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What are the New Fortified Roofing Guidelines for Withstanding Natural Disasters?

What are the New Fortified Roofing Guidelines for Withstanding Natural Disasters?

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What are the new fortified roofing guidelines for roofs to withstand natural disasters? How do you fortify your roof to withstand the worst of storms? It doesn’t take much of a storm to affect your roof. It’s much better to learn if your roof can meet the new standards well before you ever need it to.

There are new roofing guidelines presented by FEMA and go over any hazards that may impact or damage roofs causing significant risk to those living in the home. FEMA divided the standards into wind hazards, flood hazards, and fire hazards.

Natural Hazards and Roofing Standards

There are various natural hazards and the new roofing standards to withstand these natural hazards target three specific and common hazards. It all starts with the roofing installation.

Roofing Installation

The new roofing codes address requirements for roof coverings most often used on high and low-sloped roofs. For high-sloped roofs this is usually roofs made of asphalt shingles, clay, concrete tile, wood shakes, and shingles. For low-sloped roofs this is single-ply, thermoplastic single-ply, sprayed polyurethane foam and liquid applied coating roofs. There are requirement codes for the roofs underlayment, flashing, structure performance and materials.

Flood Hazard Event

You already know about the adaptive roof technology, which can help your roof reduce wet weather flow by 80% by diverting the water to a combined sewer system. But what do you do if your area is being affected by a flood? Will your roof be able to withstand the constant downpour or rush of water in a flood hazard event?

FEMA has one specific flood-related design consideration standard listed, and that is to document your home’s elevation. FEMA mentions green building practices that encourage reducing the building of homes outside the code-minimum elevations. But, sometimes moving to a higher elevation is something you can’t or don’t want to do. When that’s the case, the best thing you can do for your roof to be able to withstand the water is by using water-resistant framing and roofing materials that are adaptive and use technology-driven reduction of water.

Wind Hazard Event

If your home or business is involved in a wind hazard event, you want your roof to be able to withstand not only the major breaches to your roof but also the minor ones. It is the minor breaches to your roof that can result in significant water and economic loss to your home or business. Your roofs sheathing is a good place to start because they help withstand high suction forces. You also want your building and roof to have a roof to wall connection capable of resisting wind forces. FEMA has listed through their ASTM D 7158 three classes of shingles recommended.

The three classes of shingles apply to Category 1 and Category II building which means the non-critical or non-essential facilities like homes. These homes and buildings are less than 60 feet tall with wind range from 90 – 150 mph.

  1. Class D shingles need to pass basic wind speeds up to and including 90 mph.
  2. Class G shingles need to pass basic wind speeds up to and including 120 mph.
  3. Class H shingles need to pass basic wind speeds up to 150 mph.

Basically, if you live in what FEMA calls a high-wind area, you will need to follow the new guidelines for meeting roofing material that meets the wind speed by class.

Wildfire Hazard

For your wildfire hazards, you need a building to lessen the potential of becoming more vulnerable if it’s in or around a wildfire. Roofs can be designed and built, so they help prevent the spread of fire. The roofs may not be able to stop the spread of fire, but they can help prevent it from being more rapid. These codes are in areas where buildings and homes are subject to urban-wildland fires, so the urban-wildland codes detail what you can use as a material on your roof and how you install the roof. It’s the layout of the roof that sometimes influences the performance of the roof in a wildfire event.

The roof must be made of a material that is fire resistant and is covered in FEMA Section R902 with the roof’s insulation covered in Section R906. Most of the wildfire hazard protection lies in the requirements of the individual roof coverings like asphalt shingles, clay or concrete tiles, etc.

What are the New Fortified Roofing Guidelines for Withstanding Natural Disasters?

The roofing guideline standards shift and evolve depending on what section of the country you live in and the materials you use on your roof. You want to make sure you take the FEMA links above as a guideline for your roofing design considerations and best practices when building your roof.

In addition, any regulatory compliance is done at mostly the local level, so be cognizant that the property insurers and reinsurers, as well as your community, will want you to use safety research as your foundation in building a safe, compliant roof. If you need proof that a strong roof is needed for you and your family’s protection you need look no further than the natural disasters over the past fifteen years. In the past fifteen years we’ve been impacted by Katrina, Sandy, Ike, Irene, and more. It’s no longer an option to build a safe and compliant roof it is a critical need.

