Hail Impact on Nebraska Roofing Systems - Roofing Representatives

Hail Impact on Nebraska Roofing Systems

• August 29, 2019
• Posted By admin

When we think about living in the Midwest and severe weather we usually think about extremely cold weather or heavy snowfall. But did you know Nebraska is considered part of ‘hail alley’?

Hail can cause expensive damage to property. In the past year, 54% of hail storms reported in Nebraska produced hail 1.25″ in diameter OR LARGER. That’s a pretty staggering percentage on it’s own but the resulting damage costs is even more unbelievable at over $11.1 MILLION! Yeah…you read that correctly….over eleven million dollars in damage in one year.

The big question is what should building owners, architects and contractors alike be considering when designing or building a commercial roofing system that can stand up to these weather events. Most single-ply systems have great tensile strength built into the system, but if you’re planning for ‘hail valley’ or neighboring states more is usually needed.

One approach to hail damage control is to add an impact- absorbing layer to the roofing system. The right substrate can dramatically reduce damage—and repair costs—from both hail impact and foot traffic involved in normal roof maintenance. DensDeck® or DensDeck® Prime Roof Boards deliver the impact resistance that’s needed in a roofing substrate.

Here’s a case study from the manager of roofing programs for a major retailer with over 130 million square feet of low slope roofing.

“At a Nebraska facility, golf ball sized hail had crushed foam insulation layers and completely destroyed the single-ply roof. When we rebuilt that roof, we added 1⁄4″ DensDeck between the foam insulation and the membrane. In a subsequent storm, hailstones 4″ in diameter destroyed trees, automobiles and roofs of all types. But our store came out with no fractures in the membrane.”

The visible savings in this case study were well worth the investment of adding DensDeck to the roofing system but the manger added….

“We opened the membrane because we wanted to see if the DensDeck was broken or dimpled, and whether it needed to be replaced before the next storm. Our conclusion was that the DensDeck substrate survived completely and was ready for the next hailstorm. We now specify DensDeck in roofs in areas where hail is common.”

To learn more about the Benefits of a Rigid Cover Board or how you can take cover in your next roofing project contact us.