The big bad Wolf is a fabled character but around these parts Mother Nature may substitute. Hurricane season starts in June. While there is very little I can do about that I was curious how the 3 little pigs made out.

Architectural drawings provide some idea.

The drawing detail specifies the wall sill anchored to masonry reinforcement and foundation and it looks like they followed that plan. The note from the engineer remarks 110 MPH which got me to wondering about wind and building code and compliance.

The American Society of Civil Engineers has a risk assessment tool that calculates the hazard, based upon your neck of the woods.

Risk Category II == standard buildings and structures (homes) per ASCE 7-22, Section 1.5 and Table 1.5-1 MRI == Mean Recurrence Interval V == basic wind speed, measured in miles per hour, specifically as a 3-second gust speed at 33 feet above ground in Exposure Category C (open terrain with scattered obstructions).

What this table says is that there is a one year in 10 year chance that the wind could clock at 80. My wall could be tested to its design standard at 50 year MRI. Beyond 300? Won’t be much worry then; nobody will remember this Wolf character.