A Seismic Safety Solution
There is a ton of information and knowledge out there on how to retrofit a house properly to minimize damage caused by natural disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes, especially in those areas right in the heart of the action like Southern California.
One consideration is a home's ceiling beams. A real wooden beam that can weigh up to hundreds of pounds can be a somewhat ominous thing to have hanging over your head during an earthquake. Homeowners or builders may want to take their safety precautions a step further by choosing polyurethane wood for their ceiling beams rather than traditional wood.
A typical faux wood beam weighs an average of 20 lbs, so if in the event of an earthquake or heavy winds strong enough to cause a beam to fall, the lightweight faux version would cause a lot less damage or chance of injury.
Tammy from Southern California sent in the photo of her beautifully finished kitchen and living rooms area with Timber faux wood beams and wrote,
"The faux wood beams were the way to go for me. The first reason I looked into them was I live in So. Cal and I wasn't sold on having a heavy wood beam on the ceiling and the chance of it not holding up in an earthquake...When the project was complete everyone complimented on how beautiful it was and no one even knew it was faux!"
