Man spends around $100,000 to lift home, prevent future flooding
By Pamela Comme
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NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Florida (WESH) — After decades of living on Normand Avenue, Earl Wischmeier is no stranger to flooding. His New Smyrna Beach home has been hit twice, but after the last storm, he decided it was time to take matters into his own hands.
“I lifted everything up, loaded everything in the attic, cleaned up the mess,” Wischmeier said. “Within four or five hours after the hurricane, we had it all swept up and dried up and cleaned up and fans going.
But rather than relocate, the longtime resident made a different choice: He raised his house.
“It’s no good if it floods,” he said.
Wischmeier elevated his entire home 46 inches off the ground, a project that’s taken time, planning, patience, and the help of a few friends and people. From designing the lift to securing materials and determining where to stay during construction, the process has been anything but straightforward.
“I built the garage in the back, and I lived in the garage when I worked,” he said. “We worked on the house, but we really were only out of the house for like three months.”
He is now back home, finishing up the remaining work and optimistic about the future, despite acknowledging the slow pace.
“I don’t know how much time I have left,” he said. “Probably forever. Slow going.”
The project cost around $100,000, but Wischmeier says it’s already paying off. Confident that the risk of future flooding has been drastically reduced, he has canceled his flood insurance altogether.
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