by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Could your home pass the “missile test?”
That’s not a question from the Defense Department. It’s one your homeowner’s insurance carrier may want to know.
The missile test works like this: take an 8-foot two-by-four, juice it up to 55 mph and aim it at one of the windows on your house. If it holds, you pass. If it shatters, you fail.
Welcome to the world of hurricane building codes in 2007.
When Hurricane Andrew ripped through South Florida Aug. 24, 1992, it did much more than basically level Homestead, Fla. and cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. The effects rippled across the state and created a virtual revolution in the home building industry. Today, everyone from architects to framers must be cognizant of the state’s ever-changing codes that dictate everything from piling depth to window strength to the number of hurricane clips required to pass framing inspections.
“It was a key moment in the history of Florida,” said architect Michael Dunlap of Andrew and its effects.
Dunlap has been an architect for 25 years and has designed dozens and dozens of residential homes and commercial developments across town. Dunlap says the State of Florida needed to do something after Andrew, but took its reaction to an extreme level.
“The codes they had in place were good ones, but they were either not enforced or not met,” said Dunlap, whose office has been on West Adams Street for the past 8-9 years. “There were drive-by inspections and dubious relationships between the builders and the inspectors. They missed a lot of things and they paid the price.
“It was a complete overreaction.”
Bob Leinenweber has been a licensed contractor for 10 years and owns Eastern Shores Construction. A majority of his new home, renovations and add-ons are at the beach where the hurricane codes are the most strict.
“There are a lot more requirements for structural tie-downs,” he said, explaining that those tie-downs consist of threaded rods, hurricane clips and hurricane strapping. “Before (Andrew), the requirements were not as extreme. Now, the windows and doors have to be designed to meet codes. Before, a lot of times the clips were not required. Now, they are required on every house. The number we use depends on the engineering and design of the house.”
The clips come in a few shapes depending on where they are to be used, and they all have multiple nail holes. Some are shaped to simply connect a two-by-four piece of framing to a section of perpendicular ceiling structure. Others are shaped to connect multiple two-by-fours, usually where trusses and framework meet. All have one purpose — help connect the structure from the foundation through the framing to the roof.
“They (the State) want a fixed frame, from the foundation to the roof,” said Dunlap. “They want the house essentially tied down as one system.”
On the surface, the new codes would mean more frequent and more stringent inspections. Leinenweber says that’s not true if the house, renovation or addition has been planned and executed properly.
“Better engineering and architecture leads to less subjectivity,” he said. “If that’s done, it’s easier to get through the inspection.”
All of these changes, especially the necessity of hurricane clips and straps which must be hand-nailed, have added two things to virtually every construction job in the state: time and money.
Dunlap said 10 years ago he could design a 2,000 square-foot home for $75-90 a square foot.
“Now, it’s $150 to $200 a square foot,” he said, adding other costs have gone up as well including materials and labor costs. “All of this means money.”
Dunlap said while the new codes are primarily aimed at preventing wind damage, the real issue locally in the event of a major storm would be water damage. Dunlap said he sees the multi-colored poles all over town indicating storm surge heights and almost chuckles. The poles indicate storm surge heights based on the strength of the storm. In many cases, a Category 4 or 5 hurricane will result in a storm surge well in excess of 10 feet, especially in coastal or low-lying areas.
“The wind will not be an issue if the water is that high,” he said.
Dunlap and Leinenweber said they both find out about new codes and regulations via e-mail, but Dunlap added he also has to attend continuing education classes. In fact, in just the past three or four months, Dunlap said the State changed a regulation that used to allow a roof to hold while the windows and doors could be blown out.
“That’s no longer an option,” said Dunlap.
One of these keys, Dunlap said, to assuring the house or renovation is designed and constructed properly — and meets all State codes and requirements — is teamwork throughout the process.
“When you hire an architect, you hire a team including the mechanical engineer and structural engineer,” he said. “Between all of them, it’s hard to have something slip by. Before Andrew, there was a Standard Building Code that was unique to Florida. Five years ago, the State created a Unified Building Code.”