FORTIFIED is a better way to build, re-roof, or retrofit your home to protect against severe weather.
FORTIFIED Home is a voluntary construction and re-roofing program designed to strengthen homes and commercial buildings against specific types of severe weather such as high winds, hail, hurricanes and even tornadoes.
FORTIFIED Home offers three ways to strengthen and protect your new or existing home.
The Program Provides:
- Free access to construction standards, which are based on more than 20 years of scientific research and real-world testing by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS).
- A network of contractors trained to provide the right upgrades to protect your home from the type of severe weather events it faces each year.
- Third-party verification that the upgraded construction materials and installation methods used on your home meet the standards required for a FORTIFIED designation certificate.
There are two FORTIFIED programs, both with specific requirements beyond what’s required by most building codes, that provide protection from storms as strong as a Category 3 hurricane or an EF-2 tornado.
- FORTIFIED Home for homeowners
- FORTIFIED Commercial™ for commercial property owners
Roofing or Re-Roofing
FORTIFIED Roof™ focuses on strengthening the roof to help keep it attached to your home during high winds and keep water out if roof covering (such as shingles or tiles) get blown off in a storm.
- Improves roof sheathing attachment
- Provides a sealed roof deck
- Reduces chances of attic ventilation system failure (roof vents and gable end wall vents)
Best for Existing Homes
FORTIFIED Silver™ includes all the requirements of FORTIFIED Roof™ plus strengthens windows, doors, and gable ends and ensures attached structures like porches and carports are well anchored.
- Protects all openings (glazed openings, entry doors, garage doors)
- Strengthens gable ends and overhangs
- Improves the anchorage of attached structures
- Strengthens vinyl and aluminum soffits
Best for New Homes
FORTIFIED Gold™ adds to the FORTIFIED Roof™ and FORTIFIED Silver™ requirements by tying the structure together.
- Provides continuous load path connections to better tie your house together―keeping the roof connected to the upper walls, the upper walls connected to the lower walls, and the lower walls tied down into the foundation
- Adequately secures chimneys to the structure
- Ensures exterior walls provide resistance to wind pressures and debris impact
- Ensures windows and doors meet appropriate design pressures in addition to being protected from windborne debris
