Experiences and Learning Points Rebuilding after Hurricane Ian Storm Surge

Hurricane Ian looked like it going to create storm surge across SW Florida given its size, intensity, path, and slow speed.  You never want to be on the southeast side of a major hurricane making landfall in SW Florida. My tenants on Capri did some sand bagging of the entrances of our duplex, but unfortunately the surge was higher than the effort to protect the dwelling creating personal disasters for them and me. Even if the sand bagging was higher, it would have likely still been a problem as there were many possible leak paths into the house.

 According to the National Weather Service in Key West, Fla., Ian had hurricane-force winds spanning 90 miles, and tropical-storm-force winds spanning 350 miles. From Wikipedia:  "It became a high-end Category 4 hurricane, which had sustained winds up to 155 mph early on September 28, 2022, while progressing towards the west coast of Florida. .... Much of the damage was from flooding brought about by a storm surge of 10–15 ft (3.0–4.6 m).[11] The cities of Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Naples were particularly hard hit, leaving millions without power in the storm's wake and numerous inhabitants forced to take refuge on their roofs. Sanibel Island, Fort Myers Beach, and Pine Island were decimated by the storm surge, which destroyed nearly all standing structures and damaged both the Sanibel Causeway and the Matlacha bridge to Pine Island, entrapping those left on the islands for several days. " There were up to 149 deaths in Florida attributed to Ian and estimated the damages up to $113B.

NOAA video clip

The following are my experiences and lessons learned from rebuilding after Ian...

So...what now? Do nothing now and either sell the duplex as-is or raze and build a new single family home (Collier Country no longer allows duplexes at this location)?  Try to save the place as a duplex? Lots of decisions to make and not all the information available to make them.  Some of the big questions include "Will FEMA allow you to rebuild?"  (i.e. How will the FEMA 50% rule be applied (e.g.  What is the basis?)  and will I be allowed to rebuild the duplex?)  If we rebuild, will all new things need to be brought up to current code?  Will this requirement go back to include the entire system, including those things unaffected.   How much will flood insurance pay.  (Thankfully I had some flood insurance but many couldn't afford it.  I paid as much as $4K per year for $97K of insurance even though the place had never flooded in 49 years!) Should I save the duplex knowing the sea levels are rising and storms seem to be getting more powerful...and it is likely that we will see future storm surges...the only question is when?

All my tenants love this location. At least one had the view as their cover page on Facebook.   The view is nice and dolphins swim within 25' of the backdoor several times daily. We have an osprey nest nearby and you see all sorts of birds. The tenants that were residing there at the time of the storm surge, are no exception and they were determined to get back in as soon as possible.  Given their enthusiasm and the fact they were already clearing out the duplex, I decided to pursue saving the duplex unless future information precluded me to do so or severely impacted what I could do preventing me to get back to what I had before the storm. 

I was in Indiana at the time of the storm and went out and bought 3 generators (one for a neighbor).  (Power was off and it was off at least 10 days Irma 5 years prior.)  The heat index at that time year is ~100 degrees.  Mold grows really fast under those conditions.  I had installed an elevated AC unit on one side 5 years ago which could help dehumidify the place to control mold well as give us some comfort as we do the upcoming hard work.  In addition to the generators, I bought all sorts of supplies I thought we would need and not be available in SW Florida. Once I got everything packed, said goodbye to my wife who needed to stay behind for several weeks and drove the 1140 miles straight through to Naples.  

At the same time as I was gathering supplies and traveling to Florida, my tenants were starting the long, difficult, heavy, and uncomfortable task of removing all the contents from both side of the duplex as well as all the wet drywall....

The first couple of months was very intense.  As you saw from above, we were doing a lot of physical work daily. Because my tenants both have full time jobs, a lot of the time it was lonely. The pictures only show a portion of the overall story and work. 

There was significant time doing overall planning and daily plans, developing RFQ packages and researching and soliciting possible contractors to do the rebuild work, researching the permitting requirements and filing permits, trying to secure items needed.  (Drywall, etc. was as difficult to find and acquire as toilet paper and hand sanitizer during Covid.) 

