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Due to the low-lying elevation of the Florida Keys, Monroe County residents need to be aware of potential flooding that may occur during a tropical storm.
• All of Monroe County is located in a floodplain.
• Base flood elevations range from 6 to 17 feet above MSL.
• Flood Damage is not covered by your home owner’s insurance.
• Monroe County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, which is a federally subsidized program that enables property owners to purchase Flood insurance in return for community adoption of specific flood damage reduction planning and building criteria.
• Because of low elevations, specifically affected areas would be inundated by water during major storms. The Monroe County Growth Management Division provides the following services: information about flood hazards, map determinations, base flood elevations and reference materials on flood protection.
(Monroe county code excerpt)
Residential construction.
a. New construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure shall have the lowest floor for zones A1-30, AE and AH or bottom of the lowest supporting member of the lowest floor for zones V1-30, VE or V elevated at or above the base flood elevation level.
looks like you would need to have the lowest floor at or above B.F.E (base flood elevation) depending on where you are in the keys it will be no less than 6 feet but up to 17 feet off the ground. I am sure it could be done but as far as i can concur from reading the Monroe county code you can't build up the ground. if you were able to get a variance to build the lot up in some way to provide a level building lot at the BFE you would have to spend a lot money to procure and then secure that fill so it would not be swept away during a storm.
my biggest fear if i was below BFE would be the storm surge that usually comes with hurricanes. I know when Wilma came through on Big Pine the highest point on the island was under five feet of water so i could only imagine the lowest part of the island was even deeper. if you had a home anywhere in big pine that wasn't at least 5 feet off the ground you would have water in your house.
If it was me i would purchase a lot with an exisitng house so i didn't need to fool around with all that ROGO permitting crap. I would tear the existing house down find a bubba friendly architect or structural engineer and builder. Tell the architects what you want and let them plan and design it and get it built by a bubba approved builder.
after 5 years of home ownership in Monroe county, one thing is for sure! In Monroe county, if you got the money to pay bubba or you are just his friend you can usually get your way. Go against Bubba and good luck trying to build anything in their fiefdom.
To avoid flooding you need to get above the floodplain. I'd consider driving pilings down to just above grade for anchor points and then pour concrete a couple feet below grade and up to the elevation needed to get above the floodplain a couple feet. Angle all sides ~45°, include steps and large enough to create deck/porch. This, I think, would keep water/storm surge from washing under the house and keep it high and dry.
I like the 45 degree angle idea... would seem like it might be more resistant to erosion. (?)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neosec
Now that you've got a solid place to build, how about a round house? Again more concrete, say 42 ft. diameter and thick enough to take a cat 5 easily, (~1200 sq ft. inside) and 10 feet high.
Inside this, build a circular, heavy steel framed living area 8 feet high with plenty of windows for a nice view. Top it with a concrete dome 43 feet in diameter with a gasket seal.
This living area would telescope up out of the safety of the concrete circle when there are no weather threats; which is most of the time. Then when hurricane is immanent, drop it down to make a near solid concrete pill-box (with escape routes of course).
Next figure out power, water, sewer.
This is a sweet design! Have you seen this somewhere (since you included specific dimensions), or did you just think of it now? If it hasn't been built before, one concern I would have is how expensive it might be to have that functionality, and making sure it is still water-proof when dropped back down inside the min structure for the hurricane.
Please include links to the builder or pictures if this is a real house that's been tried!
Due to the low-lying elevation of the Florida Keys, Monroe County residents need to be aware of potential flooding that may occur during a tropical storm.
• All of Monroe County is located in a floodplain.
• Base flood elevations range from 6 to 17 feet above MSL.
• Flood Damage is not covered by your home owner’s insurance.
• Monroe County participates in the National Flood Insurance Program, which is a federally subsidized program that enables property owners to purchase Flood insurance in return for community adoption of specific flood damage reduction planning and building criteria.
• Because of low elevations, specifically affected areas would be inundated by water during major storms. The Monroe County Growth Management Division provides the following services: information about flood hazards, map determinations, base flood elevations and reference materials on flood protection.
(Monroe county code excerpt)
Residential construction.
a. New construction and substantial improvement of any residential structure shall have the lowest floor for zones A1-30, AE and AH or bottom of the lowest supporting member of the lowest floor for zones V1-30, VE or V elevated at or above the base flood elevation level.
looks like you would need to have the lowest floor at or above B.F.E (base flood elevation) depending on where you are in the keys it will be no less than 6 feet but up to 17 feet off the ground. I am sure it could be done but as far as i can concur from reading the Monroe county code you can't build up the ground. if you were able to get a variance to build the lot up in some way to provide a level building lot at the BFE you would have to spend a lot money to procure and then secure that fill so it would not be swept away during a storm.
my biggest fear if i was below BFE would be the storm surge that usually comes with hurricanes. I know when Wilma came through on Big Pine the highest point on the island was under five feet of water so i could only imagine the lowest part of the island was even deeper. if you had a home anywhere in big pine that wasn't at least 5 feet off the ground you would have water in your house.
If it was me i would purchase a lot with an exisitng house so i didn't need to fool around with all that ROGO permitting crap. I would tear the existing house down find a bubba friendly architect or structural engineer and builder. Tell the architects what you want and let them plan and design it and get it built by a bubba approved builder.
after 5 years of home ownership in Monroe county, one thing is for sure! In Monroe county, if you got the money to pay bubba or you are just his friend you can usually get your way. Go against Bubba and good luck trying to build anything in their fiefdom.
