Originally Posted By: Spiritwalker
Cheyenne Mountain they ain't but I seem to recall reading about a couple of log homes that took direct hits from tornadoes and only lost their windows and roofs. Not tornado "proof" but better than having to rebuild from the foundation.


That would depend on the log home, most are not sufficiently 'unitized' mechanically and stay together largely because of the weight of the parts, and exactly how direct you mean by "direct hit". On the other hand if you were building a log home it would be possible to drill down through the stacks of logs and to install steel rods running from a poured foundation to the roof structure. These make the entire structure act as a single piece and transfer uplift loads down to the foundation.

But then again similar unitizing details are even easier to install on conventional construction.

Easier still with poured concrete or CMUs. Rebar and surface bonding work really well at holding things together.