You have probably heard over the years that Florida has a problem with hurricanes. It may be the one thing that is keeping you from buying a new Florida home.
While we acknowledge there really isn’t a hurricane-ready home, since no one is really ready for a hurricane, you can at least count on your new Florida home withstanding the fury of a hurricane better than ever.
Since the disaster caused across South Florida by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the Florida building code has been revised to create one of the most stringent in the nation and it is regularly revisited to ensure that new homes are built to keep their residents and their belongings safe. All houses in the state must be built to withstand wind speeds of more than 100 mph. In the Florida Keys, the requirement is 150 mph.
The new code in the 90s helped strengthen homes, but a new unified code in 2002 has gone even further. After four hurricanes hit Florida in 2004, the University of Florida researchers found homes built after 2002 held up the best with little or no damage. Homes built between 1994 and 2002 held up well, but suffered more damage, especially with the loss of roof shingles. Houses built before 1994 weren’t surveyed, but what the researchers saw wasn’t too pretty.
Thanks to state leaders heeding the research of Florida’s universities, the state’s building code is now one of the best in the world. That means your new Florida home from ICI Homes is the most soundly-built house you can buy in just about the entire United States.
So while you’ve heard about hurricanes hitting Florida, the best thing is that you get plenty of advanced warning if you need to evacuate. And when you get back home, the chances of your new Florida home remaining unscathed are better than ever.
Daytona Beach-based ICI Homes has been building in Florida for nearly 30 years and knows the building code well. Whether you’re looking for a new Florida home in the Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, or Tampa areas, you know it will be as well-built as you can find.