White Paper
Roofing Best Practices: FORTIFIED HOME PROGRAM
One key consideration for the installation of roofing materials is resistance to wind uplift and excessive wind loading in general. We have all seen the pictures of “flying” roof elements on the news which not only leads to roofing failure, but the flying debris is well known to break windows which allows the outside elements into the interior of that structure and has been known to cause injury and even death to people being struck by debris. While this concern is typically associated to coastal areas, the impact of high winds is a major concern in areas that are not considered “coastal” in both the commercial and residential roofing domains.
The FORTIFIED program is a new way to look at an old problem. Not only is there a design program, but that design program is controlled by an evaluator review of installation and testing documentation that promises to better supply wind resistant roof assemblies for both commercial and residential construction. While the focus is currently on residential construction, a wind event doesn’t know the difference between commercial or residential construction and soon these criteria will also find their way into the IBC/IRC.
MCA supports this program and is working to educate both the buyers and the designers on the requirements of the fortified program. Properly designed, metal roofing may provide significant benefits in a fortified design. Please contact your roofing supplier for more information on the capabilities of the metal roof in the fortified design program.