"Hey man, you got any drywall I can score." 

"Dude, I can get you a little fix...15 grey sheets. You want it?"  

"I need 65 grey and 25 purple. " 

" I don't have any of the good stuff."

"15 grey it is.  Where do I pick it up?

"Go to _____ and tell them ____ sent you and they will get it for you."

I did some driving across the state for some materials.  

There was also time spent washing, sanitizing, and packing away all the curtains, bedding items, dishes and cookware and hundreds of other items. 

My typical day was getting up around 5am and either being at duplex by 6am or being at a hardware store by 6am and then to the duplex. I would try to be home by 7pm and frequently only had enough energy to eat some breakfast cereal for dinner and then fall asleep in a chair with my computer while doing research.  I would typically wake up around 11 pm and do more of the things listed above until 1 or 2am and then crash again until 5am.

Trying to find, call and meet with contractors to do work ended up being a complete waste of time and effort and I would not do it again in a similar environment.  Collier Country is still in a building boom and everyone was very busy before Hurricane Ian and the hurricane on the east coast of Florida. Few took the time to respond even after several requests.  The very few that provided quotes had pricing that was crazy.  As an example of the contracting environment, a company that I have done business multiple times over 15 years told me first time I called that they were in triage mode and couldn't respond now but they would call back later.  I reached out to them again 3 weeks later and got the same response.  After another three weeks they called to let me know it would be 6 months before they could do the work.

It took a lot of time, effort and trial and error to understand the regulatory environment, processes, and expectations.  Collier County is tough, but I will say that individuals tried to be helpful and were friendly and the organization did some things that were helpful like opening at least one satellite office for helping people with paperwork and accepting like-for-like in some cases. The information around like-for-like acceptance took several iterations to get ta full understanding and as a result there was some time lost and some additional cost. It took a while to understand the organization in order to get information and there was one issue (a Demo permit) that took a little effort to resolve that shouldn't have. Demo permits are required, and I applied for one, but the county subsequently dropped the requirement for my kind of situation, but it took lot more effort and involvement by others to cancel the permit.  

I decided to apply for a permit that allowed me as the homeowner to do my own work and/or hire others as needed.  While that may seem like a no brainer to those who know me, it comes with some conditions.

Getting rid of furniture, beds, cabinets, appliances, water heaters, cast iron bathtubs and demo debris was hot dirty work but it didn't end there.  For the next 6 months, two big trash containers were filled either to the maximum weight or volume for twice weekly pick-up as well as two big recycle containers were filled for pick-up weekly.  In addition to more things coming out there was construction scrap and packaging materials, with the latter being a particularly big volume when we received cabinets and appliances.  There were a couple of hours each week dedicated to sorting, consolidating, and taking trash and recycle out.  

 With permit in hand, I started doing the electrical work myself with occasional help from my wife.  The scope of work was to replace 36 duplex receptacles and two 50 amp stove receptacles.  This is where understanding the "like-for-like" provision was not clear.  I was told repeatedly that I could not add any wire or I would violate that provision.  I did not add any wire and my permit clearly stated that I was raising the outlet above the base flood level (per FEMA recommendations) by cutting off ~ 2 feet of wire for each outlet...the two feet that had been under saltwater.  At the rough-in inspection the inspector said that like-for-like didn't apply because I cut off the wire and moved the receptacles above the base flood elevation. While I was planning to protect these new outlets with AFCI/TR devices consistent with current code, I was not planning to add wire to change two branch circuits to accommodate current code not allowing a dining room circuit to feed the lanai regardless of the fact that they were all GFCI protect too. One big concern I had after this inspection has how many more of these things might pop-up and what was that going to do to my timeline and FEMA 50% cost estimate. For instance, the 2 stoves were wired with 2 conductor with ground.  Today's code requires 3 conductor with ground.  The purchase cost of the wire alone would be $750.  The installation would be very difficult.  Thankfully, because I only replaced the receptacles and didn't move them, like-for-like applied.   

