We performed this PVC roof repair in Needham, Mass. in October 2011. This was a second time we repaired this 25+ years old Sarnafil PVC flat roof in the last two years. First time we fixed this roof was exactly two years ago, in October of ’09 – check out our first PVC Flat Roof Repair overview, which covers this roof in particular, and nuances of repairing old PVC flat roofs in general.
Quick overview:
In Oct. 2009, we fixed this roof for the first time. A contractor was doing some fascia repair work the, and threw some tools onto the roof, creating a hole in the old PVC membrane. We repaired it using new IB PVC flat roofing material, by cleaning the old roof with warm water first (to remove dirt and small debris) and then rubbing it with acetone and rough brush, to clean the membrane thoroughly, so the new patch would weld nicely. Then we welded a PVC patch over the hole, which sealed this roof.
There has been a lot of discussion on our rubber roofing page (created a while ago), with many roofing contractors defending the EPDM rubber roof as “good and proven” system, that is widely installed. While I agree that it is widely installed, I contest the notion that it is good and proven, for many reasons, which I will outline below, with examples as proof. But first I will outline the basic premise on which I will base my statements.
Basic premise of this “Horrible Rubber Roofing” article:
Rubber roof (EPDM) is widely installed because of its relatively low cost. It is NOT as good as many roofing contractors say it is, and the reason why I call it “horrible” is a complex one, but there are two major parts of it.
1) Rubber Roofing is inferior flat roofing material, compared to other single ply roofs such as PVC flat roofing membrane, because ALL seams and flashing on a rubber roof is glued together (chemical bond), and glue WILL deteriorate and seams / flashing will come apart, creating roof leaks.
PVC roof seams and flashings are all hot-air welded which creates a “permanent” physical bond, and seams / flashing DO NOT come apart.
2) It is very easy for ANY roofing contractor, or any contractor for that matter to buy EPDM Rubber Roofing materials, and now even homeowners can buy it at Home Depot stores. EPDM Manufacturers DO NOT require contractors to be licensed / certified installers / applicators, before they can buy the materials. This creates the situation where any roofer can buy a roll of rubber, some glue, uncured flashing materials, a few brushes and other small tools to install the rubber roof (all totaling less then $100) and become a “flat roofing specialist” and install the rubber roof.
Without proper installation training and experience, these “specialists” install master-piece roofs (which we will show you below) that start leaking as soon as 6 months after installation and continue leaking. Some of these roofs require immediate replacement, while some can be repaired. However, the total cost of roof ownership (including roof repair)comes to the same price level or more, as the more expensive PVC flat roofs, only with much headache.
Additionally, in installation of rubber roof, it is VERY important that all proper steps are taken to seal the seams correctly, and there is a lot of room for installation error.
The combination for inferior quality of rubber roofs, and scores of “hack roofing contractors” make using the rubber roof a big financial risk for the roof owners – especially homeowners, because the trained / experienced rubber roofing contractors are usually commercial / union roofing companies who install big roofs and do not work with homeowners.
Note: I am not saying that if you get a rubber roof installed, it will 100% leak. Depending on your roof design, you can get the rubber roof to never leak and require very little maintenance. For example if your roof has a slope, or if you can cover entire roof with one sheet of membrane, and there are no seams / and very few penetrations and flashing detail, positive slope and adequate drainage, etc. However, most flat roofs are NOT like that, and you will need a professional flat roofing contractor to install the roof.
Horrible Rubber Roofs
With rubber roof there is a lot of risk of hiring a hack roofer, and really no way to know if your roof will come out good or not. Even commercial roof owners are not immune for getting a Horrible Rubber Roof. Lets look at examples (all these roofs were inspected during Aug./Sept. of 2011):
Roof 1 – condos / apartment building in Brockton, MA – 6 years old roof.
Apartment building roof in Revere, MA – approximately 15 years old.
Country Club Roof in Maynard, MA – Age unknown – possibly 25 years old.
Not shown in this video – the rubber membrane has contracted along roof edge, and is no longer wrapped over the edge. This creates constant roof leak along the front of the building, as well as leaks on country club’s president’s office.
The videos above demonstrate both aspects on the main premise of this article – material failure and bad installation. All these roofs are commercial installations, except for the Revere roof, which is a 6 unit home – semi-commercial building. Draw your conclusions from this, and we want to know what you think – please leave your comments below.
This guide describes the procedures of complete flat roof demolition, done with the intent to either completely