Is a Quad-Lock building safer than a wood-framed building?
Yes, reinforced concrete walls are up to 8.5 times stronger than wood-framed buildings. As a result, Quad-Lock walls are far more resistant to earthquakes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. In addition, Quad-Lock walls have been tested and shown to be an effective 4 hour firewall. Quad-Lock walls, however, are only one component of the building so you should make other building components disaster resistant as well, e.g. floors and roofs. • What happens to Quad-Lock walls in a fire? Concrete structures are far more likely to remain standing through a fire than structures built with wood. Quad-Lock walls have been tested and shown to be an effective 4 hour firewall due to the solid concrete within. In the same tests wood-frame walls typically collapse in one hour or less. Quad-Lock walls are finished with a 15-minute thermal barrier, such as ½” [12.7mm] drywall, which ensures that initially the EPS will not burn and develop smoke. Quad-Lock is made from EPS that has fire retardant qualities. I
