About
The Question That Comes Before Design
Romco Builders is a licensed Florida general contractor based in Fort Lauderdale. On the Gulf coast, one question decides most projects before anybody discusses architecture.
The property, its age, and what you are contemplating. We will tell you whether it is a renovation or a rebuild before anybody draws anything.
50%
The rule that turns a renovation into a rebuild
Half empty
A seasonal house is unoccupied for months at a time
Elevation
What you can build is decided before you draw it
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
The improvement rule decides the project
On an older home in a flood zone, improvement cost reaching a defined share of the structure's value can trigger full compliance, including elevating the whole building. A renovation becomes a rebuild.
Homeowners discover this at permit, after paying for a design. We raise it before any design is commissioned, because the first step is a phone call to the building department and it determines what project is actually available.
Seasonal houses are empty when conditions are worst
Much of this market is closed from May to November — the hottest, most humid months of the Florida year. Air conditioning switched off to save running cost produces mould in cabinetry and joinery, and a supply water failure in an empty house runs for weeks.
Humidity control designed for unoccupied operation, remote monitoring and automatic water shut-off cost comparatively little during construction and are awkward and partial to add afterwards.
Salt reaches what you cannot see
Owners specify beautiful visible hardware and the concealed fixings holding it are standard. Corrosion starts behind railings, inside assemblies and at structural connections, and the first sign is frequently something moving.
We will not substitute a lower-grade fixing for cost on a Gulf-front property.
We are on the other coast and we say so
Licensed across the state of Florida, with a superintendent on site rather than remote management. For a small project, or one where you want the builder available at short notice, a Naples firm will serve you better and we will say so. Nothing here is code advice; your building department determines what applies.
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.