Secure the roof and reinforce the most vulnerable areas of your home to give it the best chance to keep wind, rain and storm pressures out.
FORTIFIED Silver™ was specifically designed to reinforce the areas of your home conventional construction would most likely leave susceptible to damage from high winds and wind-driven rain.
Storm Protection Starts at the Roof
When protecting against severe weather, your roof is the most important part of your home. It’s also the most vulnerable. FORTIFIED Silver strengthens the three areas of a roof that most often lead to expensive storm damage by requiring the following upgrades.
Stronger Edges
Roof damage often begins when wind gets underneath the roof edge and begins ripping it away from the home. To help protect this vulnerable area, FORTIFIED requires specific materials and installation methods including a wider drip edge and a fully adhered starter strip that when used together create a stronger system.
Sealed Roof Deck
If wind rips off your roof covering―such as shingles, metal panels or tiles―this exposes the wood beneath and allows water to pass through the gaps and enter your home. FORTIFIED requires roofs to be sealed to prevent this type of water damage.
Better Attachment
Instead of common smooth nails, FORTIFIED requires ring-shank nails installed in an enhanced pattern to help keep the roof deck attached to your home in high winds. In fact, using ring-shank nails nearly doubles the strength of your roof against the forces of winds.
And in hail-prone areas:
Impact-Resistant Shingles
FORTIFIED requires shingles tested by IBHS to best withstand hail up to 2 inches in diameter.
Additional Upgrades to Prevent Storm Damage
When high winds attack a home, some areas are particularly exposed, and when they fail it can start a cascade of damage that can impact the integrity of an entire house. Some of the key ways FORTIFIED Silver prevents damage to these high-risk areas include the following upgrades.
Additional Bracing At Gable Ends
Post-disaster studies show that typical construction plans often leave the large areas of a gable with little to no support. By requiring additional bracing, FORTIFIED stops high winds from collapsing this section of a home.
Properly Secured Attached Structures And Porches
High winds can flow under the roof of a carport or porch, and if the structure is not properly anchored, it can not only lift up like a kite―it can take part of your house with it. FORTIFIED requires strong anchors and proper connection to your home to prevent this type of damage.
Pressure-rated Garage Doors
Keeping winds and pressure from entering your home is critical for its survival in a storm. Both can easily come through a failed garage door, and once this happens, it’s common to see blown-out walls and collapsed roofs. FORTIFIED prevents this scenario by requiring garage doors rated to withstand high pressures.
And in hurricane zones:
Impact Protection For Windows And Doors
Tests conclusively show plywood over the windows is not sufficient to defend your home from storm pressures or from debris tossed by hurricane winds. To keep winds from entering your home and potentially causing catastrophic damage, FORTIFIED requires window and door protection that is tested to protect against pressure and impact.
