windows, and various roofing techniques.
Mitigating for flooding was more challenging because the historic house could not be raised above the base flood elevation. To compensate, all the rooms below that level are sided with wood paneling instead of sheetrock. "If they were to get wet, they wouldn’t be ruined," Bernard explains. In addition, all utilities are elevated.
Earthquake retrofitting techniques are shown through a clear wall so visitors can see how the construction took place.
Shortly after its renovation, 113 Calhoun Street received the John R. Sheaffer Award for Excellence in Floodproofing from the Association of State Floodplain Managers.
While some educational activities and technical assistance programs have been put on hold because of budget concerns, Bernard notes that "those programs aren’t gone, they’re just scaled back."
She adds, "We’re still reaching our primary audience. We do hear that homeowners, builders, engineers, and contractors are using these techniques. There’s just more we would like to do."
For more information on 113 Calhoun, point your browser to www.113calhoun.org. You may also contact Sandy Bernard at (843) 727-6497, or Sandy.Bernard@scseagrant.org.
