The house appears to be 3 stories tall, but is actually a two story home
sitting on concrete columns and prestressed concrete beams, with the
ground floor closed in with breakaway paneling. The house is located on a
110’ wide canal with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. The house
comes with a hinged three piece, 40’ floating dock, which at MLW has 8’
of water. The floating dock stands out far enough that I keep my fishing
boat on the inside of the dock, between it and the seawall, and tie up my
32’ sailboat on the outboard side of the dock. The house is situated on the
lee side of a point of land, providing good wave protection to the docked
boats. When a hurricane is in the area, we have a cooperative agreement
with the fellow opposite us on the canal and position our boats in
midchannel to multiple eyebolts installed in both our seawalls. This is the
best protection you can get for your boat, there is nothing for it to bang
against.
The screened porch faces the intersection of our canal and the channel to
the Gulf. From that vantage point we have a daily parade of power and
sailboats. We also have a small number of shrimp and crab boats as well
as several charter fishing boats. From the second floor, we have a view of
the main channel out to the Gulf.
The roof is 24 gauge steel. The roofing sheets come in 20' long sections
which provides superior protection against lifting when high winds may
buffet the house during hurricane season. The roof does not have any
gable ends, it is all hip roof design. This provides greater protection
against high winds. In the same vein, the garage doors are dual 9' doors,
rather than a single large door for both cars. The advantage is that the
smaller span can be readily braced for security against high winds.
Our 124’ seawall has a nominally 4’ wide walkway and retaining barrier
which provides a flat lawn surface. The lawn is equipped with a 5 zone
sprinkler system. The foot of the seawall is covered with rip rap.
The house was designed for us by Chuck Shepherd, a well known local
architect, to the new, tougher codes put in place after Hurricane Andrew.
sitting on concrete columns and prestressed concrete beams, with the
ground floor closed in with breakaway paneling. The house is located on a
110’ wide canal with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. The house
comes with a hinged three piece, 40’ floating dock, which at MLW has 8’
of water. The floating dock stands out far enough that I keep my fishing
boat on the inside of the dock, between it and the seawall, and tie up my
32’ sailboat on the outboard side of the dock. The house is situated on the
lee side of a point of land, providing good wave protection to the docked
boats. When a hurricane is in the area, we have a cooperative agreement
with the fellow opposite us on the canal and position our boats in
midchannel to multiple eyebolts installed in both our seawalls. This is the
best protection you can get for your boat, there is nothing for it to bang
against.
The screened porch faces the intersection of our canal and the channel to
the Gulf. From that vantage point we have a daily parade of power and
sailboats. We also have a small number of shrimp and crab boats as well
as several charter fishing boats. From the second floor, we have a view of
the main channel out to the Gulf.
The roof is 24 gauge steel. The roofing sheets come in 20' long sections
which provides superior protection against lifting when high winds may
buffet the house during hurricane season. The roof does not have any
gable ends, it is all hip roof design. This provides greater protection
against high winds. In the same vein, the garage doors are dual 9' doors,
rather than a single large door for both cars. The advantage is that the
smaller span can be readily braced for security against high winds.
Our 124’ seawall has a nominally 4’ wide walkway and retaining barrier
which provides a flat lawn surface. The lawn is equipped with a 5 zone
sprinkler system. The foot of the seawall is covered with rip rap.
The house was designed for us by Chuck Shepherd, a well known local
architect, to the new, tougher codes put in place after Hurricane Andrew.
SOUTH SIDE PORCH
SOUTH SIDE OF BUILDING
VIEW OF THE MAIN
CHANNEL
CHANNEL
VIEW FROM PORCH
A HOME IN HERNANDO BEACH, FLORIDA
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FRONT OF HOUSE
HOUSE IS ON CUL-DE-SAC
HOUSE IS ON CUL-DE-SAC
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A LOOK AT THE OUTSIDE