Units
14
Zone
AE
Freeboard
+2 ft
Certificates
14 of 14
Fourteen coastal cottages in an AE flood zone, raised without looking like they are standing on stilts.
The problem
Required freeboard put finished floors nearly three metres above grade, which usually produces a street of houses on posts.
What we did
Elevation certificates were prepared before design, not after. The required height became a shaded ground-level porch and storage plinth that reads as part of the house rather than as a consequence of the flood map.
Outcome
All fourteen units certified above base flood elevation with a measurable reduction in flood insurance premium for every owner.
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