Tallahassee, FL— The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles released a report after the state's four hurricanes that showed that factory-built homes built to the new tougher codes did not suffer any major damage from the storms.

The Florida Bureau of Manufactured Home and RV Construction surveyed 11,800 homes in 77 communities in seven counties in the path of Hurricane Charley. All homes installed to the new 1999 tie-down regulations stood firm on their foundations. A vast majority of the pre-1994 homes that sustained damage were as a results of more vulnerable post-factory attachments.

Orders for new manufactured homes have increased by 30% over this same time last year, according to Frank Williams, executive director of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, Inc. Approximately 20,000 factory-built homes were sold throughout the state this year.

The recent hurricanes have contributed to the sales increase, and the homes' track record in the recent storms has created new prospects. Factory-built homes built to the federal building codes in place since 1994 held up well against Florida's recent hurricanes, according to Mike Wnek, the state association's public relations chairman.

Click here for printer friendly version