“Working to Build a Safer World” was the theme at this year’s 2006 International Code Council (ICC) Annual Conference, which took place at the Coronado Springs Resort, Orlando, FL, from September 27 to October 1. The conference offered a valuable lineup of educational seminars, including the first code development hearings of the 2006/2007 cycle, as well as the ICC expo.

The IHPA and Hurricane Protection magazine sponsored the first-ever Hurricane Protection Zone, which was new to the expo this year. The Hurricane Protection Zone featured products and services designed to make homes and buildings safer during hurricanes and other high-wind natural disasters. The expo featured more than a 135 exhibits.

The IHPA and Hurricane Protection exhibited in a new booth at the expo and received many compliments.

The ICC, a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed by the ICC.

IHPA JOINS IN FORTIFY FLORIDA FAIRS
   The IHPA participated in two of the four Fortify Florida Fairs held in conjunction with the My Safe Florida Home program. IHPA’s involvement included exhibiting and handing out consumer information highlighting the importance of selecting approved hurricane protection products. IHPA board member, Darius Grimes, code compliance and technical support, Wayne-Dalton Corp., also presented a workshop entitled “Protecting Your Home Openings.”

The IHPA participated in the second and third of a series of four fairs scheduled around the state of Florida. The second fair took place on Saturday, September 30 at the Pensacola Civic Center and was open free to the public. Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Arena, Boca Raton, was the site of the third fair and, again, was open free to the public.

In Pensacola, Grimes reports more than 4,000 local residents attended and more than 1,000 applied for the home inspections that are the first step in qualifying for the mitigation grants available as part of the My Safe Florida Home program (see page 6). The grants offer up to $5,000 in matched monies to retrofit existing homes with disaster resistant construction techniques including strengthening the roof and protecting the openings.

Both fairs featured more than 70 exhibitors. The booths consisted of insurers, contractors, emergency managers, lenders and other government and private sector partners. Also, eight workshops were presented to help homeowners learn about construction measures that make homes safer against hurricanes and for which they may be eligible for insurance premium discounts. The My Safe Florida Home program is administered by the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS).

The next step for IHPA members and other industry professionals is to submit an application and to attend a Contractor Training Class to be able to participate in bidding for shutter installations for both consumer grants and local governments participating in the Low Income Grant Programs.

The special consumer information piece IHPA handed out at the fairs was developed by Hurricane Protection magazine and the IHPA and was sponsored by Eastern Metal Supply and Town & Country.

Fortify Florida Fairs are being coordinated as a partnership of the Florida Department of Financial Services, The Office of Insurance Regulation and the Executive Office of the Governor. The fourth and final fair will be held in Orlando, the date to be determined. For more information on these events visit the My Safe Florida Home Website: www.mysafefloridahome.com.


THE FUTURE OF TESTING
   The end of this decade is going to bring some very interesting changes to how we test our products and the budgets we set for that testing. Just like insurance, the cost of testing a product is going up, in some cases dramatically.

For those of you who do not already know, ASTM-E1886 is the test method, ASTM-E1996 is the impact and cyclic test and ASTM-E330 is the positive and negative pressure loading (static loads). The ultimate goal is to have one test standard for all areas of the United States.

In the late ’90s when we first became involved with ASTM, we discovered the word “identical” in the test standards. At first it did not seem very significant, but we were wrong. The ASTM test standard was calling for three identical specimens. After some meetings with other IHPA officers, directors and engineers, we began to realize the power of that word. I did some calculations and found I would need to test 288 samples to completely test my company’s line of storm panels. That would take the better part of six to eight months and cost somewhere between $200,000 and $300,000. Not good. The word identical means every possible mounting condition, with every fastener and substrate combination. Think about the number of combinations!

This is not affecting the shutter market only. The fenestration industry has it just as bad. It means every frame, glass type, mounting condition, silicone and on and on, for every window type, door type, commercial as well as residential!

Some of us joined ASTM in an effort to find out why and try to correct or modify this potential disaster. For those of you who are not familiar with ASTM, it is a consensus standard. That means that everyone who is a voting member can have a say in what happens. This is a truly good way of doing things and brings out world-class standards that are well thought out. What it is not, however, is easy to change.

One other section put a safety factor in the impact deflection for Wind Zone 4 or areas greater than 140 miles per hour (Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys). That meant an average .050 aluminum panel with a three-inch separation to glass would then go to 3.75 inches. This would mean that almost every panel installed in Miami-Dade or the Keys would need to be built out at lest one inch. Fortunatly, there is some good news.

Bill Feeley, Jeff Robinson, Vinu Abraham (from Hurricane Test Lab) and I have been working constantly on the standards from the shutter side and have had tremendous success to date. In the 2002 versions the number of test standards came down considerably. The first three had to be identical, then you only needed one additional of all other mounting conditions. We also have submitted a change on the impact deflection + 25 percent, and it looks like that is going to go away.

We are currently in the process of creating a separate annex that will explain exactly what must be done to test each type of shutter assembly in detail. The fenestration industry is doing the same thing and both groups are working together for a realistic test program that will not cripple the industry or hinder new product development. The latest program has again significantly reduced the number of samples, but still will be far greater than any test standard used currently.

To put things in a familiar arena, a typical accordion tested to the current Miami-Dade or HVHZ standards of the 2004 FBC would require somewhere from 12 to 15 samples. The current ASTM Annex that we have developed (if approved as is) would require around 40 to 45. That is a long way from 120, but still not financially possible for many companies with multiple product lines.

Our goal is to get the number of samples down to the 20 to 25 range, before submitting a final version in April 2007. We plan to submit the current version for discussion and feedback at the ASTM meetings in Atlanta October 23 to 25.
For those of you who would like to understand this process better or participate in our group, come to the IHPA meeting on November 8 or contact one of us at any time.

Tom Johnston, IHPA Vice President