Two Decades After Hurricane Andrew Hit Miami Florida, The Stringent Florida Building Code May Be Modified To Meet International Building Code a.k.a. IBC

Hurricane Andrew barreled ashore in South Florida on August 24, 1992, undoing lives and possessions. Andrew claimed over 40 lives in Florida during and after the storm and a shocking 117,000 homes and businesses were either badly damaged or demolished. In the aftermath, it was clear that South Florida building regulations left a great deal on the plate. After twenty years of reformation and revisions they now have a strong and fused Building Code which has taken form that gives building officials and contractors a common reference that balances economic factors with the need to increase the health, safety and welfare of heavy winded areas like Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, the Keys, and all of the cities along the gulf including our very own Houston, Texas.  However, new lawmaking looms to remove the Florida-specific character of the FBC and replace it with the more general International Building Code (IBC), a national code written by outsiders unfamiliar with the special needs of the state. Go ahead and laugh.  I know, I know, it sounds as if Florida is adolescent with functional developmental issues who require assistance for mental, or psychological disabilities… but its true.  Floridians need special attention.  Already, that push has cost Florida unnecessary money and effort. If such a move were to reach its ultimate goal, lawmakers, the Florida Building Commission and roofing industry associations whose members have volunteered so much time toward the improvement of the Florida Building Code, will have surrendered the capacity for the people of Florida to govern for themselves what is best given our climate, massive coastal parts and hurricane risks.

Hurricane Andrew: Then versus Now

After Andrew, it became clear that there were egregious inadequacies in the execution of building regulations and second-rate roofing construction stood front and center. A Dade County Grand Jury Final Report (August 4, 1993) stated, "Of all the damages caused by Hurricane Andrew, the most prevalent was damage to roofs. Design flaws, approval of poorly performing substitute products and shoddy workmanship were all to blame”. 

While the grand jury’s verdicts were disapproving, it also recognized that the improved code that resulted from the disaster included new roofing methods that are taken for granted today:

As often materializes, human sorrow served as a promoter for improvement. South Florida led the way and in 1996 Governor Lawton Chiles moved the State toward a united code that would take numerous years and a near civil war between the various players – developers, contractors, consumer advocates, insurance and governmental agencies – to achieve. Nearly a full decade after Hurricane Andrew, the first edition of the Florida Building Code (2000) became law in 2001. It would be unmanageable to measure the amount of work, a great deal of it, volunteer hours, that poured into the creation of the Building Code, Insurance General Contractors Roofing and Exteriors was also a major contributor and integral part in this FBC 2001. In the period that has followed, the work has been continuous by the Commission and by industry leaders who have hands-on knowledge of the unique conditions Florida faces compared to other areas of the United States. 

Twenty Years of Progress May Be Over

Today, the 2010 version of the Florida Building Code is in effect. While the code is not perfect, it represents the best regulation for the State of Florida at this time. Revision to it in the future will make it better but those revisions should be made from the inside, by the people of Florida and not from an outside entity with its own set of interests. In the past couple of years, however, an attempt to introduce outside control over the code resulted in legislation that sets the International Building Code (IBC) developed by the International Code Council (an unregulated and private organization), as the base code instead of the Florida Building Code. This move is a dramatic departure from the process that has worked so well to this point. So far, the net effect of the legislation has been considerable extra time spent by FRSA members (as well as members of other associations) who face having to submit modification requests for the (ICC) base code to the Building Commission in order to restore all the code that is now stripped away each code cycle. Working with FRSA members for the 2013 code that is currently being developed, FRSA staff prepared and submitted 228 such requests this summer. While FRSA hopes that the modifications will be approved, there is no guarantee that this will happen. Certainly, people seeking to strengthen outside influence are working toward the denial of the modification requests, not on the merit, or lack of merit, of the requests themselves but in an effort to move away from the organic Florida Building Code to a national code.

It makes much greater sense to return, instead, to the Florida Building Code as the base code, eliminating the need to rebuild – every code cycle – the improvements that we have made over many years. It is important to ask how we, as Floridians, would benefit by surrendering control of the Code process to an outside entity. The Florida code that has been developed by Florida is considered the best in the country by many; why change the process that got us there? Fortunately, the Building Commission has worked to protect the code from attempts to strip much of it from the books, something for which we should all be grateful; but given current legislation, we appear to be headed in the wrong direction.

Working to improve Florida Building Code is enough of a challenge under the current system. Imagine what we would face if an outside code is imposed upon us by a remote authority. Local interpretation and decision making by building officials could become a thing of the past as they find themselves having to inflexibly enforce a code that has pre-empted local authority. Also, if you think that improving Florida code is a challenge now, imagine having to send a delegation from Florida (that represents only a fraction of the country) to gain an audience with an organization trying to impose a single code on all 50 states. The International Code Council does not have a positive record as an inclusive body.

Building codes that might work in much of the rest of the nation simply cannot take into account the unique conditions that we have been dealing with in the development of Florida building regulations over the past two decades and more. We could find ourselves regressing toward the pre-Andrew days that would mean something less for everyone involved, a true lose-lose prospect. The good news is that it lies within the power of the Florida Legislature and the Florida Building Commission to not voluntarily give up the ability to self-determine our building regulations and to undo the steps that have been taken in recent years to relinquish that control to outsider influences. Educate yourself about this issue, be prepared to support Florida’s right to speak for itself and stay tuned for future developments.

IGC Roofing and Exteriors Founder is a Native Floridian, Born and Raised in Miami Florida

Founder of your Houston Roofing Company, IGC Roofing, Freddie Reinwald built the Houston Roofing Company based on the rigorous practice and principals of Florida strict rules, specifically Miami-Dade Building Codes, which are notoriously known around the Country as the most difficult to pass on inspections and the heartiest roofs to build to withstand very high winds and strong gusts.  I write this blog with confidence because we build your Houston Roof with the same strength, specifics, nail count per shingle, nail type, (ring shank nails versus standard shank) and drying in or felting your roof from what we helped enact in Florida for the heartiest roofs in the country, your Houston Roofer installs your roof with these same principals.  Contact us to ask more about this and other types of Houston Roofing Systems offered by IGC Roofing and Exteriors at 832-304-2000

 

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