Rockport, Texas
Home inspections in Rockport, TX
Hurricane Harvey’s eye came ashore near Rockport and Fulton in August 2017, and Aransas County is one of the coastal counties where the state’s windstorm certificate applies. Jeremy Luera travels from Cibolo, about 160 miles away, to inspect Rockport homes from the roof down to the space under a raised floor. Your report arrives within 24 hours.
- Austin
- San Antonio
- Schertz
- Cibolo home base
- Rockport
- Rio Grande Valley McAllen, Harlingen, Brownsville
Harvey, and why the roof comes first
Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Rockport and Fulton around 10 p.m. on August 25, 2017, as a Category 4 hurricane, according to the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi. The highest gust it reports, 145 mph, was measured at the Aransas County Airport in Rockport.
The same report says many structures, residences and businesses in and near Rockport and Fulton were damaged or destroyed as roofs were blown off and walls collapsed. Whether the roof on the house you are buying is original or newer, a roof inspection checks the covering, flashing, vents and drainage and looks at the framing from the attic.
An infrared thermal inspection can add to that: patterns in surface temperature can point to moisture behind a ceiling where a leak has started.
Ask the seller for the windstorm certificate
Aransas County is in the Texas Department of Insurance’s designated catastrophe area, the coastal counties covered by its Windstorm Inspections Program. The WPI-8 is the certificate TDI issues to show that a property, repair or addition on the coast meets building code requirements, and TDI calls it proof of eligibility for wind and hail coverage through the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).
The program began on January 1, 1988, and to qualify for TWIA coverage it applies to re-roofs and roof repairs as well as new homes, additions and alterations. TDI publishes WPI-8s on its website, so ask the seller for the certificates that go with the house and its roof, and look them up during your option period.
A home inspection does not produce a windstorm certificate. TDI issues those after an inspection by a TDI inspector, a Texas-licensed professional engineer or an appointed qualified inspector. Selling? Gather your WPI-8s before you list, and a pre-listing inspection shows you the home’s condition before buyers see it.
Raised floors and the elevation certificate
The City of Rockport requires a permit for any and all development, and its floodplain standards require new structures to be built above the 1% annual chance (100-year) flood elevation, with mobile homes at least 3 feet above it.
An elevation certificate is required for new construction or substantial improvement in the floodplain before the city issues a certificate of occupancy, and the city posts the elevation certificates it has received since February 2016. If the home you are looking at is in the floodplain, ask for its elevation certificate.
On a raised home, a residential inspection looks at the structure that holds the house up as well as the rooms above it.
Salt air and the metal that ties the frame together
FEMA’s guidance on coastal construction says corrosion rates for metal are dramatically higher in coastal environments, and names hurricane straps, truss plates and joist hangers among the connectors at risk. It adds that partly sheltered spots, such as the space under a raised home or under a deck, can corrode even faster than open ones, because rain does not rinse the salt away.
FEMA notes those spots can often be inspected when no finish covers them. If you are building, a pre-drywall inspection is the point when the framing and connectors inside the walls can still be seen, before insulation and drywall close them in, and a new construction inspection checks the finished home before you close.
From Cibolo to the coast
Triple A Inspections is based in Cibolo, northeast of San Antonio. The drive to Rockport is about 160 miles, roughly three and a quarter hours without traffic, most of it on US 181.
Request a consultation as early in your option period as you can, and Jeremy will call you to talk through the property, the inspections that fit, and the paperwork worth asking the seller for.
Questions from Rockport
Call (210) 378-2804 with anything else.
Do you inspect homes in Rockport?
Yes. Triple A Inspections is based in Cibolo, about 160 miles from Rockport, roughly three and a quarter hours by road without traffic. Request a consultation or call (210) 378-2804.
What is a WPI-8, and how do I find one?
It is the certificate the Texas Department of Insurance issues to show that a property, repair or addition on the coast meets building code requirements. TDI publishes WPI-8s on its website, so ask the seller for them and look them up.
Does a home inspection include a windstorm certificate?
No. TDI issues windstorm certificates after an inspection by a TDI inspector, a Texas-licensed professional engineer or an appointed qualified inspector. A home inspection reports the condition of the house as it stands.
Should I ask for an elevation certificate?
If the home is in the floodplain, yes. Rockport requires one for new construction or substantial improvement in the floodplain before a certificate of occupancy, and the city posts the ones it has received since February 2016.
Sources
- National Weather Service Corpus Christi, Major Hurricane Harvey, August 25–29, 2017
- Texas Department of Insurance, WPI-8 fact sheet
- Texas Department of Insurance, What is the Windstorm Inspection Program?
- Texas Department of Insurance, Questions to Ask Your Realtor Before You Buy
- City of Rockport, Build Responsibly
- City of Rockport, Elevation Certificate Information
- FEMA, NFIP Technical Bulletin 8: Corrosion Protection for Metal Connectors and Fasteners in Coastal Areas (June 2019)
Buying or building in Rockport?
Request a consultation and Jeremy will call you to talk through the property and the inspections that fit.