Florida hurricane retrofit triggers

[Dadroid2000]

Hi, all,

I have a one story 2x4 wood framed house on a slab built in 1989. I'd like to strip rotting LP panel siding off in order to re-side. This means I would be down to bare studs. Big question now is whether I will be forced to bring my exterior walls up to current buiding code standards as far as continuous load path for Florida hurricane mitigation requirements. We have hurricane straps at the trusses and a few undersized anchor bolts here and there on the sills. It's a substantial amount of money for a structural engineer, new anchor bolts, cables in the wall corners, etc. Not one contractor has mentioned this requirement but we had a building official who said that it would be required in the plans for the permit.

Thanks!!

 

[cda]

Welcome

There are a couple of Florida people on the site.

Give them a few days to reply

 

[ADAguy]

Are you the homeowner doing a maintenance repair? If so, are you living in it?
How many hurricanes has it survived?

 

[Dadroid2000]

Yes, I'm the homeowner and living in it. Id like to do the windows and siding myself on the entire house.

 

[ADAguy]

You are proposing to reskin vs restructure your home (may be seen as a maintenance item). If the as-designed load path does not comply with current code that is a decision you may chose to make or not. Check with you insurance agent to see if they require upgrades in order to maintain your coverage or not. In CA earthquake coverage would require bolting and knee wall sheathing but not wall sheathing for existing homes.
Have you checked with your local building department?