How do you fire proof a roof?

Author: May

May. 06, 2024

Guide to Fire-Resistant Roofing Materials - Custom Shingles

Benefits of a Resistant Roof

Although roof shingles are not fireproof, professionals can make them fire-resistant and safe for your home. Fire-resistant roofing systems have many benefits, including: 

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  • Additional durability: Many fire-resistant treatments act as a preservative for roofing materials, helping them last longer.

  • Reduced pest presence: Some chemicals can make your roof unappealing for small pests, such as woodpeckers, that could otherwise plague your shingles.

  • Fire prevention: Fire-resistant roofing systems can significantly slow the spread of fire, providing first responders more time to reach the scene.

  • Increased roofing options: Popular roofing materials that create unique looks, like wood or synthetic thatch, can receive a fire-resistant treatment that makes them perfect for protecting your home while making it stand out.

Fire-Resistant Roofing Materials

Most roofing materials can be treated with a fire-retardant that protects them and helps prevent fire spread. Furthermore, while many materials can be fire-resistant, some have a higher class ranking than others. These materials are less likely to catch and spread flame by nature, making them an excellent addition to your home. 

Metal

Metal is one of the most fireproof roofing materials since it does not combust under fire, and few fires are hot enough to melt it. Every metal has a different design quality, so you should always ensure yours has a Class A rating. 

Metal roofing systems can last 40 to 70 years, making them an excellent investment for the long run. They're also non-corrosive and lightweight, making them a suitable option for many homeowners. 

Concrete

Concrete and clay are also very resistant to flame, though they are popular roofing materials only in some areas. These roofing systems can give your home a Mediterranean look, but they can be expensive and need more frequent replacing. Clay and concrete tiles are also heavier than many others, and your home may require additional structural support to bear the extra weight. 

Slate

Slate is a type of rock, making these shingles naturally fire-resistant. This material can be expensive to install, though it can give an elegant touch to historic and modern homes. This material is also heavy. As with concrete or clay, your home may need additional support for this type of shingle. However, these systems are very durable and have a natural beauty that appeals to many homeowners. 

Treated Wood

Treated wood is also an excellent choice for homeowners. These roofing systems are highly customizable, and a fire-resistant treatment can help them protect your home from fires. You may need to re-treat some wood shingles, but the beautiful and natural looks you can achieve for your home make this material a versatile option for many homeowners. 

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How to Fireproof Wood Roofing

Like many other materials, you can fireproof wood roofing with the correct application of treatments. While many areas have different requirements and codes for shingle fire treatment, copper arsenate (CCA) is a commonly accepted fire treatment. This combination of chromium, arsenic and copper leaves a green residue and essentially acts as a preservative. 

Certi-GUARD is a labeling process to determine whether cedar shingles meet the requirements for a fire-resistant class. Class C shingles receive a blue label and Class B shingles receive a red label. Although individual shingles cannot achieve a Class A rating, a component roofing system that uses Class B shingles and fire-retardant underlayment can earn a Class A label. 

At Custom Shingles, we create fireproof wood shingles by applying different treatments to our lumber, making them better able to protect your home. We ensure our wood shingles are CCA-treated and offer Certi-GUARD shingles to keep your home safe from fires. 

Why Fire-Resistant Roofing Is Important

Your roof is very exposed to natural elements. Many external factors can affect your home even when your family practices fire safety and feel that you live in a safe location. For example, those who live in areas where wildfires are common face the possibility of an ember sparking a fire in their home. Wildfires spread quickly and cause detrimental damage to anything in their path, including neighborhoods and individual homes. 

Even those who live in urban areas or otherwise don't face the possibility of a wildfire can still see other fire hazards. Fireworks, barbecue embers, chimney sparks and lighting strikes can ignite a flame that threatens your home. Another home in your neighborhood could also catch fire, leading the embers to fly towards your house. 

How flammable your shingles are will vary depending on what class of material they're made of and what fireproofing treatments they've received. A fire-resistant roof can help protect your home from devastating damage and help reduce the likelihood of the fire spreading to other homes and structures. 

Fire-Resistant Roofs

When ignited by embers, the burning debris in the gutter will provide a flame contact exposure to the edge of the roof. The protection provided by the roof edge must be sufficient to resist the entry of flames into the attic space or cathedral ceiling. The roof edge must also protect against the ignition of the exposed roof sheathing or the exposed fascia board. The exposure is more severe if metal angle flashing is not used at the roof edge and if the gutter is hung below the roof edge, leaving the roof sheathing exposed.

The most important thing you can do for the gutter is to keep it clear of debris. This debris can be readily ignited by embers during a wildfire.  The material that the gutter is made from is less important.  A metal (noncombustible) gutter will stay in place while the debris burns and the resulting flames will impinge on the edge of your roof (not your Class A roof covering, but the edge of it).

The vulnerability of the roof edge will depend on materials used and how well the flashing if used, protects the edge. On the other hand, a vinyl (plastic) gutter will quickly melt, detach, and fall to the ground (Jennings 2000). The burning debris will fall with it and continue to burn on the ground. Once on the ground, the roof edge is no longer exposed to flames, but combustible siding may be, particularly if the near-home vegetation or ground cover can easily ignite. The problem with gutters is that the debris can accumulate in them. Keep debris out of them, and the problem goes away. Inspection and removal of debris in gutters should be done before fire season and as necessary thereafter. Since debris, just like burning embers, can be blown in from surrounding areas, a good vegetation management ( fuel reduction) plan around your property can reduce, though not eliminate, the accumulation of debris in gutters. A pre-evacuation task that would alleviate the problem of some debris accumulation in a gutter would be to plug the downspouts and fill the gutter with water. The downspouts would be uncovered upon returning home.

Given the potential problems with gutters, why not just do away with them? Properly installed and maintained gutters and downspouts play an important moisture-management role for a building by collecting and moving water to where it will not have a negative (moisture- related) impact on the foundation and crawl space. (A properly installed subsurface drainage system, however, could alleviate the need for gutters.)

A number of gutter cover devices are commercially available. These products are intended to limit the accumulation of debris in the gutter and allow for the free flow of water into and out of them. These devices either cover the gutter with a solid material or screen or fill the gutter with a porous (foam) material. There is variability in the cover devices, including those that 1) incorporate a screen that completely covers the gutter, 2) incorporate a solid, thin metal sheet that covers the gutter but has an opening at the outside edge to allow water to enter, or 3) use a hybrid metal cover/louvered design. The solid, thin metal cover relies on the surface tension of water, releasing from the rounded metal edge of the cover to drop into the gutter. The porous foam devices allow water to enter and flow through the gutter while excluding debris larger than the pores. A procedure to evaluate the performance of these devices has not been developed, so if you are consider- ing one of them, review the available literature that represents a range of designs and look at devices installed on nearby homes. The devices require maintenance–with some there is a tendency for debris to accumulate on the roof behind the device, which you should remove. None of the available devices is likely to be completely maintenance-free.

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