Revision as of 16:04, 18 August 2021

1 Standards applicable only for RoofStar Guarantee

This Manual and the Standards were instituted as a guide to support the RoofStar Guarantee Program developed by the RCABC Guarantee Corporation (RGC) ("RGC", "Guarantor"). Consequently, both the Manual and the Standards are limited in their scope and must not be considered a comprehensive resource for roofing and waterproofing at grade. Rather, all Standards must be read in conjunction with the installation requirements published variously by manufacturers or testing authorities.
The RGC Roofing Practices Manual ("RPM", "Manual") and its Standards are freely accessible to anyone (the “reader”) but are intended solely for the purpose of qualifying a project for a RoofStar Guarantee. Therefore, subject to the limitations and conditions of the RoofStar Guarantee Program, the appropriate use and authority of this Manual and the Standards is limited by this expressed purpose and scope.
Each Standard supports and, in some instances, exceeds the requirements of the British Columbia Building Code ("the Code"), but that is secondary to the primary function and scope of a Standard. Therefore, while the requirements, guiding principles and recommendations in a Standard may be regarded as general "best practices", the use of a Standard for any purpose other than to qualify a project for a RoofStar Guarantee shall be at the sole discretion of the reader, and the Guarantor shall not be legally liable for the application of a Standard for any other purposes.
Any interpretation of the Code offered in a Standard or elsewhere in this Manual is published solely for the expressed purpose and scope of the Manual and Standards and shall not be construed as a substitute for the authority of the Code itself. In all cases, the reader is responsible to exercise good judgement, and to read, understand and comply with the Code, as and how it applies to particular circumstances. Where the Code can be shown to exceed the requirements of a Standard, the Code is deemed to be superior.

2 Limit of Liability

The RGC Roofing Practices Manual is revised at least three times per calendar year, and as such the content of the RPM may change, superseded by a successive edition. The reader therefore is responsible to determine that the RPM and its various parts are current.
The Manual shall not be relied upon by anyone for the complete design, specification, or installation of a waterproofing system or water-shedding system, as the RPM and the Standards do not and cannot contemplate all of the factors that form part of a complete and Code-compliant design.
Materials (manufactured products) listed in the RPM are referred to as "accepted" by the Guarantor, but their acceptance may not be construed as a recommendation or endorsement of their efficacy or suitability for the purposes of a design. Neither shall a material's acceptance by the Guarantor be construed as a declaration that it is superior to other materials. Furthermore, materials listed on pages or in published tables of the RPM indicate what is permissible for the purpose of qualifying for a RoofStar Guarantee. The identification of any material in the Manual does not and cannot be construed to mean that their use is advisable. Not every material, regardless of its permissible application, is suitable for a given design in a particular context. Therefore, regardless of how materials are listed in the RPM, the reader is responsible to consult with the material manufacturer, or a knowledgeable consultant, to determine each material's suitability within a particular design and its context.
A Standard may require the Design Authority to submit engineering or test documentation to the Guarantor, but this shall not be construed by the Design Authority or any reader to mean that the Guarantor either reviews or verifies the validity of said submissions. Reviewing and validating any such documentation remains the sole, legal responsibility of the Design Authority.
By using this Manual and any Standard, the reader agrees to the terms and conditions set out in this Standard and holds the Guarantor harmless from any and all claims arising out the use of the Manual or a Standard, except those claims for which the RoofStar Guarantee is issued.

3 Scope of Standards

Unless expressly stated elsewhere in a Standard, each Standard applies to

new construction.
alterations to existing projects.

All new construction must utilize only newly manufactured accepted materials, and may not incorporate recycled products, unless expressly permitted with a written Variance issued by the Guarantor.

4 Structure and Numbering System of Standards

Each Standard is divided into fourteen Parts, and each Part is normally divided into three Sections:

Section 1 (General) includes definitions and broadly applicable design guidelines or standards.

Section 2 (Materials) includes specific material requirements within the Part.

Section 3 (Application) includes the requirements, guiding principles, recommendations and ancillary information necessary for the Contractor to build the system that qualifies for a RoofStar Guarantee.

