# Adding fill around one side of the house to raise LAG



## snbr2011 (May 12, 2018)

Hi Folks, 

My name is Doug and my wife and I bought a house in a flood zone AE although there has never been any flood on the area. House never had any water issue. However there is a small creek not far from the house across the street behind some of our neighbors house down on a slope. We knew about the insurance which is 2k per year but what's stressing us the most is the whole 50% rule on renovations. We had a CE done and it showed that our LAG is about 8'' below the BFE. We are literally freaking out as to what we should do. We have been searching online for people that have added fill on those low areas to raise the LAG to meet the BFE which is a very small area. Thing is we dont know whats involved in the process. We have been told that the town is a bit restrictive when it comes to flood zones. Any feedback from you knowledgeable folks would help us tremendously. I am in Fairfield CT



Thanks

Doug and Kelly


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## mark handler (May 12, 2018)

Contact a local Design Professional


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## snbr2011 (May 12, 2018)

What kind of design professional should I seek?



mark handler said:


> Contact a local Design Professional


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## cda (May 12, 2018)

Someone like this???



http://seminor.com/services/


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## snbr2011 (May 12, 2018)

Thank you very much! I will call them on Monday.




cda said:


> Someone like this???
> 
> 
> 
> http://seminor.com/services/


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## cda (May 12, 2018)

snbr2011 said:


> Thank you very much! I will call them on Monday.




I just picked that out of the al gore net,

So check around.

I had a company reslope my yard, because of two floods in a non flood area???

They came out and surveyed and contoured the lot


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## snbr2011 (May 12, 2018)

I am struggling with this FEMA 50% rule. I will see what I can find but there has to be a way out. Thanks





cda said:


> I just picked that out of the al gore net,
> 
> So check around.
> 
> ...


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## cda (May 12, 2018)

One counties explanation::


http://www.colliercountyfl.gov/Home/ShowDocument?id=41020


Do 49%???

I wonder if you do say 30% this year and 30 % in say two years,,,  is that over the 50???


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## snbr2011 (May 12, 2018)

Interesting read, I had read something similar. I totally understand the need for insurance.  From what I have read basement equipments are insured under the house insurance. My problem is with this stupid 50% rule.


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## cda (May 13, 2018)

snbr2011 said:


> Interesting read, I had read something similar. I totally understand the need for insurance.  From what I have read basement equipments are insured under the house insurance. My problem is with this stupid 50% rule.




As in if you flood and cost is more than 50??

Or you renovate more than 50??


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## snbr2011 (May 13, 2018)

Staying within the 50% rule, lets say structure market value is at 100k and sticking to 50k in renovations is a hard task.


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## cda (May 13, 2018)

snbr2011 said:


> Staying within the 50% rule, lets say structure market value is at 100k and sticking to 50k in renovations is a hard task.



Yep

Put in the “rules” anything about going 30% one year and say 30 % another??

As in can you do renovations over the years as long as you keep below the 50???


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## snbr2011 (May 13, 2018)

That's something i will find out tomorrow when I go to the town. What a load of BS this has been i am not going to lie.




cda said:


> Yep
> 
> Put in the “rules” anything about going 30% one year and say 30 % another??
> 
> As in can you do renovations over the years as long as you keep below the 50???


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## cda (May 13, 2018)

snbr2011 said:


> That's something i will find out tomorrow when I go to the town. What a load of BS this has been i am not going to lie.




Yep get the government involved and the Goveenment involved and just a whole lot of fun!!!

Good luck

Keep us updated 

May check this coming week and there should be some better answers


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## snbr2011 (May 13, 2018)

Yeah! The joys of being a home owner. Need to ask permission to fart in your property SMH




cda said:


> Yep get the government involved and the Goveenment involved and just a whole lot of fun!!!
> 
> Good luck
> 
> ...


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## mark handler (May 13, 2018)

Everyone who builds in Natural Disaster zones are relying on the government to bail them out.
Be it Wildfire zones, Hurricane Zones, tornado zones or Flood zones. The American taxpayer has to bail the same people out time and time again. If you rebuild, you need to alter the building and not build the same old way. You need to try to prevent it from happening again and again. Whether or not you believe it the weather is changing, The weather is not going to get any better. Storms, floods and other natural disasters are getting worse not better.
Most existing houses in the US, built in natural disaster zones, do not meet the NFIP requirements and must adhere to the 50% rule. Most houses built in accordance with the 2009, 2012 and later editions of the International Residential Code (IRC) meet the NFIP requirements and are not subject to the 50% rule.
Pre-FIRM structures are allowed to remain non-conforming to floodplain management requirements until the building undergoes repairs and/or improvements that exceed 50% of the structure’s market value prior to improvements.
The *cumulative substantial improvement rule* means that improvements will be tracked over a period of time (varies with each county); Therefore, when the *CUMULATIVE* cost of a pre-FIRM structure’s improvements exceeds 50%, the entire structure will need to be brought up to current floodplain management regulations. So you may not be able to Split the improvements over a short period of time, as suggested.


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## steveray (May 14, 2018)

You can't "fill" in a flood zone...It just pushes more "flood" down the line to people that are playing by the rules...Was this to be a "flip" house? If not, just stretch your improvements over time and don't worry about it...If you are having a hard time spending less than $50,000 on a $100,000 house then you should be able to pretty much rebuild it anyway....


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## snbr2011 (May 14, 2018)

Its not a flip its the house we plan on staying for a long time.  Stretching the improvements might be the way to go but there are rules for that as well because they backtrack what you have spent on the house. Pretty much a trap. House and neighbors had never had any issue with flooding, ever. I am looking into a LOMR-F as well.





steveray said:


> You can't "fill" in a flood zone...It just pushes more "flood" down the line to people that are playing by the rules...Was this to be a "flip" house? If not, just stretch your improvements over time and don't worry about it...If you are having a hard time spending less than $50,000 on a $100,000 house then you should be able to pretty much rebuild it anyway....


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## ADAguy (May 30, 2018)

mark handler said:


> Everyone who builds in Natural Disaster zones are relying on the government to bail them out.
> Be it Wildfire zones, Hurricane Zones, tornado zones or Flood zones. The American taxpayer has to bail the same people out time and time again. If you rebuild, you need to alter the building and not build the same old way. You need to try to prevent it from happening again and again. Whether or not you believe it the weather is changing, The weather is not going to get any better. Storms, floods and other natural disasters are getting worse not better.
> Most existing houses in the US, built in natural disaster zones, do not meet the NFIP requirements and must adhere to the 50% rule. Most houses built in accordance with the 2009, 2012 and later editions of the International Residential Code (IRC) meet the NFIP requirements and are not subject to the 50% rule.
> Pre-FIRM structures are allowed to remain non-conforming to floodplain management requirements until the building undergoes repairs and/or improvements that exceed 50% of the structure’s market value prior to improvements.
> The *cumulative substantial improvement rule* means that improvements will be tracked over a period of time (varies with each county); Therefore, when the *CUMULATIVE* cost of a pre-FIRM structure’s improvements exceeds 50%, the entire structure will need to be brought up to current floodplain management regulations. So you may not be able to Split the improvements over a short period of time, as suggested.


Good comments all MH.


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## JBI (May 31, 2018)

Have you considered requesting a map amendment? Most local laws created to address flood zone development have a process for map amendments...


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