Lowest Floor Elevation Logic
Lowest Floor Elevations (LFEs) are highlighted for your convenience in the Building attribute info section of your dashboard's Property Info Panel. The callout is displayed for your reference and to speed up your internal workflows. Because LFEs are determined using the logic outlined below, they will only be highlighted for properties where pertinent EC data is extracted.
Determining the LFE can be tricky, especially if you're dealing with unique construction. If you're using the determination for regulation enforcement purposes, be sure to verify the LFE locally.
LFE Logic
Our Lowest Floor Elevations are defined programmatically using FEMA’s Lowest Floor Guide. The tables below illustrate how Forerunner determines which Elevation Certificate field to highlight as the LFE.
Form Dates: 2005 - 2022, Issue Date: 08/01/1999 - Today
Zones A, AE, A1-A30, AH, AR, X, B, C
| Building Diagram | Default LFE | Unless | Then, the LFE will be |
| 1, 1A, 1B | Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a) | There is a value in Attached Garage (C2.d), that value is lower than Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a), and there is not sufficient flood venting in Attached Garage. Sufficient flood venting is present when there is a value in Number of Permanent Openings in Attached Garage (A9.b) and the Total Net Area of Flood Openings (A9.c) is greater than the Square Footage of the Attached Garage (A9.a) | Attached Garage (C2.d) |
| 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 4, 5 | Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a) | – | – |
| 6, 7, 8, 9 | Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a) | There is sufficient flood venting in the enclosure. Sufficient flood venting is present when there is a value in Number of Permanent Openings in Enclosure (A8.b) and the Total Net Area of Flood Openings (A8.c) is greater than the Square Footage of the Enclosure (A8.a). | Top of the Next Higher Floor (C2.b) |
Zones V, VE, V1-V30
| Building Diagram | Default LFE | Unless | Then, the LFE will be |
| 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 4 | Bottom of the Lowest Horizontal Structural Member (C2.c) | There is no value in (C2.c) |
Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a) - 12" |
| 5 | Bottom of the Lowest Horizontal Structural Member (C2.c) | – | – |
| 6 | Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a) | The value in Square Footage of Crawlspace or Enclosure (A8.a) is less than '300' and the value for C2.e is above the BFE. | Bottom of the Lowest Horizontal Structural Member (C2.c) |
| 7, 8 | Bottom of the Lowest Horizontal Structural Member (C2.c) | There is no value in (C2.c) | Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a) - 12" |
| 9 | Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a) |
Zone AO
| Building Diagram | Default LFE | Unless | Then, the LFE will be |
| 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 4, 5 | Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a) | – | – |
| 6, 7, 8, 9 | Top of the Next Higher Floor (C2.b) | – | – |
Form Dates: 1984 - 1999, Issue Date: 03/01/1987 - 07/31/1999
For Elevation Certificates issued before 08/01/1999, the measurement noted as Reference Level on the Elevation Certificate is shown in the Property Info Panel as Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a). Top of Bottom Floor (C2.a) will also be marked as the Lowest Floor Elevation (LFE) for these ECs.