Letters

RICOWI data disputed

The article "Small components, big effects," November 2008 issue, page 36, written by Lisa McIlvoy, director of marketing for W.P. Hickman Co., Asheville, N.C., quoted an excerpt from an RSI article published in November 2005 regarding the Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues (RICOWI) Inc. hurricane investigations.

The RSI article made the following statement about Peter Garrigus, vice president of engineering for Trufast Corp., Bryan, Ohio: "In nearly 95 percent of the cases studied where roofing system failure was seen, the problems were because of poor workmanship and substituted materials, explained Garrigus, who had made similar observations during inspections conducted after Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew in years past."

This statement is not attributable to RICOWI, and Garrigus does not recall making this statement. Although workmanship was noted as a problem, RICOWI investigators determined far less damage occurred when contractors installed roof systems according to manufacturer specifications and latest building codes.

Interested parties may view or download RICOWI's hurricane investigation reports from its Web site, www.ricowi.com.

Patricia A. Wood-Shields RICOWI Powder Springs, Ga.

McIlvoy responds: I apologize for the incorrect citing in my article and for any confusion I may have created. The observation in my article that "the Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues (RICOWI) noted in its September 2007 report about Hurricane Katrina that nearly 95 percent of roof system failures resulting from the storm were caused by poor workmanship or substituted materials" was based on multiple sources:

1. The information was accurately quoted from a November 2005 RSI article entitled "Hurricane Lessons Learned" and was listed in that article as one of the "key findings from RICOWI research."
2. RICOWI's Hurricane Katrina report states: "One team speculated that damage to all roofs in the area they examined was less than 10% when improper installation and deterioration were eliminated as causes. Roofs designed to code and installed according to manufacturer's recommendations performed very well."
3. RICOWI's Hurricane Katrina report also states: "The low-slope roof damage viewed was a result of the products not being applied according to code or prescribed manufacturer standards for perimeter and membrane attachment."
4. I had informal conversations with members of RICOWI examination teams.

I would note none of the sources I mention attempts to apportion the edge-metal failures by workmanship vs. substituted (noncode-compliant) materials; these were identified aggregately as the primary causes.

To the extent that the 95 percent estimate does not constitute RICOWI's official view on this matter, I regret any error. I believed I was accurately reflecting RICOWI's position based on the sources mentioned. Regardless of what the exact percentage is, the point I was attempting to make about the importance of proper installation and using code-compliant materials is strongly substantiated by the RICOWI report.