Structural attachments and substrate assessment · Lesson 4 of 4

Structural attachments and substrate assessment: defects, verification and case study

Eight designer-level defects from a rating on the wrong substrate to loads nobody counted, a fictional coping case worked from evidence to corrective options, and the record to file.

You will be able to: Diagnose the common attachment and substrate defects at a roof edge, explain a corrective option for each, and assemble the evidence record an engineer or reviewer can check.

13 min · 12 slides · 10 questions

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Slide 1 of 12

Defect: a rating on the wrong substrate

ES-1 specimens use the same materials, details and anchoring devices as a real building, so a rating belongs to the assembly that was tested.

AFS's wind screening tool says tested capacity never carries over to a different substrate; Drexel's Snap Coping-Max print approval shows stainless woodscrews.

So a wood-screw rating is no evidence for a steel stud or masonry parapet: ask the manufacturer.

Sources

ANSI/SPRI/FM 4435/ES-1-2022 Test Standard for Edge Systems Used with Low Slope Roofing Systems (approved November 21, 2022) - SPRI
AFS wind uplift and edge screening (Design Center): the checklist printed with every result, and Drexel's published ratings shown beside the demand - Architectural Flashing Supply
Drexel Metals ES-1 technical data sheets, print approvals, installation guides and guide specifications for the systems AFS fabricates - Drexel Metals

Glossary

Loss of securement: How ES-1 defines failure in its edge system tests: a component of the roof edge system is no longer secured.
Head joint: The vertical mortar joint between masonry units; ICC-ES ESR-4042 excludes anchor locations within 1-1/4 in. of it.
End tag: The tag on a piece of treated lumber showing "AWPA U1", the preservative code and retention, and an accredited agency mark.
Hot-dip galvanized fastener: The kind of galvanized fastener, to ASTM A153, that the American Galvanizers Association advised for ACQ and CA-treated wood.