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The latest California solar power law requires all new homes to have solar power. The Energy Commission estimates that based on a 30-year mortgage, the law will increase the average mortgage payment by about $40 bucks. Still, at the same time, it would save the average California homeowner about $80 in energy bills, according to The [...]

An insurance company in Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa cautions homeowners about some dangers of natural thatched roofs. The Hollard Insurance Company wrote a thought-provoking blog post highlighting some concerns about natural thatched roofs people often don't consider. Their focus was on thatched roofs and fire. A consumer asked if thatched roof buildings are insurable in [...]

Wondering what the purpose of a rake board is? Well, first, let's talk about the roof's rake. Have you ever heard of a rake on a roof? To start, the rake isn't exactly on the roof. It's actually the sloped sides of a gable end. Sometimes, you'll see flat rakes with no overhang. Sometimes it [...]

In roofing, a drip edge along can help extend the shingle out over the eave while also keeping shingles up off the roof deck. That way, any wind driven rain can't get behind the fascia board or roof deck. Some roofers believe installing a drip edge is a waste of money, but drip edges can [...]

State and federal agencies get to determine their own building codes. Generally speaking though, most choose to just use the standard building codes. Sometimes they will add their own amendments, of course. But in general, more agencies use model building codes published by the International Code Council. This includes building codes for roofs. The International [...]

Many resorts that utilize thatch roofing for accessory structures are actually in Wind Borne Debris Regions. Wind Borne Debris Regions are areas within the Hurricane Prone Regions located within a mile of the coastal mean high water line where ever the basic wind speed is equal to or greater than 110 mph. Also, Hawaii is in [...]

Curious about Zone 4 wind speed counties in the United States? County officials declare their official wind speeds when they adopt local building codes generally. However, the wind speeds should reflect those stated by the recent publications from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Sometimes several wind speeds apply in very large cities. See, [...]

You may have seen windstorm classification ratings like as 1-60, 1-90 or 1-120. Building owners and sometimes even uninformed contractors too often correlate these classification ratings to wind speeds of 60, 90 or 120 miles per hour (mph).  Yet, they're incorrect! When you see a windstorm classification rating, it's actually talking about wind uplift pressures [...]

Soprema, top producer of waterproofing materials for roofs, broke ground on its new plant in Woodstock. The Soprema plant is already accepting resumes and plans to open this year. The plants goes up in the business park on about 15 acres of land in Woodstock. The plant will host a new production line geared towards increasing [...]