A study of roofing damage incurred by Gulf Coast structures following Hurricane Katrina has found that buildings with steep sloped roofs held up better against the high-wind storm damage than buildings that had low sloped roofs. The study - conducted on behalf of The Roofing Industry Committee on Weather Issues through a cooperative research and development agreement with Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Buildings Technology Center - determined that steeper sloped roofs held up better due to the fact the building materials composing the roof structure defend better against wind uplift forces that occur during hurricanes. The study, led by ORNL engineer Andre Desjarlais, concludes that construction of these structures should adhere to current local building codes that have been upgraded over previous codes, closely following manufacturers' guidelines and using compliant edging systems. The funding source is DOE's Office of Building Technologies.
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