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The Daytona Beach News Journal on wind proof roofs which featured Ralph Jewell, Vice President of Integrated Roofing Systems.

New roofs pit science against Mother Nature

April 29, 2013 | By Ray Weiss, Staff Writer

With hurricane season fast approaching, Mother Nature might huff and puff but probably won't blow down the wind-taming roofs on a growing number of buildings throughout the area.

Since the major storms of 2004, many condos, municipal buildings, banks, restaurants and medical facilities have installed the 2001 Company's patented "wind-vented roof systems," which are guaranteed to remain in place and undamaged even after encountering winds of 150 mph.

"The building might not survive, but the roof will," said Ralph Jewell, vice president of Integrated Building Envelope Systems in Apopka, the Florida representative for the 2001 Company.

Jewell watched a small crew from A.A.T. Roofing in Port Orange earlier this week install a sealed, airtight membrane and special metal vents on top of a building at the Glencoe Water Treatment Plant in New Smyrna Beach. The "equalizer" vents are designed to reverse the normal lifting, peeling force of high winds by pushing the air pressure downward.

"It works with Mother Nature, rather than fighting it," he said of the roofs.

No special fasteners are used, and neither is any tar, making the installation safer, cleaner and quicker, roofers say. The system works on aeronautical principles. Wind damage generally is caused by uplift, not horizontal pressure. Traditional roofs during hurricanes, in effect, act as an airfoil and attempt to "take off" from the remainder of the building, aeronautical experts say. The strongest uplifting force in strong storms is at the corners of the roof.

Jewell said the 2001 Company wind-vented system works best on flat and low-sloped roofs found mainly on large commercial and residential buildings, not houses. He added that the cost usually is lower than a traditional roof because less manpower and materials are needed.

"More hotels and condos are going to this because it's more cost-effective," he said. "... And there was direct testing with the three hurricanes in 2004."

Jewell recalled two Ponce Inlet condos right after those storms — one with and one without a 2001 Company roof. He said the conventional roof was lifted by the strong winds and destroyed, while the wind-vented roof "looked perfectly new."

"Now both condos have the (2001 Company) roofs," he said of the family-owned firm out of Waterbury, Conn., that's been around since 1974.

The company's first Florida roof went up at the Miami International Airport about 22 years ago, Jewell said. He added that the first of more than 30 in the Volusia/Flagler county area was installed at a Daytona Beach restaurant about 15 years ago.

"We've done a couple residential. But it's just not the right fit," he said. "It's a commercial application."

Jim Hayes, vice president of A.A.T. Roofing, has installed many 2001 Company wind-vented roofs, and received the $75,000 contract for the job at the water treatment plant.

"A lot of manufacturers say they test up to or are designed for high winds," he said. "But no one else writes a wind rider guaranteeing the roof will stay on."

The city of Daytona Beach Shores, with the help of a FEMA grant, chose to go with a 2001 Company roof on City Hall three years ago. Back in 2004, a year after installing a traditional roof, the hurricanes peeled off the top of the buildings, causing $200,000 in damage inside.

"Some of our building inspectors were aware of this system. They knew it was a good system," said Fred Hiatt, the city's engineer, of the 2001 Company roof. "And it comes with a wind rider. So far, it's worked fine. It's inspected annually and we keep it clean."

Alexis Bairstow is resort operations manager at the Royal Floridian Resort in Ormond Beach, which has two 2001 Company roofs on its time share/hotel. The first was installed after the 2004 hurricanes, when the facility sustained $1.8 million in damage. The second roof went on an extension of the resort in 2011.

"It's really growing, especially in Florida. The more the wind blows the tighter the roof stays on," he said. "We have had tremendous success with it. There are no leaks. No problems."

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