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LaHouse is a display of high-performance building practices to create more sustainable, resilient and healthy homes in the gulf region. The research-based facility is located on LSU's Baton Rouge campus and displays home-building techniques and solutions for Louisiana's unique climate. LaHouse is open weekdays from 10 am to 4:30 p.m. for self-guided tours or can be toured completely virtually.
Experience the Lahouse via virtual tour
For a closet to work as a storm shelter, it must have no windows and must be structurally isolated from the rest of the house. Shelter walls cannot be load-bearing, and it cannot be located on the second floor of the home.
The studs in the shelter at LaHouse are connected to the concrete slab foundation, and hurricane straps are on the tops and bottoms of each stud.
The shelter is sheathed with two layers of ¾-inch plywood. The plywood levels are staggered to offset seams.
The closet is not attached to the rest of the house. Because it has its own walls and ceiling, it is resistant to high winds and well protected by the rest of the structure during a storm.
The shelter also includes a commercial steel security pocket door with a heavy duty metal receiving frame and track. A cosmetic door can be added for daily use.
The sliding steel pocket door between the two walls provides security and safety.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture
