Going up!

Our lot in Tarpon is in what's called a VE zone. Here's what FEMA says about it: "Areas subject to inundation by the 1-percent-annual chance flood event with additional hazards due to storm-induced velocity wave action." What it means is that we'll have to build the bottom floor of our house above BFE (base flood elevation) in order to get flood insurance.

BFE in that area is 16 feet - our slab is going to be at elevation 2-3 feet so we're going to have about a 14' high garage! (with break-away walls, no less). We decided that some sort of elevator would be a must, so last night we did some research. Here's what we found out:

First, residential elevators are EXPENSIVE, no matter what you choose. There are different types: traction, roped hydraulic, and winding drum. These all look pretty traditional. What really caught my eye is a newer technology called a pneumatic vacuum elevator.





It looks like one of those tubes at the bank drive-thru and works pretty much the same way...only instead of shooting up the tube, the cab goes about 30' per minute - not too bad.
I would feel like Jane Jetson every time I got in :o)

It will be interesting to see what we end up with.