Fences and Walls are used for a variety of purposes. Fences are typically employed to provide privacy, keep people and/or animals inside or out of a particular area, or to direct traffic flow. Walls are typically constructed in order to support loads such as structures above, to retain earth or prevent vehicle impact.

Fences are typically constructed of wood, metal, vinyl, or masonry. The Florida Building Code has specific requirements for fences constructed within High Velocity Hurricane Zones (HVHZ), or within Miami-Dade and Broward counties. For example, Section 2224 of the FBC establishes the construction of chain-link fences that are less than 12 feet tall; chain-link fences greater than 12 feet high are required to be designed. A second example is provided by Section 2121.8 of the FBC regarding masonry fences constructed within the HVHZ. This section states minimum requirements for the construction of the masonry wall based on whether the wall could potentially be used for a wall of a future structure and the height of the wall. Further, wood fences within HVHZ’s are addressed in Section 2328 of the FBC, which states:

2328.1 Wood fences, so located on a property that by zoning regulations they cannot be used as a wall of a building, shall be constructed to meet the minimum specifications in Sections 2328.2 and 2328.3.

2328.2 Fences not exceeding 6 feet (1829 mm) in height, shall be constructed to meet the following minimum requirements: from nominal 4-inch by 4-inch by 8-feet-long (102 mm by 102 mm by 2438 mm) posts No. 2 grade or better spaced 4 feet (1219 mm) on center, and embedded 2 feet (610 mm) into a concrete footing 10 inches (254 mm) in diameter and 2 feet (610 mm) deep.

2328.3 Fences not exceeding 5 feet (1524 mm) or 4 feet (1219 mm) in height shall be constructed as provided in Section 2328.2, except that the spacing of posts may be increased to 5 feet (1524 mm) and 6 feet (1829 mm) on center for these heights, respectively.

Many municipalities have local codes and ordinances further regulating the height of fences and walls which are not found within the Florida Building Code. For example, a privacy fence between two homes may only be permitted to be 6 feet tall, whereas a privacy fence between a business and a residence may be permitted to exceed 6 feet. It is recommended that the local zoning / building department be consulted for such determinations.

Retaining walls, or walls intended to retain earth at a change in elevation, should be designed by a licensed professional to ensure that they have the ability to withstand the loads imposed upon them. This requirement is set forth in section 1806 of the Florida Building Code.

Per the 2007 Florida Building Code
1806.2 Design. Retaining walls shall be designed to resist the design lateral soil loads in Section 1610, including both dead and live load surcharges to which such walls are subjected, and to ensure stability against overturning, sliding, excessive foundation pressure and water uplift.

In short, Fences which exceed the height requirements of the prescriptive portions of the Florida Building Code and Walls used to retain earth should be designed by a licensed professional. Also, whenever an existing structural wall is to be altered or modified, a licensed professional engineer should be consulted, even if only to determine whether the wall is a structural wall or a non-load bearing partition.

If you have any questions regarding a Fence or Wall, our Structures Group is ready to assist you. Please contact Tim Roda, PE at troda@brackenengineering.com.

The Florida Board of Professional Engineers has proposed to modify the requirements for the seal used by Professional Engineers within the State of Florida. Specifically, the Board has proposed to allow the use of inking stamps in lieu of embossing impression seals. This passage will read:

61G15-23.001 Seals Acceptable to the Board.
(1) Pursuant to Section 471.025, F.S., the Board hereby establishes as indicated below the forms of seals which are acceptable to the Board.
(a) Any seal capable of leaving a permanent ink representation or other form of opaque and permanent impression which contains the information described herein is acceptable to the Board.

The seal itself is proposed to remain the same so the need to purchase a new seal has not been created, only added flexibility. In addition, the board will now allow the abreviation of the licensee's name, provided the surname listed on the seal matches the surname listed with the board. This passage will read:

61G15-23.001 Seals Acceptable to the Board.
(1) Pursuant to Section 471.025, F.S., the Board hereby establishes as indicated below the forms of seals which are acceptable to the Board.
(d) The seal may contain an abbreviated form of the licensee’s given name or a combination of initials representing the licensee’s given name provided the surname listed with the Board appears on the seal and in the signature.

Embossing impression seals which do not provide an opaque and permanent impression or permanent ink representation will remain acceptable. This passage will read:

61G15-23.001 Seals Acceptable to the Board.
(2) Embossing impression seals which otherwise comply with these provisions and which do not provide an opaque and permanent impression or permanent ink representation are also acceptable to the Board.

To review the proposed change in its entirety and to offer comment on the proposed change, please go to:
https://www.flrules.org/gateway/View_Notice.asp?id=7538857