Each section may be further divided into sub-sections, articles, sentences and clauses. This nomenclature loosely mimics the structure of the British Columbia Building Code and its parent Code, the National Building Code of Canada. The nomenclature of the RPM can be illustrated this way:

Nomenclature	Example
Division	Waterproofing Systems (Roofs)
System	SBS-modified Bitumen Membrane Systems
Standard	Standard for SBS-Modified Bitumen Membrane Systems
Part	3 SECURING the ROOF ASSEMBLY
Section	3.1 Design
Subsection	3.1.6 General Requirements
Article	3.1.6.3 Membrane Roofs with Ballast or Overburdens
Sentence	…(3)
Clause	…(3)(2)
Sub-clause	…(3)(2)(3)

4.1 Use of “and” and “or” between the Clauses and Subclauses of a Sentence

Throughout the Standards, multiple Clauses and Subclauses are connected by the word “and” or “or” at the end of the second last Clause or Subclause in the series. Although this connecting word appears only once, it is meant to apply to all the preceding Clauses or Subclauses within that series. Each connected Subclause ends with a comma to indicate connection.

In all cases, a Clause (and its Subclauses, if any) must be read in conjunction with the beginning of the Sentence.

4.2 Measurements

All values in the RPM and its Standards are given in metric units; Imperial measurements are typically shown in parentheses.

4.3 Definitions

In addition to the terms defined in the Glossary, the following definitions are used throughout this Manual and in each Standard.

Contractor: means the installer of a project. For the purpose of issuing a RoofStar Guarantee, Contractor shall be read to mean an Active Member of the RCABC.
Design Authority: means the individual or firm responsible for the issuance of Project specifications and details to which the Project will be bid and constructed. When a Contractor designs a Project, the Contractor is deemed to be the Design Authority.
Guarantor: means the RGC RoofStar Guarantee Program that issues the RoofStar Guarantee ("Guarantee"); the two terms may be used interchangeably.
Manual: means the Roofing Practices Manual.
Project: means the scope of work for which the Contractor is responsible.

4.4 Text Classification

Within each of the Sections, wording is coloured to classify language, to provide clarity of meaning and importance: "Standards", "Guiding Principles", "Recommendations", and "Reference" (information):

Standards: are shown in black, and are statements conventionally expressed by "must" or "shall". They convey what is required for the project to qualify for a RoofStar Guarantee.

Guiding Principles: are shown in green. Guiding Principles support the standards and are a requirement, typically expressed by the use of "should" in the text, but occasionally indicated by "may". Guiding Principles also include those parts of the Roofing Practices Manual that pertain to how the RoofStar Guarantee Program is administered.

Contained within "Guiding Principles" are Risk Management Best Practices which are binding upon the Members who perform work to conform to the RoofStar Guarantee Standards.

Recommendations: are shown in red and are not binding. They are typically expressed with the use of "recommend". While "recommendations" are non-binding, they are nevertheless important, and the reader is strongly urged to adopt them.

Informative Notes: are shown in blue and are merely informative and provide useful background material or may explain a standard. Notes are non-binding upon either the Design Authority or the Contractor.

Each reader, regardless of his or her role in the design and construction of a project, should review and understand the content in all three Sections of each Part; what is pertinent to the Contractor building the system should be understood by the Design Authority who specifies the work, and vice versa. Notes:

Use of the singular does not exclude the plural (and vice versa) when the sense allows.
The term "standard" and "requirement" have the same meaning.
The term "Standard" (when capitalized) refers to a singular document that governs the design, permissible materials, and application requirements for a specific system.
Standards are written using a structured numbering system which is explained above.
Italicized text indicates defined terminology. See the Glossary for more defined terms used in this Manual.
Bold italics are used to denote documents or programs of the RCABC and the RGC (Guarantor).
Bold text indicates internal references within a document.

4.5 Illustrations

Illustrations are offered throughout a Standard, to supplement the text. Illustrations are considered non-binding and informative only. Where an illustration appears to differ from a Standard, the Standard shall be considered binding.

Illustrated materials and applications are representational and therefore any similarity to actual materials or methods, including colours or textures, is purely accidental.

4.6 Construction Details

Construction Details are located outside of a Standard but may be linked to the Standard within the body of text. Construction Details may be considered complementary to the Standard and include notes and additional hyperlinks that either direct the reader back to the Standard or to an external document. Where a Construction Detail appears to differ from a Standard, the Standard shall be considered binding.