While the famed white coated Bermuda roofs are known to withstand severe hurricanes, a recent rigorous test conducted on the product of local contractor and businessman Guilden Gilbert's patented Bermuda roof design concluded that his roofing system could withstand hurricane force winds in excess of 600 miles per hour, four times higher than Category 5 storms on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

Gilbert's system, which was developed in Bermuda in 1969, was used to build several roofs on Foot's Cay in Abaco about 35 to 40 years ago.

He noted in an interview with Guardian Business that even after all those decades, those roofs stood strong and survived 2019's Hurricane Dorian, which had maximum sustained winds of 185 mph and caused extensive and catastrophic damage to Abaco and Grand Bahama.

"About two years ago I got a phone call asking me about doing a project in Naples, Florida. The homeowner had a quasi-Bermuda type roof and they were having a lot of issues with it and they wanted a change. The roof contractor found us and asked if we would be interested," Gilbert said while explaining how his product got to be tested.

"Before we could proceed with installation of the roof, the City of Naples has a minimum uplift requirement for any roof. That meant that we had to go through testing. I went over and built a ten-by-ten mock up of the roof and essentially, what the engineers did was they attached hooks to the roof and tried to pull my product off the roof structure. That is measured in pounds per square foot. Based on the report that I got from the engineer, we got to 1,020 pounds per square foot which is equal, when you do the calculations, to 634 miles per hour wind speeds.

"Obviously, the City of Naples, when they saw that they said they had no issues with the roof and it was approved to be used in Naples."

Last week, Bahamas Department of Meteorology Acting Director Jeffrey Simmons urged Bahamians to prepare for 13 named storms this hurricane season, with six of them forecast to become major hurricanes and two of them forecast to be a Category 3 storm or above.

Given The Bahamas' susceptibility to hurricanes, Gilbert has long called for Bermuda roofs to become a standard of the Bahamian building code.

But clocking in at roughly $22 per square foot, Gilbert acknowledged it is a costly investment for many Bahamians. Still, he said in the grand scheme it is an investment that is worth it.

"In Naples we're using a plywood and ice water shield substrate. Our typical installation however uses a structural cement board. So the difference is, as you would be aware plywood would eventually rot and would have to be changed. When you use structural cement board, that is a multigenerational roof because the cement board isn't going to deteriorate. Also the cement board is rated at 290 miles per hour winds," he said.

"The deterrent for a lot of people will be the cost. We are going to be the most expensive roof product on the market. That is because structural cement board is more expensive than plywood. But not only that, I developed the coding myself. The coding, being proprietary, comes at a much higher cost. We have a manufacturer that creates the product for us and they won't even mix it unless we order it. It's our product, it belongs to us. So things like that add to the cost.

"At this point we've done 16 or so homes in Turks and Caicos and when Hurricane Irma went through, they were the only roofs with no damage."

With several roof projects under construction and nearing completion in The Bahamas, Gilbert said his company Innovative Building Systems (Bahamas) is looking forward to expansion to the United States.

He said he has agreed to exclusive building contracts for Bermuda roofs in the Naples and Sarasota Florida area.

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