PLAD homes are steel framed, site built structures. They are not manufactured (HUD-code) homes and not chassis mounted units. Every home goes up on a permanent, engineered foundation at your address and is permitted and inspected under the Florida Building Code, the same as any other site built house.
Construction Type & Materials Letter, signed by our CEO and written for building departments. It also prints inside every PLAD proposal.
01
Each home is engineered from a light gauge structural steel frame and structural insulated panels, then erected and finished on a permanent foundation that a Florida licensed engineer designed and sealed for that specific lot and its wind and soil conditions.
Because the frame and the panels are erected, connected and finished entirely on the project site, with mechanical, electrical and plumbing connections left open for inspection before they are closed up, a PLAD structure is site built construction using an alternative structural system. It is reviewed under Florida Building Code §104.11 and §1703, Alternative Materials, Design, and Methods of Construction, and applicable local amendments.
It is not manufactured or mobile housing regulated by HUD, and it is not personal property under Chapter 320, Florida Statutes. On completion it is real property, the same as any other site built house.
02
The primary structure is a light gauge, cold formed steel frame fabricated from Q335B and Q355B low carbon structural steel, robotically welded under ISO 9001:2015 quality control. The frame and load bearing columns are the skeleton of the home and are erected directly on site.
03
Exterior walls and roof assemblies use insulated sandwich panels: a rigid EPS or mineral wool core between 3.5 and 4.7 inches thick, faced with steel skins. The panels are set into the steel frame, then sealed and connected, on site.
04
Steel components and panels are pre cut, welded and quality checked before delivery, with electrical and plumbing rough in prepared in advance. Construction of the home happens at the project address, performed by a PLAD certified builder or a licensed general contractor.
05
The building system is supported by a Florida P.E. stamped structural package, third party fire, structural and envelope testing through Intertek and SGS, and Miami-Dade County Notice of Acceptance approvals for the wall system and hurricane protection components.
That documentation exists to support local plan review, alternative materials applications and permit issuance. If your plans examiner wants it, ask us and we will send it.
Bring the letter. It names the code sections, the testing bodies and the Miami-Dade approvals, and it is signed. If your plans examiner needs the stamped structural package or the test reports, call us and we will send them directly.
