FAQ

A Florida green roof can provide stormwater management, energy benefits, and additional usable landscape space, but its vegetation must be kept healthy through an appropriate irrigation strategy. Florida green roofs…

A vegetative roof, also called a green roof or living roof, adds significant weight to a building’s roof structure. The amount depends on the type and depth of the planting…

A protected membrane roof (PMR) assembly, also called an inverted roof, inverted roof membrane assembly (IRMA), or “upside-down roof,” is a low-slope roofing system in which the waterproofing membrane is…

Wind pressure zones are designated areas on a low-slope roof that experience different levels of wind uplift during severe weather. These zones are important when designing and installing commercial roofing…

A wind uplift calculation letter is a professional engineering document that confirms the wind pressures a roof system is designed to resist. It is commonly requested for commercial roofing projects,…

Building height is an important factor when engineers calculate roof uplift pressures caused by wind. As a building becomes taller, its roof can be exposed to stronger and more complex…

The ground elevation factor (Ke) is a wind-design factor used in ASCE 7 to account for changes in air density caused by a building’s elevation above sea level. It is…

Parapet height can significantly affect the wind pressures experienced at the edges and corners of a commercial roof. Because roof corners are already among the most vulnerable areas for wind…

The topographic factor, Kzt, is a wind-design adjustment used to account for increased wind speeds caused by certain terrain features such as hills, ridges, and escarpments. For commercial roofs and…

When planning or evaluating a commercial roof, understanding wind speed terminology is important because wind loads directly affect the roof system, fasteners, edge details, membranes, and other building components. Two…