FORTIFIED Evaluation in Central Arkansas
A FORTIFIED designation is proof your home was built or re-roofed to a standard engineered for high wind and hail. Bobby is a credentialed FORTIFIED Evaluator — one of the few in Arkansas — working across Saline, Pulaski, Faulkner and five more Central Arkansas counties.
Bobby Ewers, FORTIFIED Evaluator
Credentialed on the 2025 FORTIFIED High Wind & Hail Standard in September 2026. Arkansas has only a handful of evaluators, so the person documenting your roof is the same owner who would inspect your house — not a subcontractor sent out from another state.
IBHS publishes certification status at fortifiedproviders.com, the directory the certificate points to. Bobby’s certificate code is 4BE3-58AF-C34A-40CA.
What FORTIFIED actually is
FORTIFIED is a voluntary building standard from the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). It is not a building code and it is not a home inspection. It is a set of construction requirements, built on decades of research into how houses actually come apart in a storm, that go beyond what code requires.
A home earns the designation when an independent, IBHS-credentialed evaluator documents that the work meets the standard and IBHS accepts the evidence. The designation is issued by IBHS. Our job is the evaluation and the paperwork behind it.
It is not a wind mitigation inspection either. A wind mitigation inspection records what is already on a house, at any time, for your insurer; both of our inspecting owners do those too. See wind mitigation inspections. Bobby is based in Benton, in Saline County.
The three designations
Each level includes everything in the one before it. Arkansas homes are evaluated against the High Wind & Hail standard, so impact protection for windows and doors — a hurricane-coast requirement — is not part of what we look at here.
FORTIFIED Roof™
The entry level, and the one most Arkansas homeowners start with.
- A sealed roof deck that keeps water out even if the shingles come off
- Ring-shank nails in an enhanced pattern, holding the deck to the framing
- A wider drip edge and a fully adhered starter strip at the edges
- A roof covering and attic vents rated for high wind and wind-driven rain
FORTIFIED Silver™
Everything in Roof, plus the rest of the building envelope.
- Gable end walls braced against collapse
- Chimneys tied into the structure of the home
- Attached structures — carports and porches — anchored
- A garage door rated for wind pressure, and reinforced soffits
FORTIFIED Gold™
Everything in Silver, plus a continuous load path.
- A continuous load path: roof, walls and foundation as one chain
- Engineered roof-to-wall, story-to-story and wall-to-foundation connections
- The strongest of the three designations
- Usually pursued on new builds or major renovations
What it gets you
Insurance credits
Carriers write wind and hail losses every year in Arkansas, and many of them price a FORTIFIED home differently than an ordinary one. What you qualify for depends on your carrier and your policy, so ask them what a designation is worth before you start.
A roof that actually holds
The sealed deck is the part homeowners underestimate. When shingles peel off in a straight-line wind event, a sealed deck is what stands between the storm and everything inside the house.
A designation you can hand over
The designation is tied to the house, not to you, so it goes into the file you hand a buyer alongside the roof age and the permit history. IBHS issues it for five years; renewing it after that is usually a single site visit, provided the roof is still in good shape and nothing has been added on.
An independent set of eyes
A FORTIFIED Evaluator is an independent third party who does not perform the construction work. That separation is the point of the credential: the evidence going to IBHS came from someone with no stake in the roofing invoice.
Call before the old roof comes off
Most of the FORTIFIED evidence lives under the shingles. If the new roof is already finished when you call, the deck sealing and the nailing pattern cannot be documented and the designation is off the table until the next re-roof. If a roofer is scheduled, call us first — even if you are only thinking about it.
Call (501) 249-4481How the evaluation works
Call before the roofers do
This is the one that costs people the designation. Much of the evidence — the sealed deck, the nailing pattern, the underlayment — can only be photographed while the roof is open. Once the shingles are on, it is too late to document what is underneath them.
We evaluate and document
Bobby inspects the work against the FORTIFIED standard and builds the evidence package: measurements, photographs, and the product documentation for what was actually installed on your house.
The package goes to IBHS
The evidence is submitted for review. IBHS issues the designation — we do not. If something does not meet the standard, you find out while it can still be corrected.
You take it to your carrier
The designation certificate is what your insurance company wants to see. Send it to your agent and ask what it changes on your premium.
Where Bobby evaluates
8 counties across Central Arkansas. The owner with the credential is the one who comes out to your house — there is no subcontractor routed in from another state, and no queue behind a national scheduling desk.
Pulaski County
Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, Jacksonville, Maumelle, Wrightsville
Faulkner County
Conway, Greenbrier, Vilonia, Mayflower, Wooster
Lonoke County
Cabot, Lonoke, Ward, Austin, England, Carlisle
White County
Searcy, Beebe, Bald Knob, Judsonia, Kensett
Garland County
Hot Springs, Hot Springs Village, Fountain Lake, Lonsdale
Grant County
Sheridan, Prattsville, Poyen, Leola
Perry County
Perryville, Bigelow, Houston, Perry
Not on the list? Call anyway — (501) 249-4481. Arkansas has only a handful of evaluators, and we would rather tell you who to call than leave you looking.
Questions we get asked
Who actually issues a FORTIFIED designation?
IBHS does — not the evaluator and not the roofer. An independent, IBHS-credentialed evaluator documents that the work meets the standard and submits the evidence package. IBHS reviews it and issues the designation. Anyone who tells you they can hand you the certificate themselves has the process wrong.
Do you cover Saline County?
Yes. Bobby evaluates across 8 Central Arkansas counties, and Saline County is one of them — Benton, Bryant, Alexander, Bauxite and the rest of the county included. He is the owner who shows up, not a subcontractor routed in from out of state.
When do I need to call — before or after the new roof goes on?
Before. Most of the FORTIFIED evidence lives under the shingles: the sealed deck, the nailing pattern, the underlayment. Once the roof covering is on, that work cannot be photographed, and the designation is off the table until the next re-roof. If a roofer is scheduled, call first, even if you are only considering it.
Is a FORTIFIED evaluation the same thing as a home inspection?
No. A home inspection is a broad look at the condition of a house you are buying. A FORTIFIED evaluation measures one specific thing — whether construction work meets the IBHS FORTIFIED standard for high wind and hail — and produces an evidence package for IBHS rather than a condition report for you.
Will a FORTIFIED designation lower my insurance?
Many carriers price a FORTIFIED home differently than an ordinary one, but what you qualify for depends on your carrier and your policy. Ask your agent what a designation is worth on your premium before you start, so you know the number going in.
How long does the designation last?
IBHS issues it for five years. Renewing after that is usually a single site visit, provided the roof is still in good shape and nothing has been added on. The designation belongs to the house rather than to you, so it transfers to a buyer when you sell.
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