Skip to main content

WIND UPLIFT TESTING

Damage to roofing systems typically occurs during high wind events in which the wind lifts the roofing system from the substrate or deck. In some cases, the roof is completely removed from the structure.

The air pressures that lift an airplane into the air (negative air pressure) are the same pressures that can lift a roof. The ability of a roofing system to resist this uplift is simply called wind uplift resistance.

Insurance companies, engineering companies (such as Factory Mutual Global, FMG), risk management companies, and building owners may want to determine the uplift resistance (expressed in psf) that a roofing system may resist and stay in place.

Using our in-house wind uplift (negative pressure) test chamber, K&A can determine the wind uplift resistance of a roofing system. Our chamber measures 5’x5’ and was manufactured of aircraft aluminum, certified to 410 psf at sea level, and utilizes a digital manometer and deflection readout to obtain accurate test results.

Our tests are performed and recorded in accordance with FMG Data Sheet 1-52 (latest edition). K&A has performed wind uplift tests on both new and existing roofing systems for a variety of clients that include private companies, hospital systems, municipalities, and contractors, as well as other consulting and testing companies

Contact us