As a South Florida business owner, you are accustomed to severe multi-tasking: customers, employees, and vendors all need your attention at once. You are an instant expert at many jobs, but what about your business’s roof? Do you know if your business’s roof complies with local building codes? The short answer: contact a professional, commercial roofing contractor—PSI Roofing—to ease your mind and inspect your roof.
The Codes, They Are A-Changin’
Southern Florida has experienced more than its share of weather challenges. Some 36 percent of hurricanes that hit the United States since 1851 have hit Florida. In answer to the devastating hurricanes of 1926, 1960, 1992, 2004 and 2005, Florida’s building codes have changed frequently:
- 2001
- 2004
- 2007
- 2010
- 2014
Each time, the goal has been to increase the chances to preserve life and property by increasing the requirements for safety, durability, and quality in building techniques and materials.
Code Compliant?
Imagine your building was erected in 2002. You probably think your commercial roof is code compliant. It may not be. Major repairs or substantial alterations in years past may leave you vulnerable, both to code issues and weather emergencies.
Just looking at a small portion of the 2010 Florida Building Code, Chapter 15, offers a hint about building inspectors’ major concerns with commercial roofing. It is subtle, but you may notice a common theme:
- Section 1518. HIGH-VELOCITY HURRICANE ZONES- ROOF COVERINGS WITH SLOPES 2:12 OR GREATER
- Section 1519. HIGH-VELOCITY HURRICANE ZONES- ROOF COVERINGS WITH SLOPES LESS THAN 2:12
- Section 1520. HIGH-VELOCITY HURRICANE ZONES- ROOF INSULATION
- Section 1525. HIGH-VELOCITY HURRICANE ZONES UNIFORM PERMIT APPLICATION
Chapter 16 of the Florida Building Code, of course, has an entire series of regulations about rooftop drainage, live loads on roofs, and roof deflection, all related to hurricanes.
Details
PSI Roofing keeps up to date with all Florida Building Codes. We can inspect your commercial roofing from atop your building and inside the roof deck, and offer suggestions on getting your commercial property into code compliance and ready for the next big blow.
Code details we work with and follow every day include:
- Surfacing on built-up roofing*BUR*(1519.12.1)
- Roof-edge metal (1519.13)
- Drains (1617.1)
- Scuppers (1617.3)
These may seem trivial to you, but commercial roofing code compliance protects your business, your employees and customers. Contact PSI Roofing today to arrange a commercial roofing inspection to be confident that your property is fully code-compliant.
