Семья в Кис-Вест потратила годы и сотни тысяч долларов, чтобы приподнять дом над уровнем моря

Jessica A. and Peter E. Batty took a few years to get high and dry. It was complicated. It was expensive, but “it was worth it,” said Peter. “Jessica loved the neighborhood, loved the lot” and now “I love my house.” When they bought 3717 Eagle Ave. on Jan. 6, 2017, the Battys were planning to renovate it during the time it took to sell the house they were then living in. They weren’t counting on Hurricane Irma that September. Irma set them back a spell until permits were in place, which also included a side addition of roughly 400 square feet to what had been 2,056 square feet of interior space. By January of 2018 everything from drywall to kitchen cabinets were finished. The couple expected to move in by late February. That is, until the City of Key West’s floodplain manager red tagged the already permitted project, citing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s 50% Rule. Although the 1973 ruling that affected homes in floodplains said homes had to be elevated if costs to repair or upgrade were more than half of the structures’ market value, not all states and coastal cities had been forced to comply. With FEMA flood costs soaring, the feds periodically upgraded details. In 2016, an astute Keys Realtor, John Parce, was paying attention and noted in a blog that a FEMA contractor was two years “through a five-year project called RiskMap to identify, assess, and reduce our flood risk.” His blog read that FEMA had initiated a coastal flood risk map that affected South Florida, and completion for Monroe County’s map was “estimated to be 2019.” Key West, like other coastal cities, was getting in line with the updated flood insurance risk maps. Though not quite at the estimated timeline, January 2018 was close enough for the building department to perform a re-inspection of 3717 Eagle. It found renovation costs to be more than half the value of the $675,000 purchase price; so, the Battys had to raise their home at least 3 feet off the ground. Initially, the couple considered fighting for their already permitted project, but after consulting a lawyer, the fees and the year or two a lawsuit could take nailed their decision to elevate. “We hired a Louisiana company that had been in business lifting homes for 100 years,” Peter said. “It only took three days to lift the house, but the company didn’t do foundations.” By now, it was May of 2018, and Peter said it would take months just to get a local company for the foundation. What’s more, when the Louisiana home lifters did their three-day job in June, they said they only had a brief opening in August, or they would not be able to return for a year — maybe more — to lower 3717. Not an option. Peter assured them he would have the foundation secured in two months. They were skeptical, but he, with help from his business partner and many hours of overtime with friends and a certified engineer, laid blocks and completed the concrete work in July. The Louisiana crew was back in Key West a month later. The entire structure was raised 7 feet, 5 inches, then lowered back down onto its new foundation at 5 feet, 5 inches above the 12,000-square-foot lot. Then, the next building phase began: subfloors and new porches; plastering stucco exterior walls and interior floors; rebuilding interior walls and windows. Fortunately, the Battys already had a few renovation jobs behind them — Olivia Street in Key West and one on Shark Key. Nevertheless, there were lessons. “I love my house this way, but in retrospect, I would have raised another 3 feet higher to get under-house storage,” he said. “This was the first concrete house elevated in Key West, and that cost alone was $92,000. It would have been more cost effective to lift the house only 3 feet and fill it in beneath.” Of course, that would require removing ceilings, taking off the roof and pretty much renovating everything. But then, that is basically what the Battys did. Twice. Jessica and Peter Batty moved into their home in September of 2018. The interior renovation building permit granted on Oct. 24, 2017, was finalized on Sept. 12, 2019. The couple was high and dry by then, but on Aug. 19 Peter and crew were back on the job: The new gazebo and pool were installed and approved on Dec. 11, 2019.