Polymer Roofing Stands Up to Microburst

The morning of April 2, 2015 started out clear and sunny for residents at the Harbor Isle community in Wichita, Kansas. By evening, a powerful microburst with winds reaching up to 100mph destroyed a bulk of the roofs in the subdivision – except the polymer roofing installed by Heiland Roofing.

"The majority of concrete tiles sustained very serious damage, with many others demolished," says Mike Heiland, president of Heiland Roofing and Exteriors in Wichita, Kansas. "Of the three DaVinci Roofscapes composite roofs we installed in this community, one home had zero damage. Another home had one missing ridge cap. The third home needed approximately ten feet of ridge replaced. That's absolutely nothing compared to the devastation that all the other homes in that neighborhood experienced."

According to homeowner Paul Dugan, concrete tiles littered the entire Harbor Isle community after the storm. "Concrete roof tiles were thrown through neighbor's windows, into vehicles parked along the streets and in driveways," says Dugan. "Every home with a concrete tile roof was missing large sections while a couple of the homes that had been recently re-roofed by Heiland Roofing with DaVinci shake roofing tiles had every single tile in place and no visible damage to the property. I was very impressed and called Heiland Roofing the next morning.

"I now have a Bellaforté Slate roof that looks exactly the same as the previous concrete tile roof but has the highest impact resistance in the industry. The impressive interlocking system allows for installation with securing the tile in all four corners so we're not going to worry about tiles peeling back and blowing away in future storms."

Fighting Mother Nature

Kansas residents are no strangers to severe weather. Located in Tornado Alley, most homeowners, like Dugan, understand that their state is subject to unusually strong weather during the course of the year. That's why many people, like the residents of Harbor Isle I, seek out durable building products to help protect their homes and families.

"When constructed about 18 years ago, our community had wood shake and cement tiles used for roofing," says Dee Manning, president of the Harbor Isle I homeowner association of 59 homes. "As the years went on, the wood shakes were wearing out and, at the same time, they became harder to get insured. We wanted an alternative that was realistic looking but lightweight enough to be installed over the existing roof trusses of the homes in our community.

"We did our research and DaVinci Roofscapes offered the most realistic alternative to natural cedar shakes. Our community started offering DaVinci products three years ago as an option for homeowners looking for replacement roofing. After the microburst in April, that interest level quickly accelerated and now there are at least 10 homes ready to commit to the DaVinci polymer tiles to replace their destroyed cement tile roofs."

Made of 100 percent recyclable virgin resins, DaVinci tiles are engineered to resist fire, impact, insects and algae. For details, visit www.davinciroofscapes.com.