I will say it again, it amazes me how many people seem to not be happy with the quality here, but bought anyway...

RIGHT !!!! Now is not the time. This topic wasn't just an innocent little question in passing. If only a few people become anywhere from a little uncomfortable to outright panicked, then I suppose the OP will find joy in that. I stand by my criticism of this thread at this time of an impending severe storm coming.

That's simply not true. :ho:

After Andrew in 92 the codes were changed, a friend of mine built Sunrise, he Built Marjorie Stoneman HS--he was the person who told me about the south Fl codes

Just checked its code that all s.Fl doors must swing outward in HVZ areas

Look again/\. The "bashing" was the "stirring the pot" remark about social media, which implied their post wasn't real or justified in some way.

Yes!

She made a reasonable assessment and gave her opinion. I thought it fair and valid. I agree with her.

So... our doors swing inward. Is that because we are not technically in south Florida?

What does HVZ mean? I Googled it, to no avail.

Most important our block designer was build in 2011-what is the wind rating of the roof, windows ,etc ?

I trust The Villages implicitly. Their track record says it all. I do not care for negative agitators from the outside..

Actually it's HVHZ, High Velocity Hurricane Zone
Steve

Do You Trust The Villages? Yes I do.

:bigbow:

This might help........
 

explain the door situation:

Should Exterior Doors Swing In Or Out?

This one shows we are in a HVHZ..........

Are You in a High Velocity Hurricane Zone?

Means Humans vs Zombies in the gaming world.

As I understand it the recent heavy rains have filled the holding ponds to near capacity and saturated the ground so there may be little ability to accommodate the rain a hurricane or tropical storm brings without some flooding occurring. The water delivered by Irma caused the most problems.

Since TV is well inland hopefully wind speed will be greatly diminished. Although the homes in TV are surely built to whatever the code was at their time of erection, they are constructed so rapidly I wonder about concrete curing and every little but significant construction step and feature being correctly followed. I try not to do things in a rush. The contractors are highly experienced and capable builders and the homes are pretty much cookie cutter so they are probably satisfactory.

What ponds have you observed that are at near capacity?

For those who seem concerned that building "too fast" may = inferior construction.......what have you actually experienced to portend that is the case here in TV.

This developer has a well established routine and sequencing of progression not afforded to most developments.

How many inferior construction complaints here in TV has there ever been to warrant such an accusation?
The allegations are more urban legend like based on an unwarranted prejudice.

Last fall, we had Romac install hurricane rated, mandated along the coast windows in several rooms. So, we feel comfortable about riding out the storm except that we have a porta potty out front because of the construction of a front patio. I told my neighbors that I am not going to ride out the hurricane in it to weigh it down.

T & D says that they will try to remove it before the storm does.

Paradise Lake had water rippling over the docks behind peoples' houses there.

When??

I agree the ponds were full. But irrigation and movement of water for ten days lowered the ponds.
The post I was questioning said the ponds have been filled to capacity. (???)

At one time this was the highest it got from what I saw at Paradise. It's way down now along with the lakes at Mira Mesa, Chula Vista and Hilltop.


Steve

The front page of our local paper had a great article today about the water diverting system we have here in The Villages. The infrastructure was created to specifically divert water from the detention basins on to the golf courses. The system worked like a charm during and after Irma. It did what it was created to do......keep our homes safe from flooding.

Let the golfers complain about the courses being closed.

This would be great - and seems to always be great. Except the Villages have already undergone a rather long stretch of rain, and the soil is already fairly saturated from diverting the retention ponds for the past few weeks.

If they get dumped on in just a few more days, it might be more than they can handle if there's no place left for the water to go.

I wouldn't panic, but I wouldn't be in denial of the distinct possibility either. Cautious optimism seems to be the most appropriate approach at this point.

In other words - trust in the lord, but tie up your camel.

“Cautious optimism” is very reasonable.

TV drainage system is excellent. But even the best drainage systems have a capacity which can be exceeded.

Why do those moving from the North think all Southern construction is not up to par? Hurricane codes for construction in FL changed after Andrew. I would feel more safe in a concrete block, stucco house than one with siding but they are what they are. If you don't feel safe then get on I75 and head North.