Concurrently with raising the electrical outlets to above the base flood level, we started "flood proofing"...doing things that would stop water from coming in.  For several practical and financial reasons, I chose to try to protect to a height of 24 inches.  I put "flood proofing" in quotes as water will seek every possible way to enter and it is not likely everything is sealed so the overall duplex is more of a flood resistant dwelling than a flood proof dwelling.  We used Drylok on the block wall to 24", sealed cracks and openings in the floor and sealed the opening where the old electrical boxes were in the block walls.  Where we had 2x4 stud exterior walls, I installed aluminum to a 24" height on both sides under the drywall and applied sealant to prevents leaks under the base plates and around the aluminum. Because we are on septic, we eliminated showers and raised the drain height for the hot water heater PSV discharge and drain pan overflow to toilet height. 

In addition to these flood proofing measures, I elevated the 2 new water heaters by 18", and dryers and one washer above the base flood level. I had the AC packaged unit on one side of the duplex raised to above the base flood level in 2017 and it paid dividends and we were able to work in air-conditioning vs. in a 100 deg heat index environment, a luxury few had that were impacted by storm surge.  The old duct work still went to the ground so part of this part of this project was to replace the ductwork for both AC units to a higher elevation as well as install the new AC unit on a stand.  (The installation of the AC unit on the stand and new ductwork was the only contract on the project.  I borrowed a concrete saw from a neighbor and cut out two 2'x2' openings for the new ductwork and then sealed up the old openings with block and stucco.  It was the first time I have worked with stucco. Thank goodness for YouTube.

Somethings were no brainers and it was more of a question of how many.  Other things like cabinets and vanities, shower/bath combos, appliances, some electrical components, and a significant amount of the plumbing required a lot more research and searching. By the end of the project there were ~300 receipts (transactions) for thousands of items.  Procurement - researching, searching for, buying, and picking up was a huge amount of time.  Usually, those things that could be picked up at Lowes or Home Depot were picked up between 6-7am because after that time the stores were crazy busy. I am on first name basis with many first shift people at Lowes since it is close and on the way to the duplex.  Online purchases were typically from 8pm to midnight.  You got to like Amazon if you need something delivered quickly.  Delivery was nice as if freed up time for other tasks.

Insulation is used for sound deadening, fire protection and thermal efficiency.  While we had insulation for the first two items between the two sides of the duplex, we did not have in our exterior walls nor between rooms. I had a required inspection along with a Federal form to fill out after inspection for the thermal insulation. Because of the heavy workload at the County, electrical inspectors were also asked to do insulation inspections. I researched current code, and oddly the air gap along with the block wall and drywall was close to the require R-6.  I talked to County reviewers and explained that I, like many, have the issue that I have only removed the bottom half of the wallboard and that I would not be able to put insulation behind the upper half. I also said that like-for-like was no insulation. The reviewed said to talk to the electrical inspector when he came for rough-in inspection.  I brought this up with the electrical inspection inspector and after a conference call with other inspectors they decided to waive my inspection given like-for-like.  It is not clear to me that I am off the hook completely as I still see the Federal from in my conditions.  I had purchased the insulation and had it on site (the foam board being very hard to find and acquire.) We went ahead and installed what we could with Kathy doing nearly all the work installing the foam board. 

We passed the electrical rough-in inspection on December 27th.  Kathy helped prepare for inspection by connecting all the ground and bonding wires in each electrical box.  Most boxes didn't require bonding but to have boxes on exterior bock walls and not knock holes in the block walls I needed to go to 1.5" deep metal electrical boxes (an unusual size that was difficult to find.) (Having the wall flood-proofing and the electrical rough-in complete was key as that allows ~70% of the drywalling to be hung.  I needed the plumbing rough-in complete to do the other ~30% and I hadn't made a decision yet as to whether I would keep the 49-year-old copper pipe that had significant surface corrosion as it was very green from the saltwater. 

