Rising to the challenge – Stepping up for metal roofing in code and regulation considerations

By Anna Lockhart.  

When there are considerable gaps in where certain products land on code requirements, there comes a time for new standards to be created to better account for those differences. S-5! shares how they took a stand for metal roofing attachments.  

In a recent episode of the Roofing Road Trips® podcast, host Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with Mark Gies and Dustin Haddock of S-5!® to discuss the power of solar. In this episode, they take a deep dive into the latest solar racking codes and share their tips to navigate these new regulation changes.  

Across the country, contractors and manufacturers are preparing to take the necessary steps to prepare for these solar code changes so that their products and practices meet the specified requirements. For S-5!, making sure metal roofing is considered when codes and standards are created is a priority. With previous code 1703, this wasn’t the case, so Dustin set out to change that.  

He sent the Underwriters Laboratory their products to look at and test, as S-5! creates metal roof attachments, which are often overlooked and not considered when standards and codes are created. While looking at the products and code 1703, they were not compatible, but this made them think. He shared, “They said, ‘Hang on. We're working on a new standard for racking components, and maybe the best route is not to go with 1703, but to wait for this new standard to come out.’ They were talking about UL 2703.” 

UL 2703 is a code which evaluates racking components on a roof, everything from the rack up when it comes to bonding, grounding and electrical. Mark shared, “2703 is highly established and accepted now. So, it has morphed a little bit. Like all things, it's evolved. There's been some changes to it, but it's pretty much very sought after, and everybody recognizes it as sort of what it takes. To get a project approved, you have to demonstrate that you have a system that's compliant or listed or certified to this UL 2703.” 

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about code 2703 and the importance of code compliance.