FAQ
Gulf Coast Home Questions
Starting with the one that decides most projects.
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.
FAQ
Luxury homes and renovation in Naples and the Gulf Coast
- What is the 50 percent rule?
- Improvement cost reaching a share of structure value can trigger full compliance including elevation.
- When should we ask?
- Before commissioning any design.
- Who determines it?
- Your building department.
- Does rebuild usually win?
- Frequently once the threshold is understood.
- Will a rebuild sit higher?
- Current elevation requirements apply, potentially substantially higher.
- Can any house be elevated?
- Not every one. Construction, condition and complexity decide it.
- Do you perform house lifting?
- We coordinate specialist contractors. It is a distinct trade.
- Can we turn the air conditioning off?
- It produces mould over a Florida summer.
- What is the worst empty-house risk?
- A supply water failure running for weeks.
- Is architectural review a formality?
- No. It can reject a compliant design.
- How do we know what will pass review?
- The committee's recent decisions.
- What fails first in salt air?
- Concealed fixings.
- Does outdoor stainless corrode?
- Standard grades do, quickly. Specify for coastal exposure.
- Is space under an elevated house usable?
- It remains in the flood zone, which limits it.
- Are you local?
- No. Fort Lauderdale based, with a superintendent on site.
Still not answered?
Call (954) 807-3208. Ask about the improvement rule before you commission a design.
What we build
New Construction
A new house on a Gulf coast lot, designed from the required finished floor elevation upward.
Read more →
Tear-Down & Rebuild
Removing an older house and building new. On many Gulf coast lots it is the sensible answer once the improvement rule is understood.
Read more →
Major Renovation
Substantial renovation of an existing home, where the improvement rule determines what is actually possible.
Read more →
Elevating a House
Physically raising an existing house above the flood elevation. Specialist work, and sometimes the right answer.
Read more →
Outdoor Living
Lanais, pools, summer kitchens and terraces. On the Gulf coast they are a substantial share of both the budget and the use.
Read more →
Guest Houses & Additions
Detached guest accommodation and additions, where zoning and the improvement rule both apply.
Read more →
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.