Your Home’s First Line of Defense

When severe weather strikes, a FORTIFIED Roof keeps the wind and rain out, preventing a cascade of damage that can ruin your home and your belongings.

FORTIFIED Roof was specifically designed to prevent damage that commonly occurs during high winds, hurricanes, hailstorms, severe thunderstorms, and even tornadoes up to EF-2. No matter what type of roof you have—such as shingle, metal, or tile—the following FORTIFIED Roof requirements will make your home stronger.

STRONGER EDGES

Roof damage often begins when wind gets underneath the roof edge and begins ripping it away from the home. To help protect this vulnerable area, FORTIFIED requires specific materials and installation methods including a wider drip edge and a fully adhered starter strip that when used together create a stronger system.

BETTER ATTACHMENT

Instead of common smooth nails, FORTIFIED requires ring-shank nails installed in an enhanced pattern to help keep the roof deck attached to your home in high winds. In fact, using ring-shank nails nearly doubles the strength of your roof against the forces of winds.

SEALED ROOF DECK

If wind rips off your roof covering―such as shingles, metal panels or tiles―this exposes the wood beneath and allows water to pass through the gaps and enter your home. FORTIFIED requires roofs to be sealed to prevent this type of water damage.

IMPACT-RESISTANT SHINGLES

FORTIFIED requires shingles tested by IBHS to best withstand hail up to 2 inches in diameter.

And in hail-prone areas:

** When used together, these small but important details make a huge impact on the strength of your roof and better protect your home against severe weather.

IBHS created FORTIFIED Roof to help homeowners keep their roof on and keep water out during high winds, hurricanes, hailstorms, and severe thunderstorms.

FORTIFIED goes beyond emergency and disaster preparedness to give you peace of mind knowing your roof is structurally resilient and will better withstand severe weather.

Celebrating 15,000 FORTIFIED Designations

Download this checklist and take it to your roofer to get started.

Click here to find out which checklist is right for you.