Class 5 Storms No Problem for Carrabelle Couple

Lesly and Dan Cox of Carrabelle built their dream home last year on Lighthouse Road behind the Crooked River Light.
Lesly Cox said the couple had three primary considerations when designing their new 2,100 square foot home. Storm resistance was the top priority followed by energy efficiency and minimum maintenance requirements. The resulting octagonal structure was both beautiful to look at and rock solid.
"We wanted to support the local economy and do the right thing environmentally, "The other house was almost completely recycled. Larry Sapp of LDS construction in Sopchoppy was the primary contractor on the job. People came and got almost everything," Lesly Cox said.
"All of the contractors we used were local. We bought tile at Sellers in Eastpoint and the light fixtures came from Forgotten Coast Lighting. The appliances, which were all EnergyStar certified were purchased at Badcock in Eastpoint and many of the furnishings came from Trader's Antiques in Carrabelle. Odom Coastal Construction of Eastpoint created custom cabinets for the kitchen."
The house is highly energy efficient. Cox said utility bills are under $100 a month. All the lighting is compact fluorescent or low wattage and the design provides a great deal of natural light. Icynene insulation keeps the interior comfortable year round and "on demand" hot water heaters reduce waste substantially.
The Coxes chose low flow toilets to save water. The grounds are landscaped with low maintenance, drought tolerant native plants and water for irrigation is collected in rain barrels positioned around the exterior of the house. Even the driveway is constructed of porous material that allows rain to soak into the soil reducing runoff.
The Cox house, constructed of steel reinforced concrete with wall 12 inches thick, is designed to withstand almost any storm with wind-resistant shingles and double-pane, high-performance windows. Cox said she received substantial savings on her insurance after a wind inspection. Sapp said that the house is rated to withstand a Class 5 hurricane.
"Technically, the wind rating is 150 miles per hour, but I think it would stand winds in excess of 300 mph. If it was hit by a Class 5 tornado, it would lose windows and doors but the structure would stand," said Sapp.
He said, "LDS Construction Services began doing Insulated Concrete Form structures in response to the severe storms of '04 and '05. I sought a system to build an indestructible structure, while also providing the most energy efficient building obtainable. I found the Nudura system incorporated the strength of steel-reinforced concrete walls with the insulation and air tightness of expanded polystyrene insulation to build a structure that is up to 10 times stronger than conventional methods, while being up to three times more energy efficient for heating and cooling."
Cox said, "When we built this house, we did everything that we wanted. We chose this site because we fell in love with this lot. I really loved the driveway. The house that was here was an octagon but it was really small, like 700 square feet. We were originally thinking of adding on to it but we found termite damage that hadn't been very well addressed. We really liked living in the octagonal space and it's a storm resistant shape so we kept it."
Sapp said, "We did an estimate to do the addition, and I expressed the belief that we could build a new structure for only a little more cost, and they would have a totally new home with the flexibility to design a new efficient floor plan. Also, they would have all the benefits of a completely new home with more energy efficiencies and better workmanship than a renovated old home.
"This is a phenomenon that we encounter frequently. It is almost always more efficient to demolish an old structure, and build a new one than to try to renovate the old one. Plus, you end up with a new home, with modern, efficient sub systems, that require little or no maintenance, and it is stronger, cleaner, straighter, more air resistant and much more energy efficient," he said.
Sapp said the house took a little longer to build than a conventional structure.
"It required a little over nine months to complete the actual construction. This is a little longer than the typical home due to the extensive woodwork in the home, the unique cabinetry, the extensive tile work, the screening, and the brick paving completely around the home. However, our philosophy is not to see how fast we can build, but how good we can build," he said.
"It was a custom house so there was a lot of hemming and hawing to figure out how you could get things to work," said Cox.
Cox said one dream the house did not fulfill was energy self sufficiency. "I didn't go solar, although we might retrofit someday. If the system that allows people to sell energy back to the grid had been in place, I think we would have done it, but it was simply too expensive at the time."
Sapp "My best advice to others who are considering a new home is to focus