There are a lot of reasons to know what your apartment home is constructed with. In Florida, it just doesn’t make sense to live in a home or apartment that isn’t 100% concrete block construction. Whether it be fire, wind, noise, rain/moisture or termites it’s only a matter of time before wood construction comes back to haunt you. Take musician Tony Chaplin who was forced to leave his apartment in southeast Orlando. “It was a pain moving all my stuff”. Or Carole and Jim Wray who were forced out of their apartment when termites swarmed their unit. A nearby stairway collapsed, frightening the Wrays and others. “An older couple had just gotten in the door Before the stairs collapsed. They had to take people out of their apartments in a cherry picker. I ended up taking a week off from work to move, for which I wasn’t reimbursed,” Carole said. “The whole thing was scary and very inconvenient to say the least, and it soured us on wood construction in Florida. Our new condo is block construction, so we’re happy with it.
These stories aren’t uncommon in Florida. “Indifferent maintenance, wood construction and steamy, dank weather are eating away at apartments in greater Orlando”, says Dan Tracey of the Orlando Sentinel. “At one point in time five major complexes in the area were closed by the state, county or city authorities, leading to fears that more of the area’s sprawling complexes were in jeopardy. Rotting, mold-encrusted wood, decrepit stairs, balconies and railings, termite riddled beams- all are increasingly common sights for tenants and building inspectors. Wood constructed apartments and condos became fashionable in the late 1970s and have continued ever since but Florida’s high humidity and torrential rains quickly ravage wood construction. The trend for using lots of wood in apartments, condos, and homes originated in California. As the president of a major apartment developer in Florida said,”
There are also other problems, noise, storm damage, and pest infestations are just a few. Bet you didn’t know that noise problems are always in the top four of tenant complaints. It’s true. In fact, a wood frame apartment or condo is on average, 6 times “noisier” than the same apartment or condo built with concrete block. Unwanted vibrations and sound are surrounding you on all sides as well as from above. Sound infiltrates an apartment, condo, or a single-family home from all directions, when it’s constructed with wood. With concrete block construction noise from the outside is reflected away before it has a chance to enter the dwelling. Noise from one apartment to another is isolated to the originating unit rather than resonating to neighboring units. It may not seem like a big deal but if you have ever lived with noisy neighbors you know how they can affect your entire home life.
We realize that because most apartments are built to look like they are constructed with concrete block, but are really wood frame, it may not be easy for you to know the difference. That’s why we’ve developed this handy concrete block apartment finder. We’ve done the footwork for you. Just punch in a zip code and in a second you get a list of every concrete block apartment complex in that area-as long as it’s Florida. Try it out!
