HOMES OF THE TREASURE COAST
50
HURRICANE PROOFING
trusses. Heavy ties also bolt the walls to the
concrete slab.
In the back of the house are tension ties
from the trusses to the poured concrete
walls. Hurricane straps run the entire interior
perimeter at each truss.
“We use EPS (expanded polystyrene)
block and pump in the concrete,” Harkins
says.
John Cherveny of Homes by JMC in Stuart
recently completed a $1.3 million remodel
of a 4,500- square-foot waterfront home in
Martin County, complete with a safe room.
Built beyond the specifications used in
Dade County, the exterior walls and the roof
have extra steel with a solid pour of concrete.
The roof’s barrel tiles were attached
with adhesive instead of nails.
“There are air vents to provide oxygen for
the safe house, and if you can’t leave in the
event of a hurricane or tornado, this room
would be the place to be,” says Cherveny,
whose company has built hundreds of projects
on the Treasure Coast for 30 years.
Homes by JMC also remodels older
homes, often adding strength with improvements
to both the interior and exterior.
“We often add straps to trusses and install
hurricane impact windows and doors,”
Cherveny says. “We also correct architectural
mistakes in the process.”
JOHN CHERVENY
Homes by JMC included this interior safe room in its remodel of a Martin County home.
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