Why houses in Miami don't have a concrete roof? Hurricane Proof! (Plantation: real estate, insurance)

[kako13]

Folks,

I have been hearing that the windstorm insurance in the Miami area is expensive, for obvious reasons... This make me thinks twice before buying a house.

I have a few questions in my mind:

1. When buying a property, newer houses due to better construction code are cheaper to insure. Correct? From what year on should I look? 2002?
2. In terms of construction, which houses in Miami are built better to endure a hurricane? Stucco?
3. Why are houses here built with "weak" roofs? In Puerto Rico most of the house have a concrete/cement roof and therefore a windstorm insurance is not needed. Good luck blowing it out! See pic below.
4. Can I find houses with a concretes roof ready to buy in Miami? I had seen commercial buildings with concrete roofs.
5. Could the roof of an existing house built with concrete block in Miami be replaced to have a concrete roof?

All comments, suggestions, and general wisdom will be appreciated!

[Fl1150]

This has been discussed many times over the year the hurricane codes have been revised and have you ever heard of hurricane shutters ?

[hurricaneMan1992]

Specifically regarding buying existing homes with concrete roofs, I have never seen any.

Windstorm insurance is still needed unless you are buying in cash. There are discounts for things like roof fasteners, hip-style roofs without gables, and protection of windows and doors. I imagine a concrete roof would get a good discount as well. But if you have large open spaces you would probably need some support beams or columns, because concrete weighs a lot.

[kako13]

Originally Posted by Fl1150

This has been discussed many times over the year the hurricane codes have been revised and have you ever heard of hurricane shutters ?

I heard the term before in Spanish before "tormenteras" and now makes senses in English.

[kako13]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

Specifically regarding buying existing homes with concrete roofs, I have never seen any.

Windstorm insurance is still needed unless you are buying in cash. There are discounts for things like roof fasteners, hip-style roofs without gables, and protection of windows and doors. I imagine a concrete roof would get a good discount as well. But if you have large open spaces you would probably need some support beams or columns, because concrete weighs a lot.

Makes senses, mortgages banks want to protect their asset. Let's say I buy a property cash, I would feel very comfortable not buying windstorm insurance if the roof was in concrete, otherwise it is a risk proposition. I was living in Puerto Rico back when Hurricane George, cat III, hit the island. My parents home did not had windstorm insurance, and the house was and is still intact.

Well, the challenge here is that houses in Miami were are not built to have a concrete roof and therefore I would guess that their standard foundation would not support one.

[spidac]

Miami is not Puerto Rico.

[Bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by kako13

Folks,

I have been hearing that the windstorm insurance in the Miami area is expensive, for obvious reasons... This make me thinks twice before buying a house.

I have a few questions in my mind:

1. When buying a property, newer houses due to better construction code are cheaper to insure. Correct? From what year on should I look? 2002?
2. In terms of construction, which houses in Miami are built better to endure a hurricane? Stucco?
3. Why are houses here built with "weak" roofs? In Puerto Rico most of the house have a concrete/cement roof and therefore a windstorm insurance is not needed. Good luck blowing it out! See pic below.
4. Can I find houses with a concretes roof ready to buy in Miami? I had seen commercial buildings with concrete roofs.
5. Could the roof of an existing house built with concrete block in Miami be replaced to have a concrete roof?

All comments, suggestions, and general wisdom will be appreciated!

#1: Miami-Dade County revised their building codes after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
#2: In terms of construction you want a "CBS" home which equals "Concrete Block Stucco Construction".
#3: "Why are houses here built with "weak" roofs?" Because it's cheaper to build a house with a wooden roof.
#4: Yes you can find homes with concrete roofs in Miami but they might not be in the most desirable neighborhoods.
#5: Yes but are you willing to spend the money to replace a existing roof? Avoid communities with Home Owner Associations if you want to replace anything.

[tallrick]

My first home in Key Largo I built with a concrete roof. My current home in Pioneer Plantation has a concrete roof and looks a lot like that beauty you show in the picture. People use wood roofs here because they are backwards and builders like to work with what they know. Condos, office towers and other commercial buildings use mostly concrete or steel roofs but homes are still in the past. Most people, especially non-hispanics feel weird with a flat roof and like the traditional home look. However, you will find some homes in more affluent areas are using the mid-century modern look as it is unique and high style. The rest of the joe-bag-of-donuts let their backwards taste go for postmodern junk that looks like a box with a hat with details attached.

There were developments like Leisure City in the 1950's with concrete roofs. There are custom homes with concrete roofs in older neighborhoods. However, not many have been built since. People would rather cry about how bad hurricanes are and want others to feel sorry when they get their homes destroyed.

[tallrick]

I was going to replace the roof at my parent's home with a concrete roof but Dade county makes the process too expensive. In order to di it you are better off drilling into the rock and placing concrete footers for individual columns and run tie beams across the existing home right over the existing roof. Once completed you can leave it as is or demolish the existing wood and rebuild the interior. A family friend did this to a home in 1961 after Hurricane Donna down in Homestead. I will have to look and see what the address was as he died a few years before my dad and the home was sold. My parents home has a shed that I replaced with a concrete roof without a permit but code enforcement never figured it out despite being called numerous times. That is where we rode out hurricane Andrew in quiet comfort.

[MiamiResident]

Insurance companies lobby politicians. Follow the money. Imagine the trillions of dollars insurance companies would stop making if real estate developers were allowed to build homes with strong materials (Concrete)