Welcome to Category-5
A homeowner’s first step toward physical safety during climate breakdown is recognizing the scale of the problems it presents, from severe weather to extreme heat, to flooding and fire. Next comes the decision to construct a home that can handle those challenges - and Category-5 can help.
Here’s the situation:
21st century storms are larger and more frequent than ever before. Winds are stronger, and floodwaters are higher. Conditions of all kinds are more difficult, and compound each other. Witnessing up-close the effects of hurricanes Alicia, Bonnie, Katrina, Rita, Ike, Harvey, and Beryl, and storms like Allison, we here at Cat-5 have intimate knowledge of these extremes.
Our response is direct and straightforward:
Working in numerous threatened locations since 2005, we’ve learned to build weather security through elevation, strength, durability, and integration with nature. Our custom building services can guide homeowners and builders through the integration of structural, thermal, and material systems needed to protect properties from severe weather and other conditions.
Storms like 2017’s Hurricane Harvey have proved that the Cat-5 system can handle 54+ inches of flood (= Houston, 2017) and strong winds (hurricane Categories 3-5). Projects in far West Texas and Colorado have shown its efficiency in the face of drought and high temperatures. Sites on the Gulf Coast have benefited from our elevated shells, hurricane-rated engineering and tough materials.
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.
The Category-5 system is not an experiment, or a combination of experimental elements, it’s a hybrid solution to the hybrid challenge of climate change. We bring together well known methods and materials to produce buildings that are more durable and efficient than any other type - and which reflect owner 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 FIRE-RESISTIVE, INORGANIC, 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 ENERGY AND RAINWATER PRODUCTION, AND TO PROVIDE COOLING SHADE
Cat-5s ARE ORIENTED TO ENHANCE BREEZES AND 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.
DESIGN…
Our system is based on a few simple ideas…
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 can reflect a range of basic “bay” sizes, beginning at 1600 square feet, or custom designs
Our loft-style envelopes are “open plan” and can accommodate virtually any floor plan
Cat-5s sit up to 60” above grade, or higher, but can also 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 (EAFs) from 95%+ recycled material. In Texas, power for making steel is 35-40%+ from renewable sources (2025), a ratio that is quickly increasing
Cat-5s are designed for engineering and construction efficiency. Their unique flexibility promises direct responses to owner needs and site conditions. They are supremely adaptable, and 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 produced one by one, one after another. Each is a unique bespoke product dedicated to surviving climate breakdown. We begin with analysis of the building site and historical weather and fire records, and move on to assess specific location options, and size and cost considerations.
Each Category-5 is predicated on:
Complete site information, including a survey, geotechnical report, and topographical information, and a plant and animal inventory. In addition, emergency services and resources of all kinds should be identified, from auxiliary power and communication systems, to potable and non-potable water, to fire company access
A project program reflected in an inventory of critical needs and specifications for the interior layout
Diagrams of the envelope’s foundation and structure for use by engineers, and for planning 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 40% from renewable sources (2025)
2. Strength and Survivability
Our structures are engineered for extremes - from fire, to flooding, to hurricane level weather.
Cat-5s have 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 (Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, Category 5)
Exterior materials usually carrying 20-30 year manufacturers’ warrantees. Interior organic materials are 10”+ away from exterior surfaces (see images below re: conventional exterior construction and finishes)
3. Thermal Performance
Outer walls provide R-48 to R-54 insulation, and roofs have R-48+ insulation - far in excess of the R-19 and R-30 insulation of conventional types
Windows and glass doors are 100% aluminum-framed and fully insulated, with thermal breaks
Cat-5s have roof overhangs of up to 10 feet (or more with auxiliary structure) to reduce sun exposure and generate cooling breezes
Our big roofs enable large scale solar and rainfall harvesting
4. Durability
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
CATEGORY-5 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
