Hurricane Resistance of Building Enclosure Components

In a recent broadcast e-mail to the BETEC Board of Direction, David Altenhofen, AIA wrote:

While doing research for a large project in a hurricane area I found the NIST Technical Note 1476, Performance of Physical Structures in Hurricane Katrina and Rita: A Reconnaissance Report and note several recommendations for further study that may be of interest to BETEC.

Recommendation 16 states: “Conduct detailed studies to identify mechanisms for water egress into buildings during hurricanes and to develop improved building envelope construction and cladding systems that are resistant to water ingress.”
Recommendation 21 states: “Conduct detailed studies of the performance of residential asphalt shingle roofing, metal roofing on both residential and commercial buildings, and low-rise membrane roofs on commercial buildings to identify factors that affected performance and provide the technical basis for improved guidance on the use of these roofing systems in high wind zones.”

Both of these recommendations appear to be exactly what BETEC is about, bridging the knowledge gap between research, industry, experts, design professionals and builders. The NIST report does not appear to specifically assign these studies but does identify DOE and HUD as interested parties. Is there something for us to do here?

The full report is available at http://www.bfrl.nist.gov/investigations/pubs/NIST_TN_1476.pdf

Thanks David!