ARW Techspec: Hurricane Season
It is hurricane season again and it looks like this year may
be an active season. If this week is any indication, we may face multiple
high-impact storms as we did in 2004 and 2005.
It is hurricane season again and it looks like this year may be an active season. If this week is any indication, we may face multiple high-impact storms as we did in 2004 and 2005.
Hurricane experts have told us that we are in a 10-year cycle where the potential for more hurricanes exists. We all seem to have forgotten those claims the last two years, but this active hurricane season brought far to many reminders, including Dolly, Gustav and Ike.
Now that we have established that the hurricanes are coming and since we have a pension for living, working and shopping on coastal areas, maybe we should become more serious about protecting roofs in high-velocity wind areas. After the levy’s held during Gustav, I kept hearing about great American ingenuity. It is now time to put those resources to work for roofs. We can’t save every roof in a hurricane, particularly if there is structural damage to the building, but Hurricane Wilma in 2005 showed that regulated precautions do help.
The steps to implement in high velocity wind regions are as follows:
1. Require proper wind engineering calculations to determine proper roof attachment methods.
2. Require perimeter roof calculations to determine proper perimeter attachment methods.
3. Make certain that all roofing materials are tested for wind uplift and have design pressures.
4. Municipalities should require progress inspections and in-place attachment testing
These steps, which are all required in the IBC - once enforced - could eliminate millions of dollars in annual roof damage.
It is hurricane season again and it looks like this year may be an active season. If this week is any indication, we may face multiple high-impact storms as we did in 2004 and 2005.
Hurricane experts have told us that we are in a 10-year cycle where the potential for more hurricanes exists. We all seem to have forgotten those claims the last two years, but this active hurricane season brought far to many reminders, including Dolly, Gustav and Ike.
Now that we have established that the hurricanes are coming and since we have a pension for living, working and shopping on coastal areas, maybe we should become more serious about protecting roofs in high-velocity wind areas. After the levy’s held during Gustav, I kept hearing about great American ingenuity. It is now time to put those resources to work for roofs. We can’t save every roof in a hurricane, particularly if there is structural damage to the building, but Hurricane Wilma in 2005 showed that regulated precautions do help.
The steps to implement in high velocity wind regions are as follows:
1. Require proper wind engineering calculations to determine proper roof attachment methods.
2. Require perimeter roof calculations to determine proper perimeter attachment methods.
3. Make certain that all roofing materials are tested for wind uplift and have design pressures.
4. Municipalities should require progress inspections and in-place attachment testing
These steps, which are all required in the IBC - once enforced - could eliminate millions of dollars in annual roof damage.