While we had been flood-proofing, installing furring strips, and insulating what we could before electrical rough-in inspection and doing the electrical rough-in work, I kept reaching out to a guy who had done significant work for me on past projects for help going forward.  I also kept talking to a guy working for my next-door neighbor.  Both said they were very busy, but the guy doing the work next door said he could give me pieces of his time.  Given I had all the materials needed to do at least 70% of the drywall work on site and was ready to go on the 27th, he came shortly thereafter.  He and his brother hung this first phase of drywall freeing me up to focus on plumbing.  Besides getting the help, this guy and his brother had some skills and knowledge that improved my ability to finish and/or repair drywall significantly quicker too and he did a nice job texturing the finish to match the finish on the side that had textured walls.     

Should I replumb the duplex? ...This was the big question in early January. Should take the opportunity before finishing drywalling to replace all the plumbing?  The copper pipe had significant surface corrosion, though that might or might not be a problem. I had taken a corrosion class in college as part of the chemical engineering curriculum and had classes at work and profession engineering continuing classes on the subject too. This was old thick wall pipe and the corrosion while looking bad on the surface may not be that deep. The insurance adjustor didn't include any money to replace.  I had put the possibility of changing this piping to PEX in the permit. I researched the corrosion subject more on the internet and cut into the copper pipe to see what the inside looked like and it looked pretty good for 49-year-old pipe.  Another consideration was water pressure/flow in the duplex when multiple faucets/washers/hose bibs were being used in the past.  Everything connected to a common cold-water header.  It would be nice to separate the duplex into two separate systems with valves to shut off either side independently.  It would be nice to have the hose bibs on a third independent header. It also would be nice to get away from metal below the base flood level so any future flooding would not be an issue for the water supply headers. If I went down the path of making changes, all would need to come up to current code and it was going to take more time, effort, and money to complete the overall project. 

Then there was the question of the drain-waste-vent (DWV) system.  While not being a performance or maintenance issue, there were parts that were not to current code. The biggest issue was where the two washers entered a common pipe.  The connection was a 1 1/2" double tee (looks like a cross) and today it needs to be 2" lines with independent connections.  I talked to the County about this, and they said if I don't make any modifications, they would accept the DWV system as like-for-like.  

I decided to replace the copper piping but not DWV system.  I cut out all the copper piping and gave it to my tenant who with his friends helped during the clean-up and demo phases. It was worth some money as scrap and I figured it would cover all the beer and water consumed during those phases and then some.

My past experiences in plumbing were old school.  I have sweated copper, threaded black iron and galvanized pipe, and primed and glued PVC over the years for small plumbing projects.  I had heard good things about PEX but really didn't know much about it.  So, in the evenings, I begin researching it. I also spent significant time trying to understand installation considerations as well as the current International Plumbing Code. I learned that there are several types of PEX systems with the most common for DIY'ers being PEX-B or C.  The reason is the tool to crimp is much less expensive than the tool for PEX-A (expansion PEX) and as such it is the type most commonly available at Home Depot or Lowes.  The main drawback with B & C are all the fittings have IDs less than line size which would impact flow.  It would also mean that there would be some metal below the base flood level - the band or clamp used for crimping.  PEX-A connects differently. The tool expands the pipe to allow you a few seconds to make a connection then the pipe shrinks back down tightly gripping the fitting.  All the fittings have internal diameters the same as the pipe allowing more flow and there is no metal if you use plastic fittings.  PEX-A is commonly used by professional plumbers.  I decided to go with PEX-A and bite the bullet and buy the expensive PEX-A tool.

After passing the plumbing rough-in inspection on Jan 24th, it was time to finish the drywall, prime the walls and install tile. (The latter on one side of the duplex as we kept the tile on the other.) I paid to have tile installers install the tile as it was a much bigger task than I wanted to take on and I am very slow in comparison. 

To see the remainder of the project, please go to the next webpage -  Ian Project - continued (nautifox.com)