Is It Important to Buy Concrete Block Homes in Florida?

Written by Posted On Friday, 19 October 2018 11:10
Florida CBS Construction Homes Last! Florida CBS Construction Homes Last! www.treasurecoastsales.com

There has been a long debate about whether you need to buy a concrete block and steel (CBS) home in Florida vs. a wood frame home. Wood-frame construction, until recently, seemed to be a good option. The decision between CBS and wood-frame homes has been made by countless home buyers for decades now, but which one is better?

 What's The Required Wind Speed  Resistance?

Both methods of building homes are safe and legal and must comply with the Miami-Dade Real Estate hurricane codes set after Hurricane Andrew devastated the Homestead area. The code breaks up the County into 3 risk zones and dedicates a wind speed that the homes must be able to withstand, no matter what construction method is chosen.

This code was updated in 2010 to show higher wind speed resistance requirements due to increasing storm strengths.

  • Risk assessment zone 1 – Miami Real Estate code 165 mph winds
  • Risk assessment zone 2 – Miami Real Estate code 175 mph winds
  • Risk assessment zone 3 – Miami Real Estate code 185 mph winds

Are CBS Homes Worth the Extra Money?

It’s true that CBS homes may cost a bit more than wood frame homes, but the data may open your eyes as to why this is true. Even though wood frame homes comply with the Miami-Dade wind speed requirements, there are other things to consider.

A wood frame home, in addition to being less expensive in many cases, also provides the opportunity for better insulation because of the spaces between the wood studs.  A benefit to this additional insulation is that the frame home is more energy efficient. 

It is also easier to remodel because it's quicker and less complicated to install a new door or window in a frame home than a concrete block home. 

Wood frame homes are just that; homes made from wood can attract pests like termites and is also less moisture resistant than a CBS home. While CBS homes are still at risk for termites, it’s significantly less and, after-all, termites don’t eat concrete and steel.  

The most important reason why a CBS home is more expensive is the actual materials and the labor that goes into building a CBS home. It’s true that real estate is local, and prices vary depending on where you live, percentage-wise, it's more expensive building CBS homes.

On average, a CBS home will cost 2%-5% more to build and buy than a wood frame home.

 What Does The Real World Data Say?

To give you two good examples, let’s look at Hurricane Irma which passed over the Florida Keys as a category 5 hurricane with winds at 165 mph. The storm did widespread damage in South Florida, making its way along the coast and devastating homes in Port St Lucie through Key West. After the storm, CBS homes built more recently than 2010 seemed to have less damage than the wood frame homes. The experts said that this hurricane produced several tornadoes that crushed any wood frame homes in their paths. Conversely, the CBS homes were able to withstand the wind forces and had mostly roofing damages.

To conclude, CBS homes are stronger than wood frame homes and can withstand much stronger winds from hurricanes, although both must be built to meet the Miami-Dade codes.

Just take the recent 2018 storm “Michael” that hit Mexico Beach in the Florida panhandle. The winds in this category 4 storm were just over 155 mph and, after the storm passed, most of the area was in ruins. The only buildings that were left standing in its wake were recently constructed CBS homes.

Every single wood frame home was literally washed away or left in ruins by the storm surge and relentlessly high winds.

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.

Joomla! Debug Console

Session

Profile Information

Memory Usage

Database Queries