Planning and Designing Buildings in Coastal Areas

The Planning and Designing Buildings in Coastal Areas online PDH course is a part of the Building Design category of courses. This course provides a summary of all recommendations for exceeding National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulatory requirements concerning coastal construction.

In general, homes in coastal areas must be designed and built to withstand higher loads and more extreme conditions. Homes in coastal areas will require more maintenance and upkeep. Because of their exposure to higher loads and extreme conditions, homes in coastal areas will cost more to design, construct, maintain, repair, and insure. The course gives guidance on sitting the building on site, building form, lowest floor elevation V Zone design and construction certification.

This course is based on FEMA “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction”, Technical Fact Sheet Series, FEMA P-499.

This course is intended for use by architects, civil  and structural engineers, design and construction professionals, owners, facility managers, students and others interested in learning about planning and designing buildings in coastal areas.

Learning Objectives

At the end of the course, you will be able to:

• discuss how coastal construction requirements are different from those for inland construction
• explain the characteristics that make for a successful coastal building
• summarize recommendations for exceeding National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulatory requirements concerning coastal construction
• explain the purpose of Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs), highlight features that are important to coastal builders, and explain how to obtain FIRMs, DFIRMs, and Flood Insurance Studies (FISs)
• describe the benefits of exceeding the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) minimum elevation requirements
• identify common construction practices that violate NFIP regulations, which result in significantly higher flood insurance premiums
• discuss the NFIP Elevation Certificate
• explain the certification requirements for structural design and methods of construction in V Zones
• recommend design and construction practices that reduce the likelihood of flood damage in the event that flood levels exceed the Base Flood Elevation (BFE)