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Is my pool cage hurricane-code compliant?
Seminole County is not in Florida’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone — that designation covers Miami-Dade and Broward counties only. Screen enclosures here are engineered to an ultimate design wind speed of 129 mph as Risk Category I structures. Whether a specific older frame meets the standard that was current when it was built is a separate, harder question, and this page states plainly what is and is not verified.
What “pre-2002 vs. post-2002” actually refers to
Florida adopted its first unified statewide building code in 2002, in the regulatory tightening that followed Hurricane Andrew. Frames built before that date were engineered to whichever local code applied at the time, which varied by jurisdiction and was often less stringent than what followed. The appraiser’s own CAMA extract puts the median Winter Springs screen enclosure build year at 1997, with 61.2% built before 2000 — meaning most of this city’s original cages predate that 2002 tightening.
What that does and does not mean for you
- It does not mean an older cage is unsafe. It means the frame was engineered to an older standard, and a full structural evaluation — not this page — is the only way to know how it compares to today’s.
- A like-for-like mesh rescreen does not trigger re-engineering of the frame, because it does not change the structure.
- Structural frame work — a new upright, a rebuilt beam, any change in dimensions — is a City of Winter Springs Building Division permit matter and does get evaluated against current code.
| Risk category | Wind speed | Figure | Applies to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Risk Category I | 129 mph | Figure 1609C | Screen enclosures. Low hazard to human life on failure. |
| Risk Category II | 139 mph | Figure 1609A | Ordinary buildings, including houses. Commonly quoted, but not the figure that governs a cage. |
| Risk Categories III and IV | 149 mph | Figure 1609B | High-occupancy and essential facilities. |
Hurricane-code questions
Is Seminole County in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone?
No. The High-Velocity Hurricane Zone applies to Miami-Dade and Broward counties only, under the Florida Building Code. Seminole County’s ultimate design wind speed is 129 mph for Risk Category I structures (the category screen enclosures fall in), 139 mph for Risk Category II and 149 mph for Risk Categories III and IV — a materially lighter design requirement than the HVHZ counties carry. Some competitor pages claim Seminole County is in the HVHZ; that claim is incorrect.
Does rescreening trigger a re-engineering of an old frame?
Not on its own. A like-for-like mesh rescreen does not change the enclosure’s dimensions or structural members, so it does not by itself require the frame to be brought up to a newer wind-speed standard. Any structural frame work is a different question and is a City of Winter Springs Building Division permit matter.
- Screen enclosure permits and code — the full Sec. 6-86 setback and permit picture
- Rust stains on pool cage screws and anchors — the fastener condition that most affects an older frame
- Why do screen splines keep popping out? — why the frame usually outlasts the mesh here
Ask about your cage’s specific era
Tell us your subdivision and roughly when the cage went up — the plat’s median year on the service areas page is a fair starting guess if you do not know.
- Phone
- (689) 330-0968
- Serving
- Winter Springs, FL 32708 and Seminole County