Composite Roof Tiles Show No Damage After Major Hit from Hurricane Irma
Excitement over completing a coastal dream home turned to concern recently as Mary and Larry Anderson’s new house faced the challenges of Hurricane Irma. Located in Jupiter, Florida, the 9,000-square-foot-waterfront structure sustained no damage from 90+ mph winds and several inches of rain. The Andersons credit strong construction and the use of reliable building products, such as DaVinci Roofscapes composite roofing tiles, with keeping their home safe during the storm.
“We know the DaVinci composite tiles are made to meet Miami Dade Code approvals, but we didn’t think they’d be tested so soon,” says Larry Anderson. “We just finished construction a few weeks before Hurricane Irma hit. With the path originally slated to have the eye pass right over Jupiter, we feared for the worst and hoped for the best.
“Fortunately for us, the storm moved westward in Florida. Our area experienced lots of debris down and power outages for days. For us, we literally just had some landscape damage. There wasn’t a leak at all … this roof held up extremely well to Mother Nature.”
The Anderson’s dream home features a four-car garage, guest house connected by a breezeway, dock, expansive landscaping and distinguished copper roofs. It also features a Bellaforté Shake roof in Mountain VariBlend.
“My wife was researching faux slate tiles on the Internet and found DaVinci,” says Anderson. “We ended up using the composite shake product and it looks absolutely beautiful — better than the real thing!”
A key element of the selection of DaVinci roofing for this Florida coastal design home (which boasts touches of Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons style architecture) was the product’s ability to meet stringent south Florida building codes.
In most cases, DaVinci tiles may be installed in High Velocity Hurricane Zones requiring minimum wind velocity (three-second gust) of 150 mph. Like all DaVinci tiles, the Bellaforté Shake roofing product is Class 4 impact rated and meets Class A fire resistance standards. The one-inch tile thickness and 12-inch tile width provide an authentic replica to real cedar shakes, except the faux shakes perform better — resisting cracking, fading, mold, algae, fungus, insects, salt air and sea spray.
The roof on the sprawling home (which encompasses 12,000-square-feet when considering the porches and breezeways) was installed by Sun Catcher Roofing out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The company also added three large copper cupolas and copper valley metal and flashing.
“This composite shake roof with the copper accents really creates an outstanding finish to the Anderson’s home,” says Dave Neddeff, owner of Sun Catcher Roofing. “The quality of the synthetic tiles, the manufacturer’s lifetime limited material warranty and the simplicity of installation all make this a dream roof for a dream home.”
With the 2017 hurricane season winding down, the Andersons can now focus on enjoying their new home … with the confidence that their DaVinci roof overhead can handle whatever Mother Nature brings their way.