When you’re picking a new roof for your home, any roofing company will tell you to choose a roof that has a high fire rating. This is because not only is it usually required by building codes but also because roofs with good fire ratings can help slow down the spread of fires. But how exactly can you tell if your roof’s fire rating is the right one for you?
Here are the different fire ratings used for roofing systems:
Roofing systems with a Class A rating is the ideal choice that homeowners should look to. This is because roofs with Class A ratings are usually effective against severe fire exposures, effectively protecting your roof. A roof can be proven that it has a Class A fire rating if it can experience maximum flame spread of 6 feet, last for two to four hours before ignition, and resist 15 cycles of a gas flame turned on and off. Common Class A roofing materials are clay tiles, slate, and asphalt glass fiber composition shingles.
Class B roofs are effective against moderate fire exposures and are usually proven when the roof can experience a maximum flame spread of 8 feet, last one hour prior to ignition, and resist eight cycles of a gas flame turned on and off. Class B roofing materials include pressure treated shakes and shingles.
On the other hand, Class C only provides light roofing protection and roofs with Class C ratings are able to experience a maximum flame spread of 13 feet, last 20 minutes before ignition and resist three cycles of a gas flame turned on and off. Common examples of Class C roofing materials are untreated wood shakes, plywood and particleboard. No roofer will recommend this as a roof covering.
If a roof is unrated, it means that it has not passed requirements needed to be called a Class C material. This kind of roofing system provides little to no fire resistance and should not be installed in your home as most building codes do not accommodate this type of material.
Make your “roofer near me” search easier by turning to WaynCo Roofing LLC. When it comes to residential and commercial roofing services, we are the number one service providers to approach when and we won’t let you down! Give us a call at (704) 814-9566 or fill out our contact form to get a FREE estimate. Talk to us today!
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