The design professional has the responsibility to comply with these provisions. However, some provisions pertain to application, which is the responsibility of the roofing contractor. Chapter 15 requires many of the roofing materials to meet ASTM standards. Hence, if an architect specifies a PVC membrane, the architect's specification should require compliance with ASTM D 4434. If a contractor proposes a product substitution, the substitute needs to comply with the material standard referenced in the code.
Most building departments possess little expertise related to roof systems.
Therefore the building department should not be relied upon to discover noncode compliance during their plan review. Also, most building department's inspectors do not inspect the roof system. Those departments that do inspect the roof, likely possess insufficient knowledge of all of the roof system types that they could encounter. The building department inspectors should therefore not be relied upon for code compliance assurance. Inc. All rights reserved.