History

Beliefs

The word “Canon” has an interesting historical background. One of the Oxford Dictionary definitions is, “criterion by which something is judged”. Another says it is a “standard”. 

The Canon Model 500 Uplift Chamber© has without intent become a standard in the testing industry. The old adage, “necessity is the mother of invention” truly applies to what we do and have done. Canon needed to run uplift tests to pressures as high as (actually, as low as) -310 psf. There was no equipment available to resist that pressure, so one was engineered and built. Thus, the Canon Model 500 Uplift Chamber©.  

Canon needed to run hail impact tests in the field on a roof suspected of being damaged by hail. Canon engineered and built, the Canon Hail Impact Tester© (HIT). This device has been successfully used to prove and disprove hail damage to roofs.

When loss of adhesion of a new fully adhered single-ply roof was discovered, a tool was needed to identify quickly and non-destructively the boundaries of poor adhesion, so one was engineered and built. Thus, the Canon Adhesion Test Device© (ATD). (Actually, the prototype was a toilet plunger that our client scoffed at, so I made “improvements”.)

What we do meets the unmet needs of consultants and engineers testing roofs.  We hold ourselves to high standards. Perfection is an unattainable goal, but better-than-needed is our passion. We want our end-users to be proud of the equipment we provide and teach them how to use it correctly.

  • Canon Fabrications, LLC was established in 2009 as a developer and fabricator of roof testing equipment such as the Canon Model 500 Uplift Chamber©, the Canon Adhesion Test Device© (ATD), and the Canon Hail Impact Tester© (HIT).

  • Richard (Dick) P. Canon who also founded Canon Consulting & Engineering Co., Inc. in 1983, has over 40 years of diverse experience in engineering. This includes the evaluation, testing, design and construction of roofs and the construction, evaluation, renovation, and structural design of buildings. He is a registered structural engineer (PE) and has extensive experience in component failure investigations, and evaluations of structures and systems. Mr. Canon has been identified and qualified as an expert witness in roof consulting through his expertise in performing forensic engineering studies and investigations. He has been published numerous times in technical and trade journals and magazines and has been a frequent speaker on subjects related to roofing and engineering.

  • IIBEC (formerly RCI and The Roof Consultants Institute) has recognized him as a Registered Roof Consultant (RRC) and awarded him Fellow of the Institute and the Herbert Busching Award for “meritorious service and outstanding contribution to the advancement of the profession of roof consulting”. In 2020 IIBEC conferred to him the IIBEC Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also an active member of the International Code Council (ICC) and is an active member of ASTM.