I would definitely not want to build anything below flood - and it's illegal to live below the line anyway. I was hoping to elevate the foundation to X-zone level, meaning to at LEAST above flood, if not a few feet higher for good measure. The problem is on a V-zone lot, that is a really high hill to build, even when using concrete and pilings to hold it all together. And yeah, now we're also talking about a lot more money probably.
Perhaps the solution is to have a big lot, such that the back of the lot away from the sea is at least in an AE zone, so does not have to be built so high. Elevating a foundation is a somewhat common practice in the Keys. One house I was interested in buying decided to raise the entire pre-existing 2-story structure up some 10 feet. And these homes are waterfront, so I know it's doable. They are generally on concrete. The key might be building away from the water though on higher ground so I don't have to build up so high. Or give up and put it on stilts, but for now I still think that is more complicated with more maintenance needed.
I am not necessarily against the idea of building on a lot that has already had building and hookups on them. I just wouldn't use them, because I like the challenge of the off-grid idea. ROGO is tough, for sure, and very time consuming. It's certainly not the preferred route. But I do think there could be a problem with not using existing utilities, especially water, legally. There may be less of an issue if you're not directly choosing to shut off things that are already there. There are some properties that are cleared for building but just haven't yet - for instance, the ones in my neighborhood were ready but then the market crashed and people went broke. Then new people bought up the already-permitted/approved lots cheap, and started the plans for their actual buildings. Only this year did those plans finally get approval so they could start breaking ground, although some bought back in 2011 and 2012. Those lots have never had any type of utility hooked up before - they're not preserved, but have never been built on. I'm also aware of some island homes where people live off-grid out of necessity, and they don't have much going on - but even with a small rudimentary home with no electric or running water, of course it's still like $1-2 million to buy. But probably they can remain off-grid if they want to because it is a reasonable case of hardship to try to bring any utilities, including sewer, there. But in this idea, I'd prefer to do it on land connected by roads, to avoid the extreme isolation of having to row in every time you want a bag of rice.
You're definitely right about operating within the Bubba system. The only concern I have there is that the cultural climate of the Keys is rapidly changing due to the FEMA regulations and soar of flood insurance costs - especially in the Upper Keys. In 20 years, its possible a lot of the Bubba system won't be as powerful when new money comes in. So I definitely want to operate within all codes and laws to be sure I couldn't be hassled in future, by whoever is the "new sheriff in town"! So maybe a hybrid of making powerful Bubba friends (sorry if that seems offensive to some, but it is a reality of getting along here), and having them help streamline red tape to still operate within the codes, is best.
But, this cost like $7 million back in the day - I'm looking for a far more modest and less complex version of this. As cheap for the same benefit as possible. This is apparently built so that the flood waters could rush under the house, so I guess part of it is stilt - maybe on the sides?
Looks like the Dome home did much of what I'm talking about:
They're beachfront
And apparently the bottom floor is open space
This might be the back
But I'd really like to do a WAAAY less fancy version of this. Just basic living, focused mainly on being a disaster-proof structure that is easy maintenance and doesn't require extreme artistry to build.
Apparently this is another option, LOL - also in Pensacola.
I guess that's how you get it above flood.
The UFO House apparently has also survived multiple hurricanes unscathed. Its design is not actually about aliens - it's designed to float if it ever gets flooded.
It was made in the early 70s, so that does say something...
Here is a geo-dome on stilts on Little Torch Key. It is a vacation rental. The downstairs efficiency is likely below-flood and illegal, but it does show that this kind of thing is possible. I still think a smooth dome is easier and without seams has far fewer possible stress/leak points. This is also probably not concrete.
"This Unique Bayfront home offers amazing sunrise over the open water. The round shape of this home and many windows offers panoramic views of the water from the living, dining, and kitchen areas. Aside from the 3 Bdrm/2 Bath Main House this property also has a 2 Bdrm/ 1 Bath Efficiency downstairs. Efficiency has a mini kitchenette & pullout sofa beds in both rooms. Its shoreline stretches over 200' in length along Pine Channel with convenient boating access to both the Atlantic and Gulf. This home has a private beach and dock for holding up to 2 boats."
It doesn't say how old it is, but they have been offering it for rent since 2009.
I looked at a house like this, which was wood, for sale in the Upper Keys. It was not actually waterfront though, but had a water view, and was also stilt.
This monolithic dome in Citrus County is selling for only 65k. It was built in 2010, and is perhaps below flood hence the low price. I don't know if that is impact glass, either.
"This 30 foot in diameter dome designed to be an efficiency or become a garage once an addition is added. Half acre lot surrounded by water. Overall plan design was to construct several modules to create individual habitat requiring little energy, Space enough for a 40 X 40 structure to be added. The 3 inches of closed cell foam on the exterior makes this structure super energy efficient plus indestructible. A monolithic concrete structure is designed to withstand 300 mph winds and 30% or more energy efficient. "
This is a geodome for rental on Big Pine Key. They don't provide a picture to see the full shape, but it says it operates on 100% solar power, and even has central air. From other pictures it looks like it is canal-front (so probably AE zone), and says it has 120ft of deep water dockage. It looks like a stilt geodome (or stilt-stabilized with the bottom floor as storage?) with several wrap-around balconies attached to pilings.
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