Elevation Certificate Updating

Collier Co. Preliminary FIRM Map

Hendra & Associates has performed over 140 FEMA Elevation Certificates for the past 2 years for homeowners and businesses. This service work equates in client Savings in your Flood Insurance premiums which can range from $100 up to roughly $5,000 per year in reduced costs. If your home or building carries flood insurance and are located within a flood zone, check with your insurance agent and ask if your current Elevation Certificate is up to date or you need one. FEMA has recently updated the Flood Maps for Hillsborough and Lee Counties and your existing certificate may need updating, as well.

Collier County is in the process of being issued new maps. Here is a link to compare the old maps to the new maps. Collier County DFIRM Map Viewer

The Pavillions at Ballast Point Elevation Certificate photos

Hendra & Associates was recently contracted to perform FEMA Elevation Certificates for The Pavillions at Ballast Point in Tampa, FL. There were 19 building structures onsite and each require a separate certificate. This picture is a collage of the numerous pictures taken with Geotagging capabilties along with online tools by Google. By Geotagging the photos, makes a quick organization of where the photos were taken. This service is typical for our clients.

DoD Selection Results

As part of team of well qualified consultants, including Hendra & Associates, was recently ranked 3rd out of 45 selected solicitations for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers USACE District, Norfolk IDIQ contract.

Hendra & Associates Facebook page

Hendra & Associates now has a Facebook Page to keep friends up to date with our successes and other news. Hendra & Associates, Inc Facebook Page. Please click the Like button to subscribe to our page.

New Project Awards

Our surveying department has recently been awarded 4 new construction projects. Two located in St. Petersburg and two located in Naples, Florida. The two projects in St. Petersburg are a commercial office and a adult living facility (ALF). The two Naples projects are a new 116 lot residential subdivision for a top 5 homebuilder in the nation and an expansion of a mental health facility.

NAVD88 or NGVD29? Confusion of Vertical Datums

VERTCON Height Differences between NAVD88 & NGVD29

As we perform our survey work and provide elevation certificates, we find that there is quite a confusion as to what the elevation datum the public is referencing. NGVD29 or NAVD88? The latest adopted vertical datum is NAVD88 for local and federal governments. As the switch from old plans to new, the conversion can be wrongly utilized for construction. This confusion can end up being very costly by incorrect construction or insurance premiums by the change or difference in the two datums elevation. As with South Florida, for example, Tampa Bay area the difference from NGVD29 to NAVD88 is lower by about 0.8 to 0.9 feet, while in Fort Myers/Naples the change is 1.4 to 1.6 feet lower. See the attached image for the height differences in centimeters.

FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps have been slowly updating from NGVD29 to NAVD88, so when the homes are constructed or are older, these homeowners typically do not know which datum they are referencing and thus the confusion. For a complete description via the web, click on the links below.

NAVD88 Wikipedia
NGVD29 Wikipedia
Conversion of datums VERTCON