TOPIC 05

Let’s talk numbers

7 Min Read

CHAPTER 01: MAXIMIZE YOUR ROOF’S LIFE EXPECTANCY

FMI Roof Cover Board Survey

Throughout this minicourse, we’ve provided you with real stories that illustrate what can happen when a cover board is left out of a commercial roofing assembly.

But some building owners will also want to see hard data. Here, we’ve given you all the facts to share with stakeholders who aren’t convinced of a cover board’s value.

Cost Savings

Owners using a cover board as part of their low-slope commercial roof assembly saved an average of $1.40 per square foot in O&M costs over a 20-year lifespan.¹

A pie chart on the left has a repeated DensDeck® Roof Board print filling in the major area. Text says “86%” above it and “Roofs with a cover board” below it. The pie chart on the left half white, the right a yellow will a yellow brick stack print has “52%” above it and “Roofs without a cover board” below it.

Long Lasting

Roofs with a cover board met owners’ life expectancy nearly twice as often as roofs without a cover board (86% vs. 52%).¹

Four calendars with a DensDeck® Roof Board print on the front. Above text says, “Life expectancy:” and below, “+ 4 Years.”

4 Years Longer

The median life expectancy of a commercial roof using a cover board increased by four years.¹

How to talk about return on investment

Watch the video for Greg’s recommendation on how to help building owners think of their roofs as an asset instead of an afterthought.

SOURCE:
1 FMI Roof Cover Board Survey completed in May 2020. Actual results may vary.

CHAPTER 02: THE COST OF A COVER BOARD

Cover board is approximately 1% of the total building cost.

Graphical text states, “Estimated cover board costs by percentage. Roofs are typically 3% to 5% of the cost of a commercial building. Including a cover board increases the cost of a roof by about 20%. Example: 45,000 square foot building = $14 million. The roof is estimated to cost $675, 000. Including a cover board will increase the cost by about $135,000. [Check mark in a circle], The investment in a cover board = 1% of the total building cost.” A line rendering of a commercial building is to the right.

*Hypothetical use case to demonstrate costs by percentage. Consult your building envelope manager to talk about specific project calculations.

Chapter 03: GATHER YOUR DATA

The numbers don’t lie

Background: Dark sky with lightning over a suburban home. Graphical text states, “Increased 5x past 40 years.”

Over the past 40 years, billion-dollar severe storm disasters have increased in frequency 5x.²

Background: Commercial solar panels on a rooftop. Graphical text states, “Triple in size 3x from 2023 to 2028.

The U.S. solar industry is predicted to triple in size from 2023 to 2028.³

Background: A fire engulfs a building with leafless trees nearby. Graphical text states, “Increased by 27% from 2013 to 2022.”

Non-residential building fires increased by 27% from 2013 to 2022.⁴

Background: Hailstones fly through a gray sky. Graphical text states, “Over 100 miles per hour.”

Very large hailstones can fall at over 100 miles per hour.⁵

Background: A flooded shoe store. Graphical text states, “Totaled over $101 Billion from 2021 to 2023.”

Damage from severe storm disasters in the U.S. totaled over $101 billion from 2021 to 2023.²

Background: Close up of DensDeck® Roof Boards installed on a commercial rooftop with workers in the distance. Graphical text states, “900 to 1800 PSI.”

DensDeck® Roof Boards have a compressive strength ranging from 900 to 1,800 PSI.

SOURCES:
2 NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters (2024). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/billions/, DOI: 10.25921/stkw-7w73

3 SEIA/Wood Mackenzie Solar Market Insight Report Q2 2023 https://seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-q2-2023/#:~:text=Over%20the%20course%20of%20our,of%20year%2Dend%202022

4 Nonresident Fire Estimate Summaries – Nonresident building fire trends (2013-2022). U.S. Fire Administration (page last reviewed Dec. 2024).https://www.usfa.fema.gov/statistics/nonresidential-fires/

5 https://www.agcs.allianz.com/content/dam/onemarketing/agcs/agcs/pdfs-risk-advisory/checklists/ARC-Hailstorm-Checklist-EN.pdf

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