Wind Load & Hurricane Code Requirements
Building code provisions, based on regional wind speed maps, requiring structures in high-wind areas to be designed for specific wind loads, with coastal hurricane-prone regions, Florida's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone among the strictest, imposing additional requirements like impact-resistant glazing or approved storm shutters on every opening.
Why it matters
In a high-velocity hurricane zone, the requirement generally applies to every opening on the building, not just the ones facing the most exposed direction, so a design that treats only the ocean-facing windows as needing impact protection is missing the actual scope of the code.
On a real project
A coastal condo renovation replaces windows on every side of the building with impact-rated glazing, not just the ocean-facing units, since the local hurricane-zone code doesn't limit the requirement to whichever side faces the water.
Who this matters most to
A Structural Engineer designs to the applicable wind load, while a Glazier installs the impact-rated glazing systems the code requires in hurricane-prone zones.
Where this goes wrong
A coastal renovation installs standard, non-impact-rated windows to save cost, assuming the requirement only applies to the most exposed side of the building. The project fails inspection under the local hurricane-zone code, and the homeowner's insurer separately refuses to write a policy without fully code-compliant glazing.
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