By Stefan Schumacher
Earthquakes, unfortunately, have been top of mind recently. We
saw the devastation that hit Japan last week and the subsequent
fallout. In only the last year and a half, earthquakes hit Haiti,
Chile, New Zealand and even Guy, Arkansas.
What can we do to further protect ourselves?
Ninety-two-year-old Bernard Jacovitz, a South Florida-based
inventor, custom home builder and home inspector with over 50 years
experience and dual degrees in architectural and industrial design
has just received patent approval of his design for a completely
new approach for home construction framing that he says will
minimize and virtually eliminate the risks to the home associated
with major earthquakes.
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I interviewed Bernard to find out more about what inspired,
steel framing and the difficulty of attaining a patent.
What was the basis for developing this framing system?
What are some of the advantages you see in steel
framing?
This framing system was developed to make one and two-family
homes safe in the event of an earthquake. The devastation in Haiti
deeply troubled me and I spent a great deal of time thinking about
a new approach to home construction that would severly minimize the
risk to homes from earthquakes. At the time of the devastating
earthquake in Haiti, all standard construction for homes was either
masonry or exterior walls, floors and ceilings. The material in
these forms of construction was naturally rigid. My JacBlox Framing
System [owned by Earthquake Resistant Building Construction Inc.]
for the exterior walls, floors and ceilings is made of 8-inch round
galvanized corrugated metal, 8-foot long adjacent to one another.
This design technique is resilient and will move when an earthquake
occurs, allowing for continued integrity of the building. The
JacBlox Framing System will not crack or break apart. The use
of the steel framing allows for flexibility with increased overall
strength.
What was the process like receiving a patent on this
product? How long did it take? Was it difficult?
The process for receiving the patent was extremely arduous and
seemed to take forever. There was a great deal of back and forth
with my attorney and then with the patent office itself. I have
received a patent in the past and the process has not gotten any
better, just more expensive and time-consuming, particularly for a
small inventor such as myself. The one advantage I had for this
patent was my age. I am currently 92 years of age. The patent
office does provide, what they consider, an expedited process for
older inventors. Overall the cost of the patent attorney, the
patent fees, and the answers and search for conflicting patents are
most difficult and take enormous time and cost.
What types of applications do you see being most common
for this framing system?
The JacBlox Framing System is only good for one and two family
homes, one and two stories high. In addition to increased strength
and flexibility from my new framing system, homes using this design
technique will automatically be far more energy
efficient. Ecologically safe foam insulation can be blown into
all the pipes and small dead spaces, making the home incredibly
energy efficient. Through the use of the JacBlox Framing
System, homes will have a far easier time getting LEED
certification and will certainly be more sustainable.