Alabama Fortified Homes
Build Safe. Build Strong. Build fortified.
The National standard for resilient construction
Real Estate Agents and Contractors:
Your clients trust you to deliver their dream home. Make sure you give them the safest FORTIFIED home possible.
Knockout has certified over 15,000 FORTIFIED Homes™!
Knockout presents "The FORTIFIED Factor" Podcast
This podcast is for everyone, useful for homeowners, home buyers, real estate agents, roofers, and builders. The topic is crucial in today’s real estate industry.
With the help of AI, we’ve started conversations about being strong, dependable, and ready for bad weather. This is important for one of your biggest investments: YOUR HOME!
Frequently Asked Questions
A Fortified Home is a residential property built or retrofitted to stronger, storm-resistant building standards developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). The Fortified Home program goes beyond standard building codes to reduce damage from severe weather such as hurricanes, high winds, hail, and tornadoes.
The Fortified Home program uses specific construction and re-roofing standards that focus on vulnerable areas of a home — starting with the roof and extending to windows, doors, and structural connections. A certified Fortified Evaluator documents and verifies that the home meets all applicable standards before a Fortified Home designation is awarded.
Fortified Home certification is offered in multiple levels:
Fortified Roof – Strengthens the roof system to keep water out and resist wind damage.
Fortified Silver – Adds protection for openings like windows and doors, and attached structures.
Fortified Gold – Provides the highest level of protection by connecting the entire structure into a continuous load path.
Yes. Most existing homes can be upgraded to meet Fortified Home standards, particularly at the Fortified Roof or Fortified Silver levels. Even homes being re-roofed can often integrate Fortified upgrades during that process.
Yes. Because a Fortified Home is scientifically proven to perform better against severe weather, many insurance companies offer premium discounts or endorsements for certified homes. These incentives vary by insurer and state, so homeowners should consult their agent for specific details.
Homes with Fortified Home certification can have higher resale value because buyers recognize the added resilience and potential insurance savings. Some studies indicate an increase in appraised value compared to non-Fortified homes.
Certification typically requires renewal every five years. A Fortified Evaluator will conduct a re-inspection to ensure that the home continues to meet the current Fortified standards.
Why build fortified?
The Fortified Home Program makes new and existing homes more resistant to damage from hurricanes, tropical storms, hailstorms, high winds and wind-driven rain associated with thunderstorms. The Fortified Home Standard includes three levels of protection:
Fortified Roof
The FORTIFIED Home™ Roof level addresses the roof system. By creating a sealed roof deck, these upgrades reduce wind and water entering the attic through the roof covering and vents.
Silver
In addition to the roof system addressed in the Fortified Roof level, the FORTIFIED Home™ Silver level addresses windows, doors, chimneys and attached structures.
gold
After the roof, openings and attached structures have been addressed, the FORTIFIED Home™ Gold level ties the house together by connecting the roof to the walls to the floors to the foundation, so it acts as one system.
About Fairhope, AL
Located along the scenic Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay, Fairhope is a charming coastal town known for its welcoming community, vibrant downtown, and stunning bayfront views. With a mix of historic cottages, modern homes, and waterfront properties, Fairhope offers a unique lifestyle that blends small-town warmth with easy access to nearby Mobile and Gulf Shores. Families, retirees, and anyone seeking a thriving yet relaxed community find Fairhope an ideal place to call home.
Whether you’re buying your first house, relocating for work, or investing in a vacation property, a home inspection in Fairhope, AL is a crucial step in the process. From older bayfront homes to new construction and countryside properties, it’s important to work with an inspection company that understands the unique challenges of Alabama homes, such as coastal humidity, storm exposure, and shifting soils.
At Knockout Inspections, we’re proud to serve the Fairhope community with thorough, reliable, and professional home inspection services. Our team helps homebuyers and sellers make confident decisions by identifying potential concerns and providing clear, detailed reports. Whether you’re near downtown Fairhope, tucked away in a quiet neighborhood, or enjoying life on the water, we’re here to protect your investment with inspections tailored to life on Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
About Alabama Fortified Homes
Home and business owners across the country are strengthening their properties against storm damage by using FORTIFIED construction standards. If you are building a new home, replacing the roof, or renovating, FORTIFIED can help. A cost-effective way to protect your home exists.
Researchers based FORTIFIED on more than 20 years of research and real-world testing. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) completed this work.
FORTIFIED standards exist for coastal Alabama, as well as inland construction. Each standard will help reduce damage from specific weather threats a building may face. These include hurricanes, hail, high winds, weak tornadoes, and other similar weather events.
We serve Mobile and Baldwin counties. We also serve the nearby counties of Montgomery, Autauga, Lee, Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa.
Benefits of Fortified
The program starts by focusing on the roof, which is the most important and vulnerable part of every building.
FORTIFIED goes beyond code. It meets and goes beyond most building codes. It helps buildings perform better during natural disasters. This also lowers the risk of losing personal property.
This special systems-based method needs to document and check all parts of construction. This ensures that builders construct homes and businesses to the right standard.
A FORTIFIED Evaluator is the only expert who can help you get a FORTIFIED Designation. This will let you enjoy all the program’s benefits. Homes with a FORTIFIED™ Designation in Alabama receive discounts on the wind portion of their homeowner’s insurance premium.
Additionally, a new study from the University of Alabama shows that FORTIFIED™ homes sell for nearly 7% more than non-FORTIFIED™ homes.
Knockout Inspections is an IBHS Approved and Certified FORTIFIED Evaluator. We can ensure that builders construct or renovate homes to meet the standards for the FORTIFIED designation.