Buyers touring homes in Jupiter, Tequesta, and across Palm Beach County see two construction terms again and again: CBS and frame. CBS stands for concrete block and stucco, the masonry construction used throughout South Florida. Frame refers to walls built from wood studs and finished on the outside with stucco or siding. When a buyer falls for a frame home and asks which one holds up better in a hurricane, Jennie Greever, Vice President of Luxury Sales with the Meyer Lucas Team, answers from experience.
Holly Meyer Lucas put that exact question to her on Jennie’s episode of The Lemon Drop, the Meyer Lucas Team’s podcast. Jennie was direct: “It wouldn’t be my choice because of the safety reasons and what I’ve experienced.” What she experienced was Hurricane Andrew. This guide covers her story, what CBS and frame mean on a Florida listing, and the questions she brings to inspections so buyers can judge any home on how it was built.
A CBS home has exterior walls of concrete block, reinforced with steel and poured concrete, then finished in stucco. A frame home has exterior walls built from wood studs and sheathing. From the street, the two can look alike, since many frame homes in Florida also have a stucco finish. The construction type is usually listed in the MLS details, and your agent can confirm it before you write an offer.
Some two-story homes combine the two, with a block first floor and a frame second floor. If you’re touring a two-story house, ask about each level separately.
Hurricane Andrew made landfall in South Miami-Dade County on August 24, 1992, as a Category 5 storm. Jennie was living in the Florida Keys as it approached and took shelter in a concrete block home on the mainland. Country Walk, a planned community in Miami-Dade, sat on the route between that home and her mother’s house.
“Country Walk were predominantly frame homes,” she told Holly. “They were totally devastated.” Close to 90 percent of the homes in Country Walk were destroyed, according to WLRN’s reporting on the community. The concrete block home where Jennie sheltered came through intact. In her words, “It was all there.”
For Jennie, the worst of it came after the storm passed. She described boats from across the street lodged in the roof of a house, a scene that still shapes the advice she gives clients when construction type comes up.
Andrew exposed gaps in how Florida wrote and enforced its building codes. The state responded with a single statewide standard, the Florida Building Code, which took effect on March 1, 2002, with stronger requirements for wind. Homes permitted under it were designed to those standards, whether the walls are block or frame.
Older homes vary more by builder, era, and the upgrades owners have made since. A 1980s home with a newer roof, upgraded roof-to-wall connections, and impact glass can be a different house from its original plans. On a resale home, the inspection tells you which version you’re buying. Buyers who want the newest code from day one often look at new construction, and our guide to why buyers are choosing new construction in Palm Beach County covers that side of the search.
“I see it every day when I’m at these inspections and advising clients,” Jennie said, pointing to details like the age of the house and the number of nails in the trusses. Those details have names in Florida, and most of them appear on the state’s wind mitigation inspection form, OIR-B1-1802.
A wind mitigation inspection documents several features:
Florida requires insurers to offer premium discounts for verified wind-resistant features, so the report also shapes what a buyer pays to insure the home. Ask the seller whether a current report exists, and order one during your inspection period if it doesn’t.
For the features that keep a household comfortable during and after a storm, including impact glass, whole-house generators, and propane, read our guide to what makes a home hurricane-ready in South Florida.
Bring these to every showing:
Jennie’s preference for block comes from what she lived through, and she shares it plainly when clients ask. Buyers still choose frame homes for their architecture, setting, or location, and the inspection and wind mitigation report show how that specific house was built and maintained. Her job is to make sure clients see both before they commit. For broader preparation, our South Florida hurricane season guide walks through evacuation zones, supply kits, and flood insurance.
Jennie started her career in the medical industry and was one of Holly Meyer Lucas’s early clients before she joined the Meyer Lucas Team in 2021. She holds the Accredited Buyer’s Representative designation (ABR®) and was promoted to Vice President of Luxury Sales alongside Caroline Harper and Kimberly Thomson. She works with buyers and sellers across Palm Beach County and Martin County.
If you’re new to the area, start with whether Jupiter, Florida is a good place to live and our guide to the best neighborhoods in Jupiter. Buyers comparing towns across the county can read what to know about moving to Palm Beach County, and our list of five things to know before moving to South Florida covers the adjustments that come after closing. Seasonal residents planning a winter home can start with our snowbird season guide to Palm Beach County.
Buyers relocating from parts of the country where wood frame is the standard often see “CBS” for the first time on a Florida listing, and this guide gives them the vocabulary for their first showings. Seasonal buyers purchasing a second home they’ll leave empty for part of the year have extra reason to look at construction, roof attachment, and opening protection, since no one may be there when a storm approaches. Investors weighing rental properties can use the wind mitigation report to compare insurance costs between homes before making an offer.
CBS stands for concrete block and stucco. It describes a home with exterior walls of reinforced concrete block finished in stucco.
Concrete block walls hold up well against wind and flying debris, which is why Jennie prefers them. A home’s roof connections, window and door protection, and the building code it was built under also shape how it performs.
Yes. The Florida Building Code allows both frame and masonry construction, and homes built under it must meet its wind requirements.
It is an inspection recorded on the state’s OIR-B1-1802 form that documents a home’s roof attachment, roof shape, and opening protection. Insurers use it to apply wind mitigation discounts.
It can. Get insurance quotes on the specific home during your inspection period, using its wind mitigation report.
The full conversation on The Lemon Drop picks up from the frame-or-block question and covers Jennie’s years in Jupiter, how she guides buyers through showings, and her favorite moments with the team. You can find every episode on The Lemon Drop on Spotify. If you’re touring homes and want an agent who will tell you plainly what she sees in each one, reach out to Jennie or anyone on our team, and we’ll help you find a home you feel confident in through every season.
The Meyer Lucas Team is a luxury real estate team serving buyers, sellers, investors, and those relocating throughout Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, North Palm Beach, Juno Beach, Tequesta, West Palm Beach, and communities across Palm Beach County and Martin County. We love sharing what’s happening inside our team, throughout our local communities, and across the ever-evolving world of luxury real estate.
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