Building a Hurricane-Resistant House Is Not as Expensive as You May Think

The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety created a “fortified home” construction standard to help houses withstand hurricanes and hail. While homeowners mistakenly believe that building to the standard is expensive, the Institute contends that constructing a 1,800-square-foot house to its gold standard would cost just an additional $3,000 to $5,000 more.

That range likely is similar in other states as well and would only increase by about $1,000 the cost of building that home in Florida, where building codes mandating impact-resistant windows, doors, and shutter systems drive the bulk of fortifying houses against severe storms.

The CNBC story also profiles the foundation design and building components used in the Sand Palace, the white house on Mexico Beach in the Florida Panhandle that survived Category 5 Hurricane Michael relatively unscathed.

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