Block floodplain foundation with flood doors 2

[floodbuilder]

After having a foundation that was suitable for a small home in a normal area and scaling off the county maps to set the home off of the 100 and 500 year planes. The county required me to supply them with a base flood elevation. The first lesson learned, don't trust municipality literature regarding floodplain locations.
So now after budgeting for a three to four foot foundation, I must be 4 foot above BFE or 10.25 feet off existing grade.
Now if need be, I am not opposed to 10 ft conc. block piers, although aesthetically it will trash the look of the house.
I have heard that flood doors ( openings in the foundation
that will blow out during a flood ) can be used but I am finding it extremely difficult to find info on these and the correct way to size them.
Can anyone point me in the right direction or have any experience with these?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks,

 

[RWF7437]

Go to FEMA's website.

http://www.fema.gov

They have much useful literature on flood proofing and on estimating BFE by approximate methods.

Good luck

 

[RWF7437]

Also see:

http://www.pdhcenter.com/cgi-bin/quiz/courses/courselist.cgi?class_name=h110

You could design the doors with louvers or vents. For a mobile home, FEMA requires at least 1 sq. in. of vent area per square foot of floor area (foot print). Don't know why this wouldn't work for any other kind of structure. Nothing scientific here, just FEMA's arbitrary rule.

Good luck

 

[boo1]

see

http://www.fema.gov/fima/fema361.shtm