In Kearns, Utah, a home carried an unusual history. It was originally built as a government experiment shortly after the war, meant to test how well a residential structure could withstand a bomb-type impact. Whatever trials it faced, the results were convincing enough and the home stayed intact and eventually entered ordinary life as real estate.
The structure is made of cinder block walls filled with lava rock. The purpose of the lava rock isn’t fully clear, though it may have been used for insulation or added impact resistance. It’s not a common method, but it’s not entirely unheard of either. It was clearly one of those mid-century engineering ideas that somehow worked.
As with many block homes, this one has developed external stair-step cracks along the joints between the blocks, mostly on the west and south walls. These cracks are ordinary signs of settling in this very heavy structure, however, the cracks are not warning signs of failure. We noted that the walls remain sound and stable even with cracks.
For a home that once stood as part of a post-war experiment, it’s still holding its ground. Living as proof that even a test structure can outlast its original purpose.
