Building Sciences: How Not to Build Roofs

We seem to have forgotten how to build roofs. The Superdome roof that failed during Hurricane Katrina did not have an air barrier. How was the replacement roof that was installed in 2002 allowed to be constructed without an air barrier when the original roof that was installed in the 1980s had one? Could it be that the lack of an air barrier caused the Superdome roof to fail in wind conditions that were pretty minor as far as hurricanes go? Can we learn any lessons from all of this? Many roofs today are being constructed or have already been constructed without air barriers. This writer predicts many uplifting moments in our future unless air barriers become common.

Units: None

Citation: ASHRAE Journal, vol. 50, no. 3



Product Code(s): D-AJ08MarBS