Engineered flood vents, what are they and what do they do? While many homeowners are concerned with how their homes look and function on a beautiful day, it is even more important how your home functions during the most challenging times. One of those situations is when your home is in a flood situation. The true test during a flood is whether the homeowner has the right tools to stand up during a flood.
One of the most important things to look for on your home is whether the crawl space, the open section under most homes, are sufficiently ready for when a flood comes. The questions to ask are, “Does my crawl space have the correct vents for flood water to escape?” or “Why is it important to know the difference between engineered and non-engineered flood vents?”
Along with Chris Qualtieri, our Certified Floodplain Manager, showing you the differences along with FEMA rules, the following are some answers to some questions you may have about engineered vents:
What is a Flood Vent?
What is the Purpose of a Flood Vent?
What is the Difference between Non-Engineered and Engineered Openings?
opening in the vent itself. It’s the amount of air/water flow or net open area that is used to meet FEMA requirements for Flood Vents. You will require 1 square inch of free area for each square foot of enclosed space to meet the FEMA requirements.
The following is Chris Qualtieri, our Certified Floodplain Manager, prepared a short video showing our 8″ x 16″ Engineered Flood Vent and explaining FEMA’s rules concerning the Flood Vents:
For more information concerning Engineered Flood Vents see FEMA’s Technical Bulletin 1 / 2008.
Please if you have any question contact Chris at 757-274-9989 or email him at chris@crawlspacedoors.com. You can also go to the following pages for additional information on flood vents: https://crawlspacedoors.com/product-category/flood-vents/