Yes, and in either case why wait until a hurricane is almost here to worry about it?

That seems like looking to see if there is water in the pool AFTER jumping off the diving board.

But, for your consideration, the roof system on a block home is no better in a hurricane than the roof on a frame home. The building code specs are the same.

We think this, because we live in states where there are homes built in the 1700s that are a) still standing, b) 100% liveable c) with people actually living in them. Other than modern updates to fixtures, electricity, adding water pumps and other peripherals, the structures themselves have continued to support the people living in them.

We know the value of antique construction. New construction up here isn't special, it's just new.

More like, they're looking to see if there's water in the pool AFTER they've decided to go to the pool that day. You expect the pool to be open and useable. And you don't know that it isn't until you show up.

People move to the Villages when they move. They have their dates for moving, and that's when they make their move. They don't expect a hurricane to decide THAT week to show up. Not even during hurricane season. If they did, no one would ever move to Florida during hurricane season.

Dismissing their concerns is just dismissive and condescending.

I bought a concrete block courtyard villa, with a roof that was inspected by my insurance company's recommended inspector prior to closing to ensure that it meets the hurricane codes. It does (and it was built twenty years ago by The Villages). We went through Irma's 90+ MPH winds with no damage to the house or roof, so I'm not worried much at all. People near storm surge areas and who live in old houses (or worse, mobile homes) should worry. I don't pay any attention to the Al Roker's of the world - they seem to take too much pleasure in their gloom and doom.

You can't observe any Villages ponds if you don't live in TV or even in Florida for that matter. Maybe he has a telescope.

Actually, you can. Google Earth has been around for awhile now.

I think you misunderstood

It's like buying and moving in and then asking if there is a roof. Would you just assume there is a roof? Would you assume thre is good water? Would you assume there is anything when spending what amounts to the largest ?purchase most people make.

My point was why buy in the villages before you know what you are buying. Quality of construction was a number one concern when we were looking into purchasing. Asking after moving in if the homes are built well, seems a bit too late, whether there is a hurricane coming or not.

I don't feel that is condescending at all.

I definitely misunderstood and apologize. There are definitely things I, as a lifelong northerner, would not have even thought to ask about til after I had already decided to move to the Villages.

The lovebug issue is one - we don't have them up north, and I would never have thought to even ask about it, until reading posts here and seeing an actual infestation INSIDE one of the homes we looked at last September.

Another would be visibility in the golf cart tunnels. Until driving through one in the Villages, I didn't even know they existed, let alone wonder whether or not visibility inside them is difficult or that one's golf cart needs to be specially equipped to handle them.

The smell of the water when you get your car washed after driving through love bugs...never, ever, ever. Not ever, in a million years would I have ever thought to ask about that. And I didn't ask about it. The single-most disgusting smell, worse than when I went to summer camp and had to take my turn cleaning the latrines.

And then to find out that this is what the entire neighborhood smells like at 6AM when everyone's sprinklers go off...if I had known then - but I didn't know to ask because this kind of thing just isn't a thing in the north. It's a foreign concept to us. It's like when someone comes up north and doesn't know to ask about snow tires or all-weather radials.

1. What does the length of time to build the house have to do with quality?
2. I had three houses built up north. Quality builders. One or two workers would show up then delays for the next tradesman to appear. In the Villages I have never seen less than three on a site or a day without activity.
3. I trust The Villages. The better question is "Can I trust my homeowner's insurance?"

Absolutely agree, there are things that are "obvious" (build quality) and things one can not know - you can't know what you don't know.

That is why so many take multiple trips and stay sometimes for months until they are comfortable with what they think they know before buying!

In our case we came 4 times before purchasing, each trip had a different purpose. Wife and I then had a couple long discussions and came to our conclusion. One of the conclusions was that there were still a lot of things we didn't know, and if they were bad, we would deal with them when they happened.

According to https://www.techjunkie.com : "According to the Google Earth blog, Google Earth updates about once a month. However, this doesn't mean that every image is updated once a month – far from it. In fact, the average map data is between one and three years old"