Details

Provides Superior Protection and More ...

Approximately $18 billion dollars in claimed loss occurs from roofing failures annually in America. An estimated $6.7 billion dollars in energy loss occurs annually 10 million or more tons of shingles are deposited in landfills annually. (See Importance Indicators for more details.)

The technical issues which cause these failures are due to two factors:
Installation Procedures and Materials Used...

Superior Wind Resistance

Roofing systems typically use nails, staples or similar installation methods. These methods directly secure only a small area of a shingle. A seal down strip, usually consisting of "tar" or an adhesive is usually used to secure a small area of the lower portion of a shingle to an underlying row.

These methods of installation do not and cannot provide for the full attachment of the entire shingle and are dependent on other alternatives such as heavier materials, costly installation procedures and/or structural enhancements to aid in wind resistance.

The OmniMax Roofing System™ uses a method that allows for each shingle to be secured at all available attachable points to the roof deck and to one another. This provides for overall interconnectivity which dramatically increases the resistance capabilities of the roofing systems without requiring heavy materials, costly installation procedures or structural enhancements.

It has been estimated by expert opinion that The OmniMax Roofing System™ will withstand at least 220 mph winds. In essence the OmniMax Roofing System™ could provide roofs with a means of remaining in place as long as the structures themselves stand.

Someone once commented that the only other way to achieve this type of protection would be to weld a steel plate to the structure.

Typical roofing systems provide for wind protection ranging from 40 to 70 mph.

Medium grade systems that are more expensive and may require additional installation procedures typically reach protection ranging from 70 to 90 mph.

Higher grade systems that are more expensive, which typically require special installation procedures and/or additional structural enhancements can reach protection ranging from 90 to 110 mph, with rare products reaching 130 mph protection.

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Category One Hurricane: Winds 74-95 mph

Category Two Hurricane: Winds 96-110 mph

Category Three Hurricane: Winds 111-130 mph

Category Four Hurricane: Winds 131-155 mph

Category Five Hurricane: Winds greater than 155 mph

Hurricane Katrina made landfall

with winds of 140 mph

More than 81,000 roofs in Louisiana and more than 152,000 buildings within an 82,000-square-mile area stretching from Texas to Alabama received temporary roofing following the two hurricanes that pounded more than 500 miles of the Gulf Coast region

A team of more than 700 engineers and other volunteers from throughout 41 Army Corps of Engineers districts worldwide wrapped up a seven-month mission to provide temporary repairs to both residential and public building roofs damaged by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

Source: Donna Fair, Air Force News

These blue roofs are temporarily provided for the protection of structures that suffered roof damage from Rita and Katrina.

According to the US Army Installation Command, roofing failures represent one of their most significant and costly maintenance problems.

In addition, military resources are often utilized to assist the civilian population in recovery after severe weather or hurricanes. After hurricanes Rita and Katrina, approximately 700 engineers and volunteers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers districts around the world took 7 months to provide temporary roofing.

Superior Water Barrier

Typical roofing systems require that the exterior water barrier (shingle) be penetrated to secure it, usually with nails or staples. These nails, staples or other devices articulate into many areas of potential leaks. Depending on the surface area to be covered, these potential leaks can number in the thousands.

Roof leaks can cause substantial damage to insulation, walls, floors, wiring and other structural components and/or contents. Many roof leaks go unnoticed until significant damage has already occurred.

The OmniMax Roofing System™ eliminates the need for penetrating the water barrier (shingle) and eliminates the thousands of possibilities of damage causing leaks.

This makes the OmniMax Roofing System™ an important part in making roofs much more proficient at protecting structures and their contents from damage.

Watch this video on YouTube: "Asphalt Shingles Premature Failure - BUSTED"

by CBC Marketplace. (This link will open in a separate window. )

Standard Installation Methods and Year Round Installation

Due to varying climates, geographical locations and other variables there are many different methods of installing typical roofing systems, even those of the same type.

The OmniMax Roofing System™ provides a single method of installation regardless of the circumstances.

Ease of Installation, Replacement and Repair

Many builders which we have interviewed have advised that the simple installation of OmniMax Roofing System™ could reduce labor costs by 3 to 4 times.

Additionally, replacement can be made much simpler since the shingles can simply be removed by hand and new ones aligned and placed back onto the foundation layer.

Typical systems require that a large area of roofing be removed to perform a repair. OmniMax Roofing System™ is designed to alleviate this issue, so that only the immediate area to be repaired needs to be removed. This reduces material, labor and other costs significantly.

Energy Efficiency

Roofing system damage and/or failure has a direct impact on a structure's energy efficiency. Insulation exposed to moisture resulting from leaks will fail and greatly diminish a structure's ability to conserve energy.

Various reports show that most asphalt systems begin to fail for one reason or another within 5 to 17 years, regardless of their limited warrantees. This is due largely in part to the fact that asphalt is not very durable. Asphalt can be torn easily, it cracks, buckles and in general is a poor material to use against nature's elements and in conjunction with the typical installation practices, it makes for a very poor choice as a roof.

OmniMax Roofing System™ will use materials which are more durable and not subject to the flaws of the asphalt type systems. In addition OmniMax Roofing System™ will be 100% recyclable, with the future prospect to implement thin film solar technologies.

By providing roofing systems made of more suitable materials for protection from nature and by improving installation practices, OmniMax Roofing System™ can help reduce energy loss for structures. Considering all of the structures in this nation, which use the asphalt type system or other similar systems, and the probable energy loss from these structures due to roof system failure, OmniMax Roofing System™ could have a significant impact on our nation's ability to conserve its energy and its resources.

Photos of typical shingles and their failures

Environmental

Due to the consistent failure of asphalt shingle systems, there is a large amount of scrap material deposited in our landfills annually. The OmniMax Roofing Systems™ will provide for greater structural protection and ease of recyclability that will play a major role in reducing both the debris deposited in our landfills and the resources needed to repair or replace materials in a damaged structure.

- Athena Institute: “Re-roofing accounts for the largest share of the annual asphalt shingle market…at 80 to 85% in the U.S. by the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers’ Association (ARMA). Re-roofing generates a corresponding large volume of scrap material, estimated at 7 to 10 million tons (6 to 9 million metric tonnes) of shingle tear-off waste and installation scrap in the U.S.”