Sealed Roof Deck
Every deck seam is taped or fully sealed. If the wind takes your shingles, water still can’t get into the house — which is where most of the real damage bill comes from.
Home / FORTIFIED Roof
IBHS credential · 2026
FORTIFIED Roof™
Certified in Baton Rouge
A construction standard built from two decades of full-scale hurricane testing — and FCB is now credentialed to build it.
What it is
Engineered where
roofs actually fail.
The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety runs a research facility where they destroy full-scale houses with wind and water to learn how buildings come apart. FORTIFIED is the construction standard that came out of that work. It’s voluntary, it’s above code, and it targets four specific failure points rather than making a roof generically "better."
IBHS FORTIFIED Roof™Credentialed Contractor
The four standards
What makes a roof
FORTIFIED.
Enhanced Nailing
Ring-shank nails on a tighter pattern, so the deck stays attached to the rafters under uplift instead of peeling off in sheets.
Locked-Down Edges
Upgraded drip edge and starter strips, fastened to spec. The edge is where wind gets its first grip on a roof — so that’s where the standard is strictest.
Rated Shingles & Vents
Impact- and pressure-rated coverings and vents, installed to the manufacturer’s high-wind specification, not just the minimum.
How it’s verified
We build it.
Somebody else checks it.
A FORTIFIED designation isn’t something a contractor awards himself. The roof is documented during construction and signed off by an independent IBHS-credentialed evaluator — a separate party from us — and the designation is then issued by IBHS. That’s what makes it worth something to an insurer, and it’s the reason the credential is worth having.
Straight answers
FORTIFIED
questions.
What exactly is a FORTIFIED roof?
FORTIFIED is a voluntary construction standard developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) from decades of full-scale wind and rain testing. A FORTIFIED Roof strengthens four specific things: the deck is sealed, the fastening is upgraded to ring-shank nails on a tighter pattern, the edges are locked down, and the coverings and vents are rated and installed to high-wind spec.
Who verifies the work?
Not us. An independent, IBHS-credentialed FORTIFIED evaluator inspects and documents the roof during construction, and IBHS issues the designation. That independence is the whole point of the program.
Does a FORTIFIED roof save money on insurance?
In Louisiana, a FORTIFIED designation can qualify a home for insurance premium discounts, and there are state incentive programs for FORTIFIED roofs. The specifics depend on your carrier, your parish and the program year — your insurance agent is the right person to give you real numbers for your home.
Does it cost more than a standard roof?
Yes. The materials and the labor are both above standard code minimums, and there’s an independent evaluation involved. We’ll quote it line by line next to a standard replacement so you can see the difference and decide.
Can an existing roof be upgraded to FORTIFIED?
The FORTIFIED Roof standard is applied when the roof covering is replaced, because most of what makes it FORTIFIED happens at the deck — sealing and re-nailing — which is only accessible with the shingles off.
Free, no-obligation
Thinking about
a FORTIFIED roof?
We’ll quote it line by line next to a standard replacement so you can see exactly what the difference costs — then talk to your insurance agent with real numbers in hand.