[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by goshenretire

My wife and I will be retiring to Florida and will visit this spring to scope out towns and to look at homes & condos. I have some questions concerning construction techniques. Storm severity in Florida is no doubt more severe than here in WV where winds rarely top 40 mph. How do we assess Florida home & building construction to assure ourselves that the building & especially the roof will withstand Florida storms? Do builders in Florida use special techniques to ensure that high winds will not destroy roofs? Or is this something we should not even be concerned about?

Thank you.

Looks like other posters have addressed your questions, but I just wanted to add that you're smart to consider how well a given home is built to withstand hurricane-force winds, too many people, especially those moving here from areas in which hurricanes are an almost unheard-of event, don't even really think about that. And sadly, at least in our experience ( and we're long-time Floridians) realtors and sales folks for new construction don't address these issues either.

[sware2cod]

Make sure the shape of the roof is a hip roof. Don't get a gabled roof...the gable area is usually the first failure point during a windstorm. Wind insurance is cheaper for hip roof for that reason.

[dcode]

Does anyone know the code for second stories on a house? Do they need to be CBS or can they be woodframe?

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by dcode

Does anyone know the code for second stories on a house? Do they need to be CBS or can they be woodframe?

Can be frame

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Can be frame

It really depends on the county in which the house will be built. I've seen developments in some counties where the second stories are built with frame, but if I recall, Miami-Dade County building codes ( and perhaps other counties too) require CBS on the second story too if the house is CBS.

So it's best to check with the county where the house will be built for local building codes.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

It really depends on the county in which the house will be built. I've seen developments in some counties where the second stories are built with frame, but if I recall, Miami-Dade County building codes ( and perhaps other counties too) require CBS on the second story too if the house is CBS.

So it's best to check with the county where the house will be built for local building codes.

I guess you are right. I thinking of central FL specifically

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

It goes without saying, in general, you should stick to concrete block instead of wood frame constructed houses when possible

Our first house was a wood frame built in the 30s or 40s..faced south a block from the Indian river Lagoon. It had survived the 1960s hurricane that brought 4 ft of flood on the street before we moved there...... David a cat 1 didn't damage it, .and survived Francis and Jeane in 2004 without a scratch. (We went back to see how it fared. ) Our CB home in 95 just had fascia and shingle damage in the hurricanes of 95 Flood water did not get in since built on blocks and space left open. Didn't fare as well in 2004 in a newer built condo.

The 1 thing I would never buy is a 2 story. They seemed to get more roof damage in our atrea in 2004. Lots of homes building up instead of low to the ground like in the 40s, 50s, and 60s so we will see how the houses do that look like houses from up north when the next storms hit.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by goshenretire

My wife and I will be retiring to Florida and will visit this spring to scope out towns and to look at homes & condos. I have some questions concerning construction techniques. Storm severity in Florida is no doubt more severe than here in WV where winds rarely top 40 mph. How do we assess Florida home & building construction to assure ourselves that the building & especially the roof will withstand Florida storms? Do builders in Florida use special techniques to ensure that high winds will not destroy roofs? Or is this something we should not even be concerned about?

Thank you.

What parts of Florida are you looking at? And what kinds of places are you looking at (we have everything from single family houses to very tall high rise condos)? Robyn

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

I guess you are right. I thinking of central FL specifically

Counties in central Florida may allow for plywood ( or even composite particle board) to be used for second story construction. There's a Florida state building code that mandates minimum standards for all counties, and this may allow wood for second story construction. I've certainly seen enough of it around the state-even on the east coast north of Broward County to think that's likely the case. But individual counties may replace some of those state standards with stricter ones.

You can check building codes for each county on their public websites, then you'll know for sure.

If you're thinking of building, don't be afraid to discuss these codes with your contractor. They should know what the building codes are for each county they're working in, and follow those codes. But sometimes they don't, and in our experience the folks who do this tend to dismiss their clients concerns about building codes, or won't discuss them with the client.

[Zaba]

Floridas building codes are far and away the harshest in the nation, on par with what you encounter in earthquake country.

They're delegated on a county by county basis with the southerly blue areas...



... being some of the strictest. If I recall, the Miami Dade code is basically the model building code for super high wind zones.

Don't fall into the logic trap of survivorship bias. Yes, there are still houses standing from 1921 that made it through (insert storm here) but what you don't see are all the ones that were blown over and have since been cleared away. While the FBC may be a bit overboard and is absolutely driven by insurance company interests, ultimately, they do have a point. Hurricanes are a reality here and if you're going to build in a place where the winds will get high, account for that.