Metal Sales panels approved for use with OSB underlayment
by Jonathan McGaha | 2 June 2011 12:00 am
Metal Sales Manufacturing Corp., Louisville, Ky., has received Florida Building Code Approval for the use of its Classic Rib panels on Oriented Strand Board sheathing. This approval, finalized in April, signifies the variety of building materials that can be used in conjunction with Metal Sales products. While the company’s panels have received many authorizations for use with plywood, this latest approval will be a useful validation to builders who prefer to work with OSB. The sheathing, which first debuted in 1979, has recently become a popular choice because of its cost-effectiveness, its impressive weight-to-strength ratio, and its renewability.
“This is a documented demonstration of the capacity of our panels,” explains David Stermer, Metal Sales director of engineering. “Our products are of high quality, and it is important to be able to quantify that strength with standardized testing. This way, we can proudly stand behind our products and have the numbers to back up our claims.”
In practical terms, this approval indicates that Metal Sales 29-gauge Classic Rib panels have the ability to withstand wind speeds up to 150 mph, even when attached to lightweight 7/16- inch (minimum) thick OSB. No stitch screws were used during testing, which means that the panels require the minimal amount of effort and hardware to install. The test also included 30# roofing felt over the shingles, demonstrating further covering options. The panels have strong uplift resistance, having passed Underwriting Laboratories Wind Uplift Class 90, which is reserved for only the best of roofing assemblies.
The UL Wind Uplift Class 90 signifies that a roofing assembly has been subjected to hours of simulated wind loads and has shown no weakness. Class 90 is a measure of the UL 580 testing protocol, which determines uplift resistance by means of static differential pressure. Roofing assemblies must pass both Class 30 and Class 60 in order to undergo the Class 90 evaluation. Once the Class 90 phases were completed, the testing concluded with the UL 1897 protocol which was run to demonstrate the ultimate capacity of the assembly. Metal Sales Classic Rib panels passed all of these tests with flying colors.
Metal Sales has nearly 40 approvals from the Florida Building Code, which remains the only construction approval system that is applied statewide. The system’s all-encompassing standards are high, owing to Florida’s extreme vulnerability to hurricanes. As a result, to achieve wind-resistance certification in Florida indicates a strong likelihood of building code approvals for all other regions.
For more information, visit www.metalsales.us.com.
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