6/9/2005

Mercedes Homes Unveils Hurricane-Resistant Homes in Brevard County

MELBOURNE, FLA. (June 9, 2005) – At the beginning of what hurricane forecasters predict will be another active hurricane season, Mercedes Homes, in conjunction with HUD’s Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), unveiled two new hurricane-resistant home prototypes in Huntington Lakes, a Mercedes Homes community in Rockledge, Fla.

Representatives of Mercedes Homes, PATH, FEMA, the Florida Home Builders’ Association (FHBA) and the Florida Energy Extension Service (FEES) offered their various perspectives about the techniques used to construct these homes and how these methods can be applied to housing throughout Florida and beyond to minimize the impact of these devastating natural disasters.

“Last year’s hurricanes taught us that while home construction has come a long way since Hurricane Andrew, the industry still had a lot to learn, ” said Scott Buescher, Chief Operating Officer for Mercedes Homes. “Mercedes was already working with these experts and their agencies to build more hurricane-resistant homes. As a result of some of the studies and research this team conducted last year, we’ve been able to incorporate even more protective features into these prototypes. While we hope that we will never see a season like last year’s, we believe that including features such as these in homes in hurricane-prone areas will help the industry and home buyers.”

Some of the elements of these homes that were unveiled at the event include stronger structural design to reduce damage from high winds and cast-in-place concrete walls to provide hurricane resistance. Several design features were also included to reduce water intrusion such as out-swing entry doors, removable hurricane shutters, reconfigured soffit vent openings, baffled roof vents and an elastomeric sealant.

Also on hand during the event were Bill Zoeller of Steven Winter Associates Inc., Paul “Buz” Ausley of HUD, Michele Delaney of FHBA and Dr. Pierce Jones from the University of Florida, director of FEES.