Engineering High-Performance Roofing

Smart, coordinated engineering and design is not only the essential enabler for every other aspect of High-Performance Roofing – Energy, Environment, Endurance and Economics – it is the key to what the Department of Energy calls “whole-building design,” which integrates all the subsystems and parts of the building to work more effectively together. Roofing authority Carl Cash has estimated that defective design and engineering accounts for about half of all roofing failures.

In terms of the other four HPR “E’s,” engineering and design make an impact in several obvious and less obvious ways:

Energy

• Specifying premium materials and components to enhance properties such as reflectivity, emittance, and ultraviolet radiation.
• Determining the optimal insulation R-values and devising a roof system with the best combination of insulation and roofing membrane for each application based on climate, roof deck and other factors.

Environment

• Incorporating materials and components that have a lower impact on the environment based on LCA criteria, such as embedded energy, recyclability and recycled content.
• Incorporating materials and processes that minimize waste of all types.
• Incorporating “green” and “cool” properties into existing roofing systems wherever possible or practical.
• Use of closed-loop manufacturing processes that minimize waste and toxic emissions, and utilize process-generated scrap.
• Incorporating venting to enhance the indoor environment.

Endurance

• Designing and specifying roofing systems appropriate for the climate, type of building and roof deck.
• Designing adequate drainage to avoid excessive ponding
• Incorporating custom pre-fabricated roofing systems that minimize the potential for installation errors, simplify the installation process and minimize waste.
• Specifying premium materials, components and systems to enhance performance and durability properties such as water absorption, fire resistance, tensile strength, thermal expansion, dynamic puncture resistance and resistance to rooftop contaminants.
• Specifying roofing systems with a proven track record of reliable, long-lasting performance.

Economics

• Specifying roof systems that can be installed over existing roofs under certain conditions, eliminating tear-off and disposal costs.
• Specifying custom pre-fabricated roofing systems that can be installed quickly, with smaller labor requirements, less disruption to building operations, and fewer maintenance requirements over the long-term.
• Specifying roofing systems that are easy to maintain and repair.
• For more information on High-Performance Roofing, visit www.duro-last.com