NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla — As we head into another hurricane season, we're taking a moment to look back at what some people are doing to harden their homes and be STORM READY this season.
The Caloosahatchee flooded Lochmoor Waterway Estates not once, but three times in recent years - first Hurricane Ian, then Helene and Milton. For some people there, rebuilding wasn’t enough - they had to rise above it.
Fox 4’s North Fort Myers Community Correspondent, Austin Schargorodski, has covered this neighborhood through the storms. He’s covered the preparations, the cleanups, and now the comeback.
Several homeowners chose to lift their homes out of water’s way, and one of the first lifts to be finished is Dick and Peggy Marting’s. Their home now stands 11 feet off the ground, with just a little work left before they can move back in. Schargorodski went back to see how they’re feeling and what this moment means to them.
Watch to see the newly lifted home, and hear what the Martings' says this means to them:
The Martings’ home doesn’t just look different - it stands different. Lifted up to be safe in the future. For Peggy Marting, it’s also about the little things like laundry days at home, and getting out of the camper.
“I’m ready to get back in the house. We love the house. We think they did a great job on it and we’re very very thankful,” said Peggy Marting.
But getting to this point hasn’t been easy. They said they decided to lift after Hurricane Ian brought four feet of water into their home.
“The house was devastated. We got through that, had a person fix up the house, get it back to normal, bought all new furniture. Then Helene hit. We had 18 inches of water during that one,” said Dick Marting.
And two weeks later Milton flooded it again. During the storm, streets flooded out and surge creeped into homes. The Martings’ say they initially planned a six-foot lift which would have been completed before Helene and Milton.
But then, they say the lift requirements changed. “FEMA changed their guidelines and said we aren’t allowing any lifts less than 10 feet. So that changed our plans. Davie Shoring had to go back to engineers and architects and redo all the plans,” said Dick Marting.
They said that set them back nearly a year. But they weren’t alone - several neighbors are now finishing their own lifts too.
Austin previously showed what this process looks like, including footage of Scott Sorenson’s house when the lifting company Davie Shoring began their work.
“We dig under the house with some tunnels, and we push down our permalock piling. That gives us a good formula to then place the jacks on and lift the house out of the ground, proceeding with other methods of cribblocks and frames to lift the house to the desired height,” said Chris Ellis, the operations supervisor of Davie Shoring.
Ellis said these lifts are gaining momentum in coastal communities like Lochmoor Waterway Estates as a faster, more affordable alternative to rebuilding.
“So many people have been told that they have to tear down their houses and build new, which is a big three-year process and horrendous money. Sometimes three to four times more than the option we’re offering,” said Ellis.
Back at the Martings’ house, a few final pieces remain like railings, paint, and countertops before utilities can be fully connected.
Since Austin’s first story aired, the Martings say dozens of people have stopped by to ask about the process, many considering lifts themselves.
“It’s worth looking at that option. I would encourage people. I think most people dismiss it. But I think having been through the process, if you don’t have patience, you’ll learn to have patience and that’s good haha,” said Dick Marting.
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