You should never accept anything less than the best when it comes to maintaining the safety of you and your family. When you need to find a roofing contractor who can give you what you need, check out Roofing Architects. Roofing Architects can help you find a contractor who cares as much about you and your family’s safety in case of natural disasters as you do.

Seven Warning Signs Your Roof Needs to Be Replaced

Seven Warning Signs Your Roof Needs to Be Replaced

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There are seven warning signs that let you know that indicate it’s too late just to repair your roof. It’s now time to replace your roof. The problem with roofs is most people never stop to think about what’s over their head until it springs a leak. If you’ve waited until your roof springs a leak on top of you, you’ve waited too long. The best time to replace your roof is when you can plan and schedule a roof replacement and have time to find the best. It’s when you have time to compare contract prices for labor and materials that you should be looking to replace your roof. The information below will give you the seven warning signs and way forward once you do need to have your roof replaced.

You can use smart technology roofing applications to figure out how to design and build your new roof if you find you need to replace it. But before you start using the latest and greatest smart technology applications to design your new roof there are things you should check first. For instance, there are seven warning signs to look for that can help you not be in a state of emergency when you’re replacing your roof. These seven warning signs let you know may not be able to repair your roof anymore. It’s now time to replace your roof.

1. Water Spots on Your Ceiling

Water stains on a ceiling in your home is an obvious sign there’s a problem with your roof. If you deal with it sooner rather than later, you may be able to ward off having to replace your whole roof. There are so many things that can cause a roof leak, and sometimes you need a roofing expert to help you pinpoint where the real issue is. When you use a roof inspection professional you want to make sure they tell you where they think the leak is coming from and what you need to do about it.

2. Shingle Granules

You’re not alone if you’ve never heard of shingle granules. But, when shingle granules start filling up your gutters, you already have an issue with your roof. Shingle granule loss is very common with asphalt shingles. A little bit here or there doesn’t mean much. When you start noticing a significant amount of granules in your gutters or downspouts, you need a professional roof inspection expert to visit you. Sometimes a severe storm may cause some granule loss, and the older your shingles are, the more storms start ripping roofing granules off in bits and pieces. It may be time to replace your roof before the next big storm comes your way.

3. Dark Spots on Your Roof

You may think you see a few dark spots on your roof when you drive into your driveway and look at it. The next time you look, you think the sun is playing tricks on you. Chances are you’re noticing a dirty looking spot or fungus that’s now growing on your roof. Sometimes the spots are caused by a roof retaining moisture, and sometimes it’s because your roof doesn’t get enough sunlight to dry out completely. But. if after an inspection with a roofing expert they tell you your roof is retaining moisture, then it’s time to replace your roof.

4. Roof Flashing and/or Damaged Chimney

Roof flashing almost always happens around the base of your chimney if you have a chimney on your roof. The flashing is usually made up of roof cement or even tar. There are times when you can just fortify your flashing area with more durable metal. There are times when you need to have the whole roof replaced due to the water damage that is occurring. The water damage is making your roof more vulnerable to failing.

5. Buckling Roof Shingles

You’ve probably noticed it on someone else’s roof from time to time. It’s when you see shingles buckling or curling. When you think you see it on your roof you need to go to the side of the house that receives the most direct sunlight. If you notice any shingles that are curling or frayed at the edges in that location, there’s a problem with your roof. Again, a professional roofing contractor can let you know if you need your entire roof replaced.

6. Daylight Through the Roof Into Your Attic

When you go up into your attic, and you see daylight streaking in from the roof, there’s an issue. If your home or roof is new, there could be a roof defect. You need to have the people who installed your roof, come back, and fix the defect. If your roof or home is older, then there’s something else at play that may require you to replace your roof. Especially if when you climb on the roof and feel a bounce when you walk. There’s moisture in the roofing insulation or the roof boards. Either way, it’s time to get your roof replaced.

7. Your Roof is Old

The average lifespan of a roof is about twenty to twenty-five years. If you’ve already had certain parts of your roof replaced, it may now be time to replace the whole thing. If a new roof was installed over older roof layers then you may have to gut your roof and start from the beginning.

Replacing Your Roof Today Gives You Peace Tomorrow

No one wants to have to replace their roof. But, it’s better to replace it now while you still have some life and functional components in your roof. It’s never a good thing if you wait until the roof is falling in all around you, or you have any of the above seven warning signs come alive while the roof is over your head every day and night.

There’s no time like today to have your roof inspected by a professional roofing expert and perhaps replace your entire roof. When you want to find the best roofing experts near you, we have the place you can go and find them.