The Institute for Business & Home Safety’s “Fortified … for safer living” program is a code-plus approach to protect housing from natural hazards. More than 200 projects in 16 states have earned or are in the process of earning the program’s designation.
These tips relate to wind resistance:
1 Fortified Design The FORTIFIED Design wind speed standard is the ASCE-7 Design Wind Speed plus 20 mph and requires components and cladding to be designed for terrain Exposure C to increase their resistance to hurricane-force winds.
2 Fortified Roof A minimum roof sheathing thickness of ? inch with a 40/20 span rating increases a roof’s ability to resist the negative pressures of hurricane-force winds. Roof fasteners must be 8d ring shank nails at 6 inches on center for the required uplift resistance. All roof coverings and attachments to the roof deck must comply with standard #1 above.
3 Fortified Water Resistance An extra layer to help resist water intrusion during hurricanes may include a polymer modified bitumen membrane over the roof deck.
Source: Institute for Business & Home Safety
