Edge metal: A structure’s shield from tornados

By Jenny Yu.  

Learn about the importance of edge metal in protecting properties from increasing severe weather events.  

In a recent Read Listen Watch® (RLW) episode, Megan R. Ellsworth spoke with Hickman Edge Systems’ Director of Private Label and OEM Jason Hildenbrand about the role that edge metal plays in securing the roof’s edge and protecting the building envelope. With more than 20 years of experience in the industry, Jason started as a field technician, worked his way to becoming a field manager and now oversees strategic partnerships and private label initiative development for Carlisle Architectural Metals (CAM). Through all these experiences, Jason has a wealth of knowledge on metals that he shared with us at The Coffee Shops. 

He started by sharing a basic definition of edge metal: “It's essentially the termination and transition between the roofing membrane and other building envelope components. It can be a parapet, a roof edge or even a flow-over edge condition — a coping, a fascia, drip edge, various flashings and of course, a gutter. The key is really having a system that is applicable to the condition and properly securing the membrane at the perimeter.”  

“In basic terms,” Jason simplified further, “It's the edge of a building.” 

After defining edge metal, Jason explained that the roof’s edge is the most vulnerable part of the building envelope because it is the area where the roof and the wall transition is subject to the highest pressures. This is an issue now more than ever because the number and severity of weather incidents continues to increase. 

“In the past two years, there have been 46 states that have experienced billion-dollar loss events, and that's significant,” Jason noted. “It's five times more billion-dollar events than in the past 20 years and even in the previous two decades before that. The industry projections indicate that those losses are going to double in the next 10 years.” 

Because these intense storms and weather incidents are only expected to worsen, the industry is tasked to address these concerns in envelope design and roofing installation. Jason shared a real-world example of how proper installation and code-compliant materials were the difference between an intact structure and an adjacent damaged one in the event of an EF3 tornado. 

“One of the buildings was re-roofed and installed with an extruded edge system and code-compliant material warranted. About 30 days after installation, an EF3 tornado came through the area. The building that was not re-roofed ended up looking like open storage. You could see the membrane that had been pulled off was in the power lines behind it,” Jason said. 

“The building that had been re-roofed within that 30-day period was able to weather that storm,” he continued. “The membrane stayed intact, because the perimeter edge metal protected it. And outside of some minor damage to the membrane because of debris and things like that, that building was essentially able to stay intact. The folks from the building that was damaged actually sheltered in the newly roofed building.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to learn more about the role edge metal plays in protecting the building envelope.