The Wall Street Journal | By: Laura Kusisto and Arian Campo-Flores | September 16, 2017:
Florida owners benefit from homes built to more-stringent codes: ‘Tree branches bounced off of our roof. But the house is fine.’
When Hurricane Wilma pummeled Florida in 2005, it nearly ripped the roof from Stephany and Michael Carr’s house in Naples, which was built before a 2002 building code took effect statewide.
After the storm, the couple retrofitted their house to comply with the new code. They added a standing seam metal roof with continuous panels connected by strong fasteners. And they invested in hurricane impact-resistant windows and doors.
The upgraded home withstood Hurricane Irma without issue.
“It looks like a bomb destroyed our trees and yard,” said Ms. Carr, a 58-year-old lawyer. “Tree branches bounced off of our roof. But the house is fine.”
Ms. Carr credits the more-stringent building code with saving her home and their lives. “For anyone who doubts these codes, I invite them to sit in a pre-code structure in a Category 3 storm or higher,” she said.
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