"Sealed decks, ring-shank fastening and locked-down edge metal — roofing built to the standard written for hurricanes, then verified by an independent evaluator."
FORTIFIED™ is a construction standard developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. It was written for exactly the conditions we have on the Alabama coast, and it goes after the three ways roofs actually come apart in a hurricane: the decking pulling loose from the framing, water pouring in once the shingles are gone, and the edges lifting and unzipping everything behind them.
Here is the part most contractors will not tell you plainly. The designation is not issued by your roofer. It comes from an independent, third-party FORTIFIED Evaluator that you hire, who inspects and documents the work at specific stages. Our job is to build to the standard and to sequence and photograph the work so your evaluator can verify it. Anyone telling you they can hand you a designation themselves does not understand the program.
Sealed deck, ring-shank deck attachment, upgraded edge metal and wind-rated hip and ridge — the four pieces that decide how a roof performs.
Jump to section ↓Upgrading an existing roof while it is already open, or building to the standard from scratch on new construction.
Jump to section ↓Work sequenced around your evaluator's inspection points, with stage-by-stage photos of everything that gets concealed.
Jump to section ↓A fortified roof comes down to four pieces of construction: a sealed deck that keeps water out after the shingles are gone, ring-shank fastening that holds the decking to the framing, upgraded drip edge that denies wind a starting point, and wind-rated hip and ridge along the highest-pressure line on the roof.
Every one of these gets buried under the finished roof, which is exactly why they are the first things cut by a contractor bidding to be cheapest. You cannot inspect them from the driveway and you will not know they were skipped until a named storm tells you. We do them properly because we live here too.
Bringing an existing home up to the fortified standard while the roof is already off, or building to it from the start on new construction. Either way the deck has to be stripped to bare wood, inspected, and re-nailed before the sealed deck goes down.
If your roof is coming off anyway, this is the least expensive opportunity you will ever have. The tear-off is already paid for, the crew is already on site, and the fortified work is incremental rather than a separate project. Coming back to it in three years means paying to strip the roof a second time.
A designation depends on an independent evaluator being able to verify work that gets covered up as the job progresses. That means photographing specific stages, retaining product documentation, and scheduling the evaluator at the right moments — not after the fact.
Miss that sequencing and the designation can fail even though the roof was built correctly. We work with whichever evaluator you hire, build in the order their inspections require, and document everything as we go. Many Alabama carriers offer wind premium discounts for a designated fortified roof — ask your agent what yours would do before you commit.
We also do straight roof replacement, repair, metal and low-slope work. Call and we will tell you honestly whether the upgrade is worth it for your house and your carrier.
See All Roofing Services →From the first phone call to the final cleanup, here is exactly what to expect.
Call 251-622-3415 or request an estimate online. Terry James comes out, looks at the roof, and gives you an honest number with no obligation and no sales pitch.
We photograph what we find, check the attic side where we can, and tell you plainly whether you are looking at a repair or a replacement.
Strip to bare deck, repair what is underneath, and build back with the fastening and edge detailing this coast actually requires.
You get photos from strip to finish — including the work that gets covered up — and the site gets cleared and magnet-swept before we leave.
Owner-operated, locally based, and limited to two counties on purpose.
Terry James is a Mobile native who lives and works here — not a storm-chaser passing through.
Roofs constructed to the FORTIFIED™ standard, aimed at how roofs actually fail in hurricanes.
The man who quotes the work is the man who does it. No subcontracted crew of strangers.
Free, no-pressure estimates — including an honest repair-or-replace answer.
The questions Mobile and Baldwin County homeowners ask us most about fortified roofing.
It is a roof built to a standard above what code requires, aimed specifically at surviving high wind. Three things do most of the work: a sealed deck so water stays out after shingles are lost, ring-shank nails so the decking stays attached to the house, and upgraded edge metal so wind cannot get a grip at the perimeter. It was developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety for coastal conditions like ours.
No. The FORTIFIED program does not require builders or contractors to hold a specific credential in order to build to the standard. What it does require is an independent, trained FORTIFIED Evaluator to inspect and verify the finished roof. That separation is deliberate — it keeps the verification impartial.
You do. Evaluators are independent third parties who set their own prices, and they are kept separate from the contractor on purpose. They inspect at specific points during construction and document the work, including things that get covered up as the job progresses. We build in the sequence their inspections require and photograph every stage so nothing has to be uncovered later.
Many Alabama carriers offer wind premium discounts for a roof that has received a fortified designation. How much varies considerably by carrier and by where in the state you are. Ask your agent what your specific policy would do before you commit, so you are working from a real number rather than a contractor's estimate.
Most can, but the decking has to be in good enough shape to accept the enhanced fastening. That is one of the first things we check, and it is why we strip to bare wood before pricing the fortified portion of a job. Occasionally a deck turns out to need more replacement than expected, and we would rather find that with the roof open than promise a number we cannot hold.
Considerably. The tear-off is the expensive part, and on a fortified upgrade it is already happening. Doing the sealed deck and re-nailing while the roof is open is incremental work. Deciding to do it later means paying to strip the roof a second time.
It is a state program that can contribute toward a fortified roof, and it is worth looking into — but it has its own requirements on the contractor side, including an approved-contractor list. Check the program's current requirements directly, and talk to us about where your project stands before assuming the grant applies.
Both, and only those two. Fortified work matters most in the high-exposure areas — Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Bon Secour, Bayou La Batre — but the wind discounts and the construction logic apply across both counties, including inland towns like Bay Minette and Citronelle.
Locally owned and operated out of Mobile, Alabama. We work these two counties and only these two counties — which is why we can actually get to you.
25 Years Experience • Alabama License #27001 • Fortified Roofing • Driveways & Concrete • Mobile & Baldwin Counties