[southernnaturelover]

Wood frame houses survive hurricanes just fine as long as the wind doesn't enter the house. Like someone already mentioned, garages and carports are a big reason that roofs get lifted off since they basically act like a windsock. I would also avoid a very large porch unless you can make sure it's anchored down by the posts somehow. I also have a strong dislike for vinyl siding since it gets brittle and blows off, brick veneer or Hardi-board is the way to go.

Most houses along the upper gulf coast from Texas to Florida are still being built using wood frame construction and they survive just fine. Our hurricanes up here get just as strong as they do in south FL. Even the newer mobile homes went through the 130 mph wind of hurricane Ivan with very little damage (some older ones did get destroyed).

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

Most houses along the upper gulf coast from Texas to Florida are still being built using wood frame construction and they survive just fine. Our hurricanes up here get just as strong as they do in south FL. Even the newer mobile homes went through the 130 mph wind of hurricane Ivan with very little damage (some older ones did get destroyed).

I noticed your location. About 20 years ago I was in Perdido Key and went to a bar named the Flora-Bama. It was very crowded, although it was hard to tell hanging from the ceiling fan. LOL

I guess I'm more concerned about rotted wood and termites than I am about hurricanes. I never really thought about the upkeep until I read so many negative blogs & posts online.

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by justNancy

I noticed your location. About 20 years ago I was in Perdido Key and went to a bar named the Flora-Bama. It was very crowded, although it was hard to tell hanging from the ceiling fan. LOL

I guess I'm more concerned about rotted wood and termites than I am about hurricanes. I never really thought about the upkeep until I read so many negative blogs & posts online.

Much of the Flora-Bama was destroyed by Ivan's storm surge, but a small part of it survived and it's still open.
Flora-Bama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(I'm actually 50 miles inland on the state line)


As for termites, just make sure to have your house sprayed and bonded by a reputable company like Orkin or Terminix and you'll be okay.

[blackcoral]

Tallrick: "Also be careful with stucco homes, they usually conceal a house of horrors."
What do you mean ?

[beachmouse]

If stucco was improperly installed, you can get water trapped between the stucco and the structural wall, leading to rot in the case of wood frame homes, and toxic mold issues even with concrete block.

As for the original wood v. concrete issue, I'd say a good 95%+ of the homes built in the Panhandle in the last 25 years are wood frame, frequently with brick veneer.

[harrycrat]

I had a thread about methods of home construction which tanked,so I am glad to see that this thread is alive...

As a future homeowner,I check various sites for construction materials...

Right from the start,I think that the all wooden houses are terrible,right from the tale about the 3 piglets & the wolf...

So,it seems that 2 methods are promising...

1) Metal framing with ICF walls
&
2) All ICF construction...

Somehow,I prefer the sturdiness of a steel framing..

The Eiffel Tower stands intact for 130 ( ? ) years now & its metal is not even covered...

Are there any constructors who know about metal + ICF or all-ICF ?

Anyone operating in Miami ?

[kppatches]

I own several rental properties is south FL and my residence is CBS. We recently bought a 1953 CBS house that was a forclosure and two weeks after the closing had a huge swarmping active termite infestation. What happened was that the garage that was added post facto was stick and they infested the entire house. They did eat the CBS to get out to swarm it was turned to dust. I am writing this b/c I am now going to pay the $100 to get termite inspection done even on a CBS house, next time. I guess it is the price you pay when you don't pay the price!

[mk173]

is it obligatory by building dept.s in FLA (in L.acres) to make outside walls of cbs blocks ? or wood frame allowed ? is 2x4 allowed, or must it be 2x6 ? any advice please ?

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by harrycrat

I had a thread about methods of home construction which tanked,so I am glad to see that this thread is alive...

As a future homeowner,I check various sites for construction materials...

Right from the start,I think that the all wooden houses are terrible,right from the tale about the 3 piglets & the wolf...

This is my thought:

If a hurricane comes along that is strong enough to flatten my house because of the winds alone (the legendary Cat 6+), it's probably going to devestate the area in such a way that I probably DON'T want to be the only house left standing! I'd rather it flatten my house, collect the insurance, and get gone.

[Maxteach]

You may want to do a bit more research on Hurricane Andrew and the damage it caused. Many of the homes that were destroyed in the Homestead area were NOT frame homes but CBS homes. Once the garage door or window went the roof took off and with the structural integrity of the house gone even some of the walls fell. Others just had the roof "peal" off in the wind. The fact is it should be listed as CBS/Frame mix because the walls are concrete block but the roof is frame. If you feel safer in a CBS home than that is great just as if you feel safer with a lucky horseshoe handing over the front door but what you feel is not always what is real. I grew up in a solid CBS home that stood up to Donna, Cleo, and all the other storms hitting South Florida after 1959. However my mother's old home in South Miami was around in the 1930's, it is a frame built home (with Dade County Pine) and it also is still standing. Most of the homes in Key West are also frame and there are many historic homes that have seen storms come and go. If you want solid, than concrete slab from floor to roof is the what you need like they do in places like Okinawa, Japan to stand up to the Typhoon winds. Just don't expect the design flexibility you have with frame or CBS/Frame mix. As to our wood eating friends it just does not mater if it's frame or block because you need to treat for them; they are more than happy to take the trip inside the block wall to eat that yummy wood in the attic!