Windstorm Engineering The term "Windstorm Engineering" or "Wind Engineer" are misnomers and arose as a descriptive term of what is needed in areas of high winds. The Texas Professional Engineering Board tests and licenses several types of engineers. In the context of construction and design of buildings, the disciplines of Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil Engineers would fit in this category. Structural engineering is an advanced branch of Civil Engineering, and a structural engineer would normally be the Professionally Licensed Engineer responsible for the design of buildings subjected to wind, gravity, earthquake, and other forces that must be resisted by the structure. However, any licensed engineer can perform such calculations if they have shown that they are capable in the field of structural engineering.

Wind is just one of many forces that the engineer must design for. The Texas Department of Insurance has elevated the importance of the force of “wind” along the coast because of the devastation and high cost associated with high winds and hurricanes. However, the structural engineer is responsible for all forces the structure will be subjected to according to the current codes in force, namely the International Building Code, the ACI, ASCE, AISC, ASME, OSHA, and all the other many codes, guides, and standards in force in the industry.

All construction on new and existing structures require several forms to be filled out, certified, and submitted to the Texas Department of Insurance.

Click HERE to view a coastal map showing Texas Department of Insurance Designated Catastrophe Areas. Building design and construction is defined in three areas:

Inland I: Uses Building Code for Windstorm Resistant Construction.

Inland II: Uses Windstorm Resistant Construction Guide.

Seaward: Uses Windstorm Resistant Construction.

Windstorm Forms and their use:

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The WPI-1. Form is the Application for Windstorm Building Inspection Form. The WPI-1 form is used to set up the inspection for a structure and to initiate a file. A WPI-1 form is required to be submitted for all structures that are to participate in the Windstorm Inspection Program.

The WPI-2 form is the Building Construction Compliance form. The WPI-2 is the form submitted by the appointed Texas licensed professional engineer that certifies that the structure has been inspected to meet the prescriptive requirements of the Code or Guide, or has been designed and inspected to meet the wind loads specified by the appropriate construction document. The WPI-2 form is submitted to the TDI after the erection and inspection of the structure.

The WPI-2D is the Building Design Compliance form. The WPI-2D is submitted to the TDI with plans and calculations by a Texas licensed professional engineer for a structure that is to be inspected by a TDI windstorm field inspector. The WPI-2D is submitted to the TDI Windstorm Section for review along with the signed and sealed building plans. The building plans shall state the standard used to calculate the wind loads, and the design wind speed.

Form BC-1085 – Texas Windstorm Insurance Association form for Building Certification (structures built prior to January 1, 1988)

The WPI-8 is the Certificate of Compliance form that is issued by TDI to the owner of the structure following completion of all inspections and payment of all fees.

Modifying or Renovating Existing Structures for TDI Windstorm Certification:

Modifying or renovating an existing structure is unique and requires an examination of the structure by a registered professional engineer with notice of appointment as a qualified inspector by the TDI to determine if TDI certification is required.