Proposed Standard will determine flood damage resistance.

Press Release Summary:



ASTM WK35237, Practice for Determining the Flood Damage Resistance Rating of Materials and Assemblies, seeks to provide way to evaluate building materials and assemblies for use in below-base flood elevation construction. Specifically, standard will establish methods for determining ratings, acceptable or unacceptable, of materials and assemblies for use below lowest floor of new and substantially damaged structures in accordance with National Flood Insurance Program requirements.



Original Press Release:



Proposed ASTM Standard to Determine the Flood Damage Resistance Rating of Materials



W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa.-A proposed new ASTM International standard will provide a comprehensive way to evaluate building materials and assemblies for use in below-base flood elevation construction.

ASTM WK35237, Practice for Determining the Flood Damage Resistance Rating of Materials and Assemblies, is being developed by Subcommittee E06.25 on Whole Buildings and Facilities, part of ASTM International Committee E06 on Performance of Buildings.

The proposed new standard will establish methods for determining flood damage resistance ratings (either acceptable or unacceptable) of materials and assemblies for use below the lowest floor of new and substantially damaged structures, in accordance with the National Flood Insurance Program's requirements for being flood damage resistant.

According to Julia Moline, project engineer, Dewberry, and an E06 member, ASTM WK35237 will be used to provide evaluation criteria that manufacturers can use to evaluate their products and that local building officials can use when enforcing requirements for materials in below-BFE construction.

"The end goal is to have materials certified as flood damage-resistant, to facilitate consistent use of building code provisions for materials used in below-BFE construction," says Moline. "Designers and developers who specify flood damage-resistant materials in building design and construction, building officials enforcing building code provisions and homeowners seeking certified flood damage-resistant materials will all benefit from the proposed standard, once it has been approved."

All interested parties, including both building materials providers and users, are encouraged to join E06.25 in the development of ASTM WK35237.

ASTM International welcomes and encourages participation in the development of its standards. For more information on becoming an ASTM member, visit http://www.astm.org/JOIN.

ASTM International is one of the largest international standards development and delivery systems in the world. ASTM International meets the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles for the development of international standards: coherence, consensus, development dimension, effectiveness, impartiality, openness, relevance and transparency. ASTM standards are accepted and used in research and development, product testing, quality systems and commercial transactions.

ASTM Committee E06 Next Meeting: April 15-18, 2012, April Committee Week, Phoenix, Ariz.
Technical Contact: Julia Moline, Dewberry, Arlington, Va., Phone: 646-326-2612; jmoline@dewberry.com

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