Foundation vents in flood plain

marriedmanw

I have run into a problem during the sale of our house. The west side of the yard is in a 500 year flood plain and the evalution report shows that the machinery is 9 inches below that level, which is the ductwork in the crawlspace.

Spoke with director who did survey and he suggested to bring in fill dirt and slope up on foundation of house till it's 9 inches from the floor level of entry door, or seal up all foundation vents and place new foundation vents no less than 9 inches from floor level. I thought about building 2' wall around crawlspace scuttle and put HVAC vent over scuttle which is 2'x3'. The house is 25'x45' and the crawlspace is 1000 sq ft.

Currently, there are 8 foundation vents total on house and if I seal them up then the new vents would go through the rim joist or ledger board. All vents are on top cinderblock row. I would not think that one large 2'x3' vent would be sufficient, or would it? I can get a truck load (7 tons) of fill dirt for $130 per load, but it is going to take alot of dirt since one side would need to be built up 2'.

Company doing survery stated they'd come back once we made changes so they could redo report and sent to loan company.

All suggestions are welcomed. Sale of my house is pending of these changes.

Daniel Holzman

I have never heard of the 500 year year floodplain being an issue with the sale of a house. The hundred year floodplain is normally the standard, if you are outside the hundred year zone, there should be no issue. I also do not understand why there was a surveyor involved, did you hire them or did the buyer hire them? I sense that there is more to this story then a 500 year floodplain vent issue.

joecaption

I also live in a flood prone area.
Unless you lift the whole house above the 100 year flood level you can not even get a loan or flood insurance.
We have to have flood vents and access crawl space doors.

Adding fill dirt around the foundation will do little good, and will also make it near impossible to gain access under the house. Covering vents will be a sure way to to have fungus and mold to form.

What's the flood insurance cost on that home? Lifting it above the flood level will make the premiums 0. and increse the resale value.

marriedmanw

I had to hire survey for a new elevation report which found the HVAC compressor below flood plain so that was elevated. Now the buyers lender is saying the duct work needs to be elevated but how the floor joist runs thats not possiable. I had the elevation survey printed off from local government website but buyers lender did not accept since it was done in 2001.

I had no problem when I purchased it with conv. mortgage but buyer is using USDA federal loan so we are jumping through hopes to satisfy lender.

marriedmanw

I don't want to think about the expense in lifting entire house.
I believe the thinking with the fill dirt would be to raise the earth so when they measured the numbers for the certificate would be within range. I will build a 3 sided wall around the crawlspace scuttle (block and mortar) that would not affect crawlspace access.

joecaption

A whole lot has changed since 2001. FHMA and a Gov. flood insurance has been nailed to the wall with people with homes build in flood plains and on the shores built way to low and way to close to the bays and oceans.
They fall down year after year and we have to pay to have them rebuild and just have them fall down again.
I my area, it's lift them and they will pay part of the cost or move out and they will buy the house and tare it down and turn it over to the nature concevitory.

marriedmanw

A few years ago I spoke with local government about lifting or buy out and they said to contact FEMA. FEMA said to contact local officials, so I never got straight information.

The house was built in 1981 and I was told in the flood plain direction was different, but by todays maps that would not allow house to be build on our property.

joecaption

May want to do some rechecking, things have changed a lot in the past few years.

GBrackins

Something is not quite right. the 500 year flood is shown on some Flood Insurance Rate Maps, but actually falls outside of the regulations. FEMA regulates within the 100 year Flood.

I have never heard of a 500 year flood plain causing any issues. Could be your state/local jurisdiction have additional regulations that may come into play in your case.

Mechanicals and ductwork when within the 100 year flood plain have to be above the base flood elevation. I myself know of no requirement for the 500 year flood plain.

Within the 100 year flood plain you are required to have one square inch of opening for every 100 square feet of enclosed space, with a minimum of two openings (on opposite sides). This is required when the elevation of your crawl space is below the base flood elevation. Again, I know of no base flood elevation for the 500 year flood plain.

There is only one manufactured flood vent that I know of that complies with the FEMA requirements. It is called "Smartvent." It is an engineered flood vent and is rated for 200 square feet of enclosed space. Typical lourvered foundation vents do not comply with the FEMA requirement of allowing an object 3" in diameter to pass through. (Don't ask me why it has to be 3"). The vent is 8" x 16" in dimension.

Sounds like you need to have your surveyor show you in black and white the regulations regarding the 500 year flood plain.

My humble thoughts ....

__________________
Gary

"You get what you pay for, and sometimes free costs more!"

joecaption

500 years does seem to be a bit of a strech.
Does anyone really think that house will still be standing that far away.
All my local code refure to a 100 year flood.

ddawg16

Just curious.....how long has it been since the last flood? If less than 400 years....good chance the new owners have nothing to worry about.....

So, what happens with the 1000 year metorite issue? GMAFB.

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