Home Boss Inspection provides FORTIFIED Home™ renewal evaluations to help homeowners meet the requirements of the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) FORTIFIED program.

FORTIFIED is a voluntary construction and re-roofing program designed to strengthen homes against severe weather, including high winds, hurricanes, and wind-driven rain. A trained FORTIFIED Evaluator documents the required features of the home throughout the appropriate stages and submits the documentation for review by IBHS.

FORTIFIED Roof™
Focuses on strengthening the roof system—the home's first line of defense against severe weather. This includes specific requirements for the roof deck, roof-to-wall connections, roof covering, edges, flashing, and protection against wind-driven rain.

FORTIFIED Silver™
Includes all FORTIFIED Roof requirements plus additional protection for vulnerable areas of the home, such as windows, exterior doors, garage doors, and attached structures.

FORTIFIED Gold™
The highest FORTIFIED designation level. It includes Roof and Silver requirements plus additional structural requirements designed to create a continuous load path from the roof through the walls and into the foundation.

A FORTIFIED designation is generally valid for five years. To maintain the designation, the home must undergo a FORTIFIED renewal evaluation before the current designation expires.

During a renewal evaluation, a FORTIFIED Evaluator documents the current condition of the home and verifies that the qualifying features remain in place and have not been altered or damaged. The required documentation is then submitted to IBHS for review and renewal of the designation.

PLEASE NOTE: 

If your home currently has a FORTIFIED designation, it is important to consider FORTIFIED requirements before making changes to the home. Alterations made after the original designation may need to be documented and may affect your ability to renew at the same designation level.

This is especially important if you are:

• Replacing or re-roofing your roof: Contact a FORTIFIED Evaluator before the roofing work begins. Certain roof components and installation details must be documented during the roofing process and cannot always be verified after the new roof is complete.
• Replacing windows or exterior doors: Replacement products may need to meet the applicable FORTIFIED requirements. Keep the manufacturer's product information, labels, invoices, permits, and installation documentation. Contact your evaluator before installation whenever possible so the required documentation and photographs can be obtained.
• Replacing a garage door: The new garage door may need to meet applicable wind-pressure and impact requirements. Product documentation and installation information should be retained.
• Adding onto or modifying the home: Additions, attached structures, roof modifications, enclosed porches, or other structural changes may affect the home's existing FORTIFIED designation. Contact a FORTIFIED Evaluator before construction begins to determine what documentation will be needed.

The easiest rule to remember: If your FORTIFIED home is being re-roofed, renovated, expanded, or having exterior openings replaced, contact your FORTIFIED Evaluator before the work begins. Once construction is complete and components are concealed, it may be difficult—or sometimes not possible—to obtain the documentation needed for renewal.

Home Boss Inspection provides FORTIFIED renewals throughout Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Foley, Fairhope, Baldwin County, Mobile County, and surrounding Alabama Gulf Coast communities.