Beyond Florida Code

   Miles of tranquil, sun-drenched, sugar-sand beaches and glorious spun-gold sunsets along the idyllic Paradise Coast belies the fact that Mother Nature has the ability to devastate everything in sight seemingly on a whim. From Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005, mass destruction totally obliterated entire neighborhoods, even as building codes became more stringent.
   But for the last 6 years, Marco Island residents have watched Custom Construction Associates of Florida Inc. (CCA) build award-winning, custom, luxury waterfront “hurricane-resistant” homes that far exceed many of Florida’s required building codes. In fact, CCA was the only entry to receive a perfect score from the judges in the Collier Building Industry Association’s Homefest 2005.
   “What makes a home hurricane resistant,” states vice president and designer, Floyd Lilly, Sr., “is not necessarily what you see, but what’s behind the paint.” And what’s behind the paint in a CCA home is an amazing compilation of specialty design, attention to detail, use of commercial building components and ongoing development of even stronger structures.
   After 25 years of custom building and developing in Maryland, the family-owned and operated business relocated to Marco Island 10 years ago and quickly recognized the need for residential construction that would enable homes to withstand ferocious hurricane conditions. And although CCA had always built above and beyond many of the Florida codes, a concentrated team effort ensued that has resulted in a system that begins with Lilly’s detailed custom design, follows exacting specifications during construction and doesn’t end until the last roof tile is in place.
   Step one in the process of building a hurricane-resistant home lies in a design that melds the actual lot with the proposed home size, position of the home on the lot and, finally, upgraded structural and design features. Once the design is in place, expert construction begins from a decidedly commercial building perspective. All floors and walls are poured concrete, eliminating wood framing, even on the second floor. Referred to as “down pouring” in the commercial building industry, this method allows all doors and windows to be mounted in solid concrete rather than in wood, thereby enabling the home to withstand stronger winds. And since even the interior walls are constructed of 8-inch concrete block and all stairs are made of pre-cast concrete as well, the addition of high-impact glass windows results in a home with the strength of a fortress that can handle catastrophic winds up to 160 mph.
   CCA’s roofs are engineered for strength and extra protection as well. All rafters are double strapped with steel strapping that is doubled over, nailed down and imbedded into the second-story tie beams while the concrete is still wet. Additionally, CCA installs commercial-grade copper electrical breaker panel boxes with copper electrical wiring and heavy-gauge copper pipes in place of PVC for all interior water lines. Even traditional aluminum soffit systems have been replaced with wire lath and cement-based stucco soffits. Finally, all homes are equipped with an automatic in-home propane generator, proportionately sized for the square footage of the home, with the capacity to run it for two to three weeks if necessary.
   Constructing a home with this level of protection is not an inexpensive venture. “The higher the wind load, the more it costs to build the home since everything from doors and windows to the foundation and concrete must be specifically engineered to withstand these terrifying winds,” states Lilly.
   But with the recent meteorological forecasts of the probability of ferocious hurricanes for years to come, cost concerns become insignificant and family safety and security becomes the only priority. CCA’s conscientiously constructed “hurricane-resistant” homes provide both.

CUSTOM CONSTRUCTION ASSOCIATES OF FLORIDA, INC.
848 Bald Eagle Drive,
Marco Island, FL 34145
239 642-8650
www.ccaoffla.com

Written by J. A. Damon

Photography by Tom Harper Photography