More than 3 million roofs were damaged in the severe storms of 1990 at a cost of more than £1bn. Redland claims that 75% of the damage could have been avoided because the windspeeds rarely exceeded those allowed for in the British Standards design guidelines. The company claims that most roofs failed because they were not fixed correctly. And with weather experts predicting the frequency of extreme gales will increase by 30% by 2050, the problem is set to get worse.
Redland's web-based FixMaster incorporates British Standards specifications and basic building data to recommend a suitable fixing system. The formula takes into account wind direction, topographical assessment and local features such as cliffs and hills. It can also allow for the presence of nearby tall buildings or even pressures generated by aircraft trailing wake vortices.
The service is available at www.redland.co.uk. Once on the FixMaster site, users have to complete a series of click-boxes to build up picture of the scheme. This includes features such as: tile details, site details and roof details. Once complete, the user clicks on the submit icon and in a matter of days the specification appears.
Redland Roofing Systems
