The Benefits Of Fortifying Your Roof

While there is always a chance of damaging weather anywhere in the world, there are some areas that are far more prone to it than others. Severe weather has the potential to do a great deal of damage to homes and businesses. Not only is this devastating to the people who live in the home or work in the business it is also quite costly. This is why a new construction set of standards has been developed called FORTIFIED. This set of standards provides add protections so that severe weather will not be able to cause as much damage. There are methods that include the entire building, but some people choose to have only one area fortified at a time. The best place to start is the roof because it is the most vulnerable to storm damage. Because these methods are so new, many people are quite skeptical of their ability to work the way it is supposed to. There are many benefits to fortified roofing, even if you are skeptical of its ability to protect the roof from severe weather such as hurricanes, rainstorms, severe wind, and many others. Listed here, you will find details about how FORTIFIED works as well as some of the many benefits of applying it to your roof.

What is FORTIFIED? It is a set of superior building standards created through scientific research. This research was completed in the field as well as within the IBHS Research Center. The goal of this research was always to create ways to make structures be able to withstand severe weather better. An entire program was built around the research that has now been put into action and is available to the public. Having your home and/or business fortified means that there will be far less risk of personal danger as well as a large drop in the risk of financial loss. Of course, everyone hopes that they will not ever have to worry about storm damage to their home or business, but is always a possibility. Especially if you live in certain areas. It is important to remember that these methods must be updated and maintained for them to continue to function at maximum effectiveness, Once a building has undergone the necessary updates to receive a fortified designation, that designation will last for five consecutive calendar years. After this time, an inspection will be required. If there are no significant changes at the time if the inspection, the designation will be in effect for another five years. If, however, something has become damaged or changed in any major way, updates and repairs will be required to reinstate the fortified designation.

How do you get your home or business fortified? There is a very simple process that you will need to complete in order to have a designated fortified home or business. The first step is to is simply to apply. This can be done online through the appropriate websites. After completing and submitting your application, a certified evaluator will be sent to your home to document its current condition. Rest assured that every evaluator has undergone comprehensive training and passed the necessary tests. You will be able to schedule your evaluation when it is most convenient for your schedule. You will also have the opportunity to choose your evaluator. After the evaluation is completed and all of the reports have been filed, you will receive a written report either through the mail or via email. This report will detail the current condition of your building and what will need to be done in order to obtain a fortified designation. There are several levels of designation depending on which parts of the house you are fortifying. Once you have your report, you will need to find a building professional that will be able to handle the necessary upgrades. How to find a professional will be discussed in the next section. After all of the necessary upgrades have been made, you can request the designation. An inspection will be done to ensure that you followed all of the necessary steps. Once the inspection is complete and you have passed, you will receive your designation. When your designation expires, you will need to contact an evaluator to inspect and reevaluate your home so as to get reinstate your designation. The name of your initial evaluator will be listed on your expiration if they are still active. Feel free to contact them for the reevaluation. This way you will be working with someone that already familiar with your home. Sadly, this is not always possible. When this happens, you will be able to find a list of current evaluators and choose a new one.

Once you have decided to take the plunge and fortify your roof (or other parts of your home), you will need to find a building professional to handle any updates that need to be done. There are certified FORTIFIED contractors that you can work with, but this is not necessary to achieve the designation. You can use any roofer or contractor that you wish. If you are not familiar with the contractors or roofers in your area, you will need to begin by doing a bit of research. Begin by opening your favorite search engine and deciding on the search phrases that you are going to use. Make sure that you are using a word like "contractor", "roofer", "builder". You can optionally use the term "fortified contractor" or "certified contractor for FORTIFIED". Also, be sure to add the name of the city that you are currently residing in so that you will be presented with local options. Alternatively, you can use "near me" if you do not want to use the city name. The word "local", will work as well. If you would prefer a FORTIFIED certified contractor, you can find a complete list on the FORTIFIED website.

Take the plunge and get your home or business designated as fortified today. Rest easy at night knowing that you are protected as much as possible from any damaging weather. Even though meteorologists are very good at predicting when severe weather will hit, there is never a guarantee. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Protect your home and your loved ones and the business that you have worked so hard for before devastation hits.