Did you ever live in a Concrete block Home?

Having lived in New York most of my life it was not such an easy or understandable thing that people in Florida live in concrete block homes.

I related concrete to basements, dampness & cold.  That is not the case in Florida.  I live and work in Ocala Florida.  Ocala is centrally located just 40 miles south of Gainesville, 65 miles from "The Mouse" (Disney of course), 45 minutes from the Gulf and 1.5-2 hours from the Atlantic/East Coast.

These two homes are located in very nice subdivisions, the one above is in Harvest Meadow, it is a 4 bedroom 2 bath pool home built in 2005, the one to the left is in Meadow Glenn and was recently closed.  These homes are built to the current codes and it is anticipated that they will have less challenges than their older competition. 

The challenges we face here are the heat, occasional storms and pests ie ants, termites etc.  This is where concrete homes are beneficial.  The barrier produced by the concrete inhibits penetration of heat & pests, however if there are cracks in the foundation that can provide access to pests.  It is very important that the foundation be secure with minimal or no cracking.

No home or structure of any sort is any contest for a tornado regardless of location and that includes a block home.

There are locations in Florida where certain kinds of structures are not necessarily a good idea, such as an older mobile home on the southern or eastern border of Florida.  Inland the newer, stronger and structurally regulated homes seem to fare very well.

Regardless of the type of home structure that you choose it is always recommended that you have a thorough home inspection by a qualified home inspector.