Manny Oyola, Jr., Eagle Roofing Products Eastern Region and Florida
In January 1987, the Roof Tile Committee of the FRSA/NTRMA
(TRI) was commissioned to develop and write consensus guidelines for
the installation of concrete and clay roof tiles. The consensus document
process included meetings with roofing contractors, manufacturers,
suppliers, academia, roofing consultants and engineers.
These meetings, which have evolved over a period of more than thirty years, have given our industry publications
(the Manual) starting in 1996/First Edition, 1998/Second Edition, 2001/Third Edition, 2005/Fourth Edition, 2014/ Fifth Edition revised, and the newest Sixth Edition, which becomes effective on January 1, 2021 when the 6th Edition of the Florida Building Code is implemented.
During the revision of the Fourth edition in 2005, the instructions for hip and ridge attachment were revised and updated. They are designed to further clarify the current installation procedures pertaining to specific roof tile systems. These recommendations provide for only products approved by the Florida Building Code (FBC), tested according to SSTD-11 and verified by third-party independent FBC-approved laboratories, to determine the wind uplift limitations of the various hip and ridge attachment methods or by installation methods currently recognized in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) section of the FBC.
In the years that the concrete and clay tile installation manual has been in use, third-party independent testing has continued to verify the hip and ridge attachment methods. Notable research and testing was conducted at Florida International University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Redland Technology and the University of Florida Department of Civil and Coastal Engineering.
The overall assessment during the review of damage caused by the last two hurricanes that impacted Florida was summed up by a local professional roofing contractor who said that everything that was installed to the newest code held up as expected. However, damage was still found due to old code installation methods, improper installation that did not comply with the manual's instructions, workmanship defects pertaining to the placement of foam adhesive and manufacturers’ guidelines on the hip and ridge structural support that had not been followed. The industry can do a better job once the guidelines are in place for us.
Manuel “Manny” Oyola, Jr., Eagle Roofing Products holds a roofing contractors license and is an active member of the Tile Roofing Industry Alliance (TRI) and President of the Palm Beach County Roofing & Sheet Metal Contractors Association, the local FRSA Affiliate. He is also an active member of FRSA’s Codes and Roof Tile Committees, and on the Codes Subcommittee, as well as participating on the FRSA-TRI Manual Reformatting Committee. Manny teaches roof tile courses for TRI and FRSA.
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