Mike Silvers, CPRC, Owner of Silvers Systems Inc, and FRSA Technical Director
Recently I was told of an apartment reroof project with multiple buildings where the contractor may be faced with reroofing them again. For many of us, this is one of the worst possible situations we can imagine. For the contractor, who would need the net profit from as many as 10 to 20 similarly priced projects to cover the cost of the second roof, it is a nightmare. The reason the contractor is in this predicament isn’t because his work is subpar, it is because they were not aware of changes in the building code and other pertinent installation requirements. Anytime I hear of a situation like this, regardless of the size of the roofs involved, I can’t help but feel a little ill. This is a hard business to survive in and no one should have this additional burden to overcome. Today, it’s just not going to work using the “but we’ve always done it that way” excuse. Or the old “we always do more than the code requires.” Are you sure? If you don’t know what is required how can you assume you exceed it? Like it or not, things in our industry and elsewhere are changing at a very rapid pace. We need to take advantage of available technology and the information it allows us to access to stay abreast of the changes.
Fortunately, FRSA has many volunteers and staff members who are working hard to influence the changes that could negatively impact our members. We are also doing our best to inform you of both current and upcoming changes as well. The current 2020 7th Edition Florida Building Code (FBC) may have been one of the most impactful in several recent triannual code cycles. One of the primary reasons for this was the adoption of the then new American Society of Civil Engineers standard, ASCE 7-16, that added more roof zones (either 4 or 5 depending on roof configuration) and increased uplift pressures. Another was the new underlayment requirements of the so-called sealed roof deck changes, as well as many others. FRSA offered multiple online and live seminars, in addition to many articles outlining those changes. We hope you have been paying attention.
No sooner was the ink dry on the nine new code books, than we began working on the 2023 8th Edition of the FBC. This code cycle is different than the last several. It now has two separate phases: phase one brings in changes from the International Building
Code (IBC) only. During that process, FRSA volunteers and staff accomplished the following:
■ Reviewed approximately 1,200 modifications (changes) brought over from the IBC looking for roofing-related content
■ Pulled 137 roofing-related modifications for the Codes Subcommittee to review
■ Tagged 47 of those modifications and rated them at three different levels of concern
■ The Codes Subcommittee took positions on 79 of the 137 modifications they reviewed
■ During FBC Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Commission meetings, 65 out of 79 modifications achieved outcomes that favored our positions
■ Only 5 of the remaining 14 were originally tagged for concern and only 1 of those 5 was rated at a mid-level concern. None at the highest level of concern went against our preferred position.
We are now in phase two of the 2023 8th Edition code cycle. This phase was open to anyone who wanted to propose a code modification. This is when FRSA had the opportunity to submit our code modifications. Volunteers and staff have recently:
■ Produced and submitted 29 modifications on 20 different subjects; all of these have now been verified by FBC staff
■ Started the process of reviewing 619 modifications submitted by other parties during phase two to pull any roofing-related modifications for Codes Subcommittee review
■ Began preparing new spreadsheets with pertinent information and FRSA’s positions taken by the Codes Subcommittee during their ongoing meetings
■ Began preparation to present our modifications and to advocate for our positions on modifications submitted by other parties during the numerous upcoming TAC and Commission meetings
Once again, we are faced with a new ASCE 7 standard. If it is adopted by the commission, we will be working under the brand new ASCE 7-22. This time around this is good news. The roof pressure zones will be going back to three zones for all roof configurations and the highest pressures should be reduced as well. We will be working to promote the adoption of this improved standard. If adopted, it will offer some relief from the onerous ASCE 7-16 provisions. We still have over a year and a half left working under the current requirements before the new code will take effect on December 31, 2023.
The FRSA Codes Subcommittee still has a lot of work left to do and the sacrifice of their time to the industry is to be commended.
I often refer to this group as our “Code Warriors” – they best know the reasons why. Thanks team!
The potential for the adoption of the new ASCE 7-22 standard has created the need to review the FRSA-TRI Florida High Wind
Concrete and Clay Tile Installation Manual. The FRSA-TRI Review Committee has been hard at work producing the 7th Edition of the manual. I am very happy to report that due to the committee’s dedication to the task at hand, we have completed the current
changes in an incredibly efficient and timely manner. I applaud their ability to compromise and reach consensus. My thanks to John Hellein for his hard work in the trenches. Great work by all!
A version of the manual containing our recent changes and the current ASCE 7-16 references and tables will be submitted to the FBC staff and members of the assigned TACs after a final review by our group. It will have an initial publication date of May 2022, which is prior to the June TAC meetings. If ASCE 7-22 is not approved for some reason, this will become the 7th Edition of the
Manual. If, in the more likely scenario, ASCE 7-22 is approved, we will produce and insert new ASCE 7-22 references, tables and wind maps and a new initial publication date. That will be followed by a final review by our group. This will allow us to resubmit that version of the manual. That version’s initial publication date will be dated 8/22, which is prior to the next and final TAC review.
On a personal note, I have now written over 50 of these articles for Florida Roofing. My ongoing goal is to keep you abreast of the
ever-changing technical landscape in which we operate. And, most of all, to help you avoid the initially described predicament. My
articles are available on FRSA’s website, www.floridaroof.com. If you have comments or suggestions for future articles or have any
technical questions, please contact me.
Mike Silvers, CPRC is owner of Silvers Systems Inc. and is consulting with FRSA Technical Director. Mike is an FRSA Past President, Life Member and Campanella Award recipient and brings over 40 years of industry knowledge and experience to FRSA’s team. Mike can be reached at silvers@floridaroof.com.
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