In the launch episode of SAWDUST, a new video series by Sweenor Builders, we dive right into one of the most important aspects of building on the coast building homes that handle harsh hurricane conditions and account for storm surge.

Jeff and the team are building in a V Zone, which is considered the most hazardous of Special Flood Zone Areas and common to waterfront beachfront properties. The house will need to meet strict specifications to withstand hurricane winds and storm surge.

Construction starts with the installation of helical piers. Sometimes called screw piles, screw anchors, helical piles, and helical anchors – they are driven deep into the soil by hydraulic machinery to underpin the home’s foundation to met required uplift resistance. Sometimes this can be 6 feet deep, sometimes you won’t meet required resistance until 30 feet!

Next, we begin the pouredinplace concrete structure. Our house must be built on these sturdy piers so that the underside of the support structure is above the predicted surge level for the area 16 feet above mean high tide. Everything built below this safety level must be either strong enough to resist the force of the waves or weak enough to safely "break away" and disintegrate under wave action.

Watch along for insider’s look at the process!

0:00 Introduction
2:18 Waterfront Home Demolition
3:40 Meet Our Homeowner
5:15 My Tool Belt with Adam Spink
7:45 Helical Pier Install
13:55 Rebar and Concrete
16:58 Flying Carrying Beams

IN THIS EPISODE
Jeff Sweenor, @JeffSweenor on Instagram
Adam Spink, @aspink_ on Instagram
Jeremie Cabeceiras
John Stedman and Sons Excavating
Heritage Concrete

DIRECTED by Thomas Draudt, @actualsizeproductions on Instagram

Follow this #CoastalBuilding project at #SBISawdust. Or, for more about our coastal building work, follow @Sweenor_Builders on Instagram or visit www.SweenorBuilders.com

© 2020 Sweenor Builders, Inc.