Building codes are in place to provide a means to safeguard life and protect the public welfare through regulating the design, construction practices, construction material quality (including fire performance), location, occupancy, and maintenance of buildings and structures. When regulating materials, many of the model building codes refer to quality standards developed by standard-setting organizations such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC). Some building codes and/or insurance rating organizations also rely on test information from Factory Mutual Research (FM) , Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) and Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC).

Polyiso manufacturers create products that meet or exceed all Model Building Codes, including:

• International Building Code
• International Residential Code

Because of continuous improvement in the product and years of rigorous testing, Polyiso offers the most extensive range of code approvals for insulation use in roof systems. It remains the only foam plastic insulation product for direct application to steel deck to earn FM Approval for Class 1 Roof Systems. Polyiso is also classified by UL for use in roof systems with direct-to-steel-deck applications of foam plastic insulation under both single-ply and asphalt-based roof coverings.

Polyiso Roof Insulation Compliances

UL Fire Tests

UL 790 – tests for Fire Resistance of Roof Coverings
UL 1256 – Fire Test of Roof Deck Constructions
UL 263 - Fire Tests of Building Construction and Materials

Factory Mutual Research (FM) Class 1 Approval

FM 4450 – Insulated Steel Deck Roofs
FM 4470 – Roof Covers

ASTM

ASTM E 2114-01 – Standard Terminology for Sustainability Relative to the Performance of Buildings

ASTM 2129 –01 – Standard Practice for Data Collection for Sustainability Assessment of Building Product

ASTM C 1289 - Standard Specification for Faced Rigid Cellular Polyisocyanurate Thermal Insulation Board.

ASTM D 312 - Standard Specification for Asphalt Used in Roofing.

ASTM E 108 - Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Roof Coverings.

ASTM E 119 - Standard Test Methods for Fire Tests of Building Constructions and Materials.

Federal Standards (FS)

FS HH-I-1972/1 – Insulation Board, Thermal, Faced, Polyurethane or Polyisocyanurate, Faced with Aluminum Foil on both sides of Foam

FS HH-I-1972 GEN - Insulation Board, Thermal, Faced, Polyurethane or Polyisocyanurate

FS HH-I-1972/2 - Insulation Board, Thermal, Faced, Polyurethane or Polyisocyanurate, Faced with Asphalt/Organic Felt, Asphalt/Asbestos Felt, or Asphalt/Glass Fiber Felt on Both Sides of the Foam

FS HH-I-1972/3 - Insulation Board, Thermal, Polyurethane or Polyisocyanurate, Faced with Perlite Insulation Board on One Side and Asphalt/Organic Felt or Asphalt/Glass Fiber Felt on the Other.

Note: Most of these FS standards are no longer utilized but may be in some house master specifications.

State Building Code Status
Building codes will continue to change, but it is important to stay ahead of the curve. The Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) at the Alliance to Save Energy recently launched its new Online Code Environment & Advocacy Network (OCEAN) website. OCEAN is an interactive, Web-based resource designed to share lessons learned, best practices, educational resources and key facts as they relate to building energy code adoption and implementation. Please visit their website for more information.