Deltec Crescent Chalet: Three-Story Round Prefab Home for Narrow Lots

• Husabergchamp
  June 13, 2022, 4:05 pm

  Very cool concept. Obviously in a place that is exposed to routine high water.
  Here is my question. I have gone past many places in Florida that are now on “stilts” like this. Where do all these folks park their cars/pickups/motorcycles to keep them high and dry at times of storms that surprise them? I do not see garages at most of these residences. Raised community parking structures and then stay away from the house till the water recedes? Use boats during flooding? Stay at hotels or friends places during storms? Living on the beaches seems like it can be disruptive to everyday life. But, to each his/her own. Me, I live on a tall hill in Wisconsin. I just need to deal with higher winds.

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  • James D.
    June 14, 2022, 7:44 pm

    Elevated garage platforms tend to be very costly. So typically it’s either not done, car may even be parked under the house and it’s either evacuated when a storm hits or considered a more acceptable loss than the home. Alternatively, a housing complex or HOA may have pooled resources and have a multi-level parking garage that’s strictly for the home owners use or apartment complex, depending on area, etc. Or there can be a nearby commercial multi-level parking garage building and you just rent a spot, provided it’s not full already, but unless it’s out of the way, small town, etc. there’s usually such options…

    Or you can build a garage that is water tight and seals up when it floods or if you have the budget, build your own elevated garage but mind you also need a way to get the car there and back down again… If lot is large enough for a ramp, then that can work, otherwise part of high cost would be an elevator system…

    Course, it also depends on the topography of the property, if there are high areas then that could be a place to put a garage as it doesn’t need to be as large as the foundation for the home…

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• Marsha Cowan
  June 15, 2022, 1:35 pm

  . . .or when the time comes, you can just jump in your vehicle and get the hell outa’ there! ?

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• Ginnie Kozak
  June 15, 2022, 11:29 pm

  The homes that are on stilts almost always are raised because of zoning ordinances, building codes, FEMA, the insurance industry, etc. It’s seldom voluntary. The bottom levels are usually used as garage, storage and even kitchens and offices, and are required to be built so that the water flows through to prevent storm surges/high waves from knocking the building of the supports. People that live in an area prone to hurricanes and tropical storms generally have have plans for what to do when the next storm is on the way. Evacuation, driving as many vehicles away as possible as possible, is one solution. Taking vehicles to a higher and drier parking area–with no large trees–is a frequent and inexpensive alternative; in my neighborhood we drive up to the large hospital parking lot less than 1/10 of a mile away, and then walk home. And moving everything upstairs from the ground level to safe places in the building, evacuating with valuable, etc. As the season gets really underway, and storms brew, when you run into someone you haven’t seen for a while, sooner or later you get into the “What are you going to do if that hurricane heads toward us?” discussion.

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• Maggie King
  September 10, 2022, 3:02 pm

  Hope those windows are Cat 3 safe.
  Building on the coasts has become exorbitant. The cost, the much more restrictive building codes. Then add high property taxes, flood insurance (still fairly low), wind insurance (very expensive) and regular insurance).
  We just sold ours, rebuilt post Katrina with 35 feet of storm waters, but if you can afford it, enjoy!

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