Hurricane ready plans
House plans designed for Florida hurricanes.
No home is hurricane proof, but a well designed one is built to resist the wind speed the code sets for its location. That design lives in the plans: the wind data, the structure, the openings and every connection from the footing to the roof.
Design wind speed
Every Florida home is designed for wind.
The Florida Building Code requires wind design wherever the design wind speed is 115 mph or more, and Florida's map starts at 115 mph. Your lot's wind speed sets the pressures on the walls, the roof and every window and door.
High Velocity Hurricane Zone
Miami Dade and Broward follow stricter rules.
The High Velocity Hurricane Zone covers exactly two counties: Miami Dade and Broward. Homes there follow their own chapter of the residential code, with fixed design wind speeds and stricter rules for products and construction.
Our sample home is in it
The sample plan set on this site was drawn for a 175 mph design wind speed in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, with 8 in reinforced concrete block walls, a wood truss hip roof and impact resistant windows and doors.
What the plans show
Where a house resists the wind.
A continuous load path
The wind tries to lift the roof and push the walls. The structural sheets show how the roof ties to the walls and the walls to the foundation, with the connectors and their capacities, so the load has a path all the way to the ground.
Protected openings
In wind borne debris regions, every glazed opening must be protected, with impact resistant windows and doors or approved shutters. Today that means anywhere the design wind speed is 140 mph or more, and within 1 mile of the coast where it is 130 mph or more.
Approved products
Windows and doors carry a label with a Florida product approval or a Miami Dade product approval number, and they are installed as their approval says. The plans list what each opening has to resist.
Trusses and roof covering
The truss engineer designs the trusses for the uplift your plans specify, and the building official approves the truss drawings before installation. The roof covering is chosen for the same wind.
Flood
Storm surge and flood zones are part of it too.
In a flood zone the code sets how high the lowest floor goes: at least the base flood elevation plus 1 foot, or the design flood elevation if that is higher, and some cities ask for more. An elevation certificate is due when the lowest floor is placed and again at final inspection.
On the plans
- The flood zone and design flood elevation on the site plan
- The lowest floor elevation and the materials below it
- Where the air conditioning and electrical equipment sit relative to the flood level
Based on the Florida Building Code, 8th Edition (2023), including its 2024 supplement, in effect in October 2026. The 9th Edition is scheduled for December 31, 2026. General information, not a substitute for your engineer's design or your building department. Sources: Florida Building Commission, FEMA Elevation Certificate.
Plans built for your lot's wind.
Every home package includes engineering review and seals. Tell us where you are building and we design for it.