Library notes use the label Flood.
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Filed notes
SCIP
Not scored
A foam core with welded steel mesh on both faces, sprayed with shotcrete on site. Walls, roof, and floors can be the same system. Crews and shotcrete workmanship decide whether it is the right shell.
Flood vents
Not scored
Openings that let floodwater into an enclosure so hydrostatic pressure is relieved. Used in wet floodproofing below the required floor. A vent without the area the code requires is a hole, not a strategy.
Piles
Not scored
The house sits on piles, with the lowest floor above the flood requirement and the water free to pass underneath. Pile type, embedment, and the bracing are an engineer’s design, not a wall-system choice.
Elevated floor
Not scored
Living space raised above the design flood elevation, on piles, piers, or a stem wall with openings. What is allowed below that floor is as important as the height.
Slab on grade
Not scored
A concrete slab cast at or near the ground. Simple on a dry, flat lot. A poor fit where the flood elevation is above the slab, and a termite path if the slab-to-wall joint is casual.
Grade beam
Not scored
A reinforced concrete beam tying piles or piers together at or below grade. It is a foundation element, often paired with an elevated floor. It is not a wall system.
Wet floodproofing
Not scored
Letting floodwater in and out of an enclosure below the living floor, with flood-damage-resistant materials and openings sized to the code. The strategy accepts water. It does not keep the lower level dry.
Dry floodproofing
Not scored
Keeping water out of a structure with walls, seals, and often a way to resist hydrostatic load. Limited by code, by depth, and by how long the seal has to hold. Not a residential default.