Tips for Resilient Roofs

TL;DR

Whether they're exposed during construction or from a severe weather event, exposed panel seams are direct path for water to enter the home and cause significant and costly damage. According to FORTIFIED Home, 90% of insurance claims from storm related damages are related to the roof assembly. With storms on the rise, it's more important than ever to build your home and protect it with a durable and resilient roof assembly. We're going to show you some ways that you can do that and how you can use ZIP System sheathing to achieve a leak-free guarantee*.

Video Transcript:

Tate Hudson - Huber Engineered Woods

What's going on everybody? I'm Tate with Huber Engineered Woods coming at you today from a beautiful job site in the low country of South Carolina, just north of Savannah, Georgia. Today we're going to get down to the reason why great builders do what they do and how they build a resilient roof.

Scott Thomas - CS Thomas Construction

My name is Scott Thomas with CS Thomas Construction, and we're in Bluffton, South Carolina. We build custom homes here in the Palmetto Bluff development, we've been building for over a decade. We're truly a custom builder. The products that you use to put in your house matters a lot to you. You want to choose a product that's going to perform. Nobody wants a roof leak, it causes a lot of damage, and the ZIP roof System provides multiple layers of protection for us.

Risk of Water Intrusion at Panel Seams

Tate

Whether they're exposed during construction or from a severe weather event, exposed panel seams are direct path for water to enter the home and cause significant and costly damage. According to Fortified Home, 90% of insurance claims from storm related damages are related to the roof assembly. With storms on the rise, it's more important than ever to build your home and protect it with a durable and resilient roof assembly. We're going to show you some ways that you can do that and how you can use ZIP System sheathing to achieve a leak-free guarantee.

Scott

So we got the sheathing up and the seams tape, we're just adding our second layer of protection.

Tate

Very nice.

Scott

... from the severe weather-

FORTIFIED Sealed Roof Deck

Tate

Fortified Roof is a program developed by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety to make roof assemblies more resilient and better prevent damage from high wind, hail, hurricanes, or other intense weather events. A key component to a fortified roof is a sealed roof deck, which can greatly reduce the risk for moisture intrusion within the roof assembly. Critical to a sealed roof deck are taped panel seams, which is streamlined by the use of ZIP System roof sheathing and tape. To take roof resilience to another level, the addition of ZIP System peel and stick underlayment to your ZIP System roof assembly can qualify you for leak-free guarantee.

Benefits of a Sealed Roof Deck

If exposed panel seams are an entry point for water in the roof assembly, then taping those panel seams is a simple first step to protecting the roof assembly against moisture intrusion. During construction, taped roof panel seams add a layer protection for the build, and after construction, in the event that the finished roof is removed by severe weather, those tape panel seas continue to protect the home against moisture intrusion. The relatively minimal investment of tape on roof panel seams reaps big loss prevention benefits in the long run in the event that the roof becomes compromised.

With the traditional roof sheathing system, taped panel seams can reduce the risk of water intrusion in the event that the underlayment is removed. But what if the underlayment and the tape panel seams were integrated into one system? With ZIP System sheathing, the water-resistant barrier is fully adhered to the panel surface during the manufacturing process, which can eliminate the need for roofing underlayment in applications of four 12 pitches or greater. Because the water-resistant barrier is integrated onto the panel surface, it cannot blow off during a severe weather event, which greatly reduces the risk for water intrusion, which leads to rot and mold, and that leads to a very resilient and durable, longer lasting roof assembly.

Scott

And here in this region of the country, the threat of hurricanes is real here. We have some pretty severe thunderstorms, really driving rains, really hard rains. You'll get a lot of rain in a short period of time. And then you add that from the wind that comes off the coast, those two things together really are hard on a roof. And so, the ZIP System, when you're putting on a sheathing that already has a membrane that protects from that sort of thing, you're taping the seams and then you're adding a ZIP peel and stick, and then you're adding a metal roof, you're just adding multiple layers of protection from a severe weather event.

Faster Rough Dry-In

Tate

Depending on where you're building, it's almost certain that it's going to rain on your job site during the framing process, especially here in the southeast, and afternoon thunderstorm can drop inches of rain. And across the US, the most popular building season also overlaps with the rainiest months. A ZIP System roof assembly provides a continuous integrated layer of weather protection that not only keeps water out of the build during the framing process, but can also allow rough and interior work to continue and can help speed up the timeline. The integrated water resistant barrier on the ZIP System panel surface protects the OSB while the ZIP System flashing tape keeps any water from entering at the panel seams, which is what keeps your project dry during the framing process.

ZIP System Peel and Stick Underlayment

ZIP System now offers a peel and stick underlayment, when used in conjunction with half inch or five eighths ZIP System sheathing and tape, ZIP Systems peel and stick underlayment elevates the roof's protection against moisture intrusion. Peel and stick underlayments can help fulfill code requirements in many areas across the country, whether you're in a northern climate, where they can help protect against damage from ice damming, or in the south where some popular roof coverings will require them. The rubberized asphalt adhesive is a trusted technology that provides long-term adhesion and seals around nails. It can also be used in conjunction with traditional building materials such as OSB and plywood.

Where To Use Underlayment

The additional moisture protection of ZIP System peel and stick underlayment is best suited for areas with increased bulk water exposure, such as eaves, valleys, dormers, and roof to wall transitions. Now since these areas are designed to shed bulk water off of the roof assembly, they're worthy of extra attention to detail when it comes to flashing and the installation of peel and stick underlayment. These are also areas where code often requires the installation of an ice and water membrane.

Now, some builders may choose to install a peeling stick underlayment over the entire roof deck, and although this is allowed by code, ZIP System peel and stick underlayment does act as a vapor barrier, so it is recommended to consult with the designer and the architect to ensure that any potential vapor issues are avoided.

Leak Free Guarantee

With the expansion of ZIP System peel and stick underlayment to its building products portfolio, ZIP System is proud to have the leak leak-free guarantee for roof assemblies. Under the guarantee, areas of the roof with properly installed half inch or five eights ZIP System sheathing and tape covered with ZIP Systems peel and stick underlayment are guaranteed not to leak. And the final step to achieving a leak-free guarantee, is to register your build at zipleakfreeguarantee.com.

And we want to give a huge thank you to Scott and the entire team at CS Thomas Construction for having us out on this beautiful job site and giving us a closer look at their resilient roof assembly using ZIP System peel and stick underlayment. Whether it's during the construction process or in the event of severe weather, ZIP System building enclosures work to mitigate moisture intrusion and back your build. For more information, check us out at huberwood.com and follow us on Instagram @huberwood, and we'll see you next time.