as you saw in reynolds report, people are still cleaning up. in today s building up america, we are looking at homes actually built to survive tornadoes. here s cnn s tom foreman. reporter: thousands of homes damaged or destroyed, hundreds of lives taken. officials in alabama and other states are still adding up the losses from those killer tornadoes. while far away in another part of the so-called tornado alley near little rock it all looks perfectly normal. john house s home is a model of new technology aimed at stopping such terrible destruction. they would have no idea whatsoever unless they went up into the attic. reporter: well, let s go up into the attic. okay. reporter: here we can really see the difference. right. because we have bolted together structural steel. reporter: the frame is not made of wood but of steel. john is the president of kodiak
steel homes. despite the fact that these houses cost 5% more than usual, folks like this family are snapping them up. you can spend more now but this home is not going anywhere. reporter: other companies make steel homes but not many. john is proud to say his can withstand 140-mile-an-hour winds for four hours. i ll do it right away. reporter: sales have declined a bit, but not nearly as much as other builders because people want to be more secure in their big investments now. instead of making our homes cheaper in response to the recession, we have made our homes better. reporter: would you have any doubt about being up in this attic during a tornado? no, none whatsoever. reporter: that he hopes will not only keep building up his business, but also keep many families safer when the worst weather strikes. tom foreman, cnn.
tornado alley near little rock it all looks perfectly normal. reporter: john house s home is a model of new technology aimed at stopping such terrible destruction. they have no idea whatsoever unless they went up into the atlantic. let s go up into the attic. up here we can really see the difference. right, because you have bolt together structural steel. reporter: the frame is not made of wood, but of steel. john is the president of kodiak steel homes and he says despite the economic downturn, despite the fact that these houses can cost up to 5% more than usual, folks like the tacket family are snapping them up. pay more for it now, but it will pay in the end. reporter: other companies make steel homes, but not many. john is proud to say his can withstand 140-mile-per-hour winds for four hours. sales have declined a bit, but john says not nearly as much as
because you have structural steel. the frame is not made of wood but of steel. this is an eye beam. john is the president of kodiak steel homes. despite the economic downturn, despite they can cost up to 5% more than usual, folks like charlie are snagging them up. maybe spend more now, but it s going to pay for it in the end. this home is not going nowhere. other companies make steel homes but not many. john is proud to say his can withstand 140 miles an hour winds for four hours. tom is joining us now from oklahoma city. steel homes will be pretty sturdy. i suspect a lot of folks will need those. there s a lot of excitement about this out here. they cost about 5% more than a normal home would cost generally. it sort of depends on the model you pick out. no building is tornado proof, but because of that ability a
right in tornado alley it all looks perfectly normal. john s house holds a secret no visitor would suspect. they would have no idea unless they went up into the attic. reporter: let s go up into the attic. up here we can really see the difference. right. because you have bolt together structural steel. reporter: the frame is not made of wood but of steel. this an eye beam. reporter: john is the president of kodiak steel homes, and he says despite the economic downturn, despite the fact that these houses can cost up to 5% more than usual, folks like charlie tacket are snapping them up. it might cost more now, but it s going to pay for it in the end. this home isn t going anywhere. reporter: john is proud to say his homes can withstandz 140-mile-an-hour winds for four hours. sales have declined a bit, but john says not nearly as much as for other builders because