Welcome to Category-5
Living through Hurricanes Alicia, Bonnie, Rita, Ike, Harvey and Beryl, storms like Allison, and witnessing nearby Hurricane Katrina, we here at Cat-5 in Southeast Texas know the extremes of weather during climate change. Where once they came 3 times in a generation, such disasters now arrive 3 times or more in a decade. 21st century storms are larger and more frequent, winds stronger, and floodwaters higher. Conditions of all kinds are more severe, and compound each other. Our weather is increasingly volatile.
Working in threatened locations, we’ve learned since 2005 to build weather security through elevation, strength, durability, and integration with the natural environment. Based on 2017’s Hurricane Harvey, we know our system can handle 54+ inches of flood (= Houston in 2017) and strong hurricanes (Categories 3-5).
Cat-5’s Climate Defense House stands midway between conventional stick framing, unitized modular buildings, and true custom homes. Like the first, it’s made of standard pieces; like the second, it’s a system of systems; like a custom home it’s configured to owners’ exact specifications.
A Cat-5 home is a hybrid solution to the hybrid challenge of climate change – more durable and efficient than any other type, and reflecting owners’ desires without the time- and complexity-costs of a custom project.
Our Buildings Are Keyed To Four Core Values…
STRENGTH:
WE ENGINEER FOR WINDS UP TO 157 mph (Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, Category-5)
ELEVATION:
Cat-5s ARE DESIGNED TO SIT ABOVE FLOOD LEVELS
DURABILITY:
SHELL MATERIALS ARE TYPICALLY INORGANIC, FIRE-RESISTIVE, AND BACKED BY 20-30 YEAR MANUFACTURERS’ WARRANTEES
INTEGRATION WITH THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT:
Cat-5 SHELLS ARE 95%+ RECYCLED MATERIALS, AND SIT ON POINT LOAD FOUNDATIONS TO MINIMIZE CARBON EMISSIONS
OUR ROOFS ARE DESIGNED FOR MAXIMUM SOLAR AND RAINWATER PRODUCTION, AND TO PROVIDE SHADE FOR MINIMIZING HEAT GAIN
Cat-5s ARE ORIENTED TO MAXIMIZE AND ENHANCE COOLING BREEZES AND TO ENABLE INDOOR/OUTDOOR LIVING
WE PROVIDE RESOURCES FOR OWNERS TO DEVELOP THEIR SITES FOR LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY
Where Build a Climate Defense House?
The Cat-5 can be configured to any context - from urban, to suburban, to country locations. Any property potentially subject to storms, inundation or fire risks would benefit. The Category-5 system is especially well-suited to ocean- and river-front properties - such as virtually anywhere within the Mississippi and Missouri watersheds - and to any area with an arid or forested ecology that’s vulnerable to wildfire.
ELEVATION
STRENGTH
DURABILITY
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
DESIGN…
Our system is based on a few simple ideas…
Category-5 wants to build storm-resistant homes wherever weather or water threaten
We aim to deliver real buildings with real foundations and roofs, not prefabs or kits
Our system is based on super strong steel framing with extreme insulation and a choice of exterior finishes
Cat-5s come in several sizes, beginning at 1600 square feet
Our envelopes are “open plan” with no interior obstructions and can accommodate virtually any floor plan
Cat-5s sit up to 60” above grade, or higher, but can be engineered for a slab foundation
Parking is normally in a separate carport, which can be enclosed and connected to the home
The Cat-5 is “Climate Safe” with 25% less embodied carbon than a typical stick-framed house of comparable size
Our steel is made in grid-powered Electrical Arc Furnaces from 95%+ recycled material. In Texas, power for making steel is 30-40% from renewable sources (2025), a ratio that is quickly increasing
Cat-5s have been configured for various contexts, from urban to suburban locations. The system could also be applied to high density development, in town home form.
R-10 RADIANT BARRIER
BLOWN INSULATION
R-54+ WALL SYSTEM
R-48+ ROOF SYSTEM
PROCESS…
Cat-5s are made one by one, one after another. Each is a unique bespoke product laser focused on surviving climate breakdown. Their shared system equates to engineering and construction efficiency. Their unique flexibility promises direct responses to owner needs and site conditions. They are supremely adaptable.
Each Category-5 Storm Defense Houses is predicated on,
Complete site information, including a survey, geotechnical report, and topographical information, and a plant and animal inventory
A project program reflected in an inventory of critical needs and specifications for the interior layout
Diagrams of the envelope foundation and structure for use by engineers, and of the building’s interior layout
Category-5 supervision of purchase contracts, such as for steel, doors and windows, insulation, and interior kitchen and bath module
Involvement of a qualified, experienced General Contractor
COMPARE…
As the graphs show, the Category-5 system departs from conventional buildings in important ways:
Superior materials and assemblies assure resistance to severe weather, and long term durability
We engineer for strength
The Cat-5’s thermal efficiency equals low cost operation
“First, do no harm”: our system minimizes green house gas emissions to reduce the causes of extreme weather
Carbon and Green House Gases
Wooden homes rely on massive, carbon-heavy foundations; by contrast, Cat-5s sit on only a few widely-spaced concrete piers
The carbon count of a typical wooden house is 25-30% higher than that of a Cat-5
Our structural steel comes from modern Electrical Arc Furnaces, using 95%+ recycled material; in Texas and elsewhere, the grid is rapidly increasing beyond 35-40% from renewable sources (2024)
2. Strength, Durability and Survival
Our structures are engineered for extremes - from fire, to flooding, to hurricane level weather.
Cat-5s have 100% non-combustible, inorganic exteriors to defend against fire spread
Our structures are elevated to 60” or more to ride above severe flood events
Cat-5s are engineered to resist winds of up to 157 miles per hour (Hurricane Category 5)
Exterior materials usually carrying 20-30 year manufacturers’ warrantees. Interior organic materials are 10”+ away from exterior surfaces (see images below for why we reject conventional exterior construction and finishes)
3. Thermal Performance
Our outer walls provide R-48 to R-54 insulation; roofs have R-48+ insulation - much more than R-19 (walls) and R-30 (roofs) of wooden types
Windows and doors are 100% aluminum and fully insulated with thermal breaks
Cat-5s have roof overhangs of 9 feet or more to reduce sun exposure and generate cooling breezes - much more than what’s possible with wooden structures
Our big roofs enable large scale solar and rainfall harvesting
COMPARE TO TYPICAL WOODEN STRUCTURES…
The pictures below show why conventional building systems are outmoded in the era of climate change and breakdown. Conditions typical of Houston and the Gulf Coast are becoming common throughout the U.S., with dire outcomes for homeowners and communities.
Please contact Category-5 using the form below
ABOUT CATEGORY-5 PARTNERS
CATEGORY-5 PARTNERS is about building strong, durable and beautiful residences across America - houses built for the future not the past. Based in Houston, we’ve seen some of the worst that Nature can dish out, and know what it takes to come out the other side.
“HIGHER THAN THE FLOOD, STRONGER THAN THE WIND”
713 . 398 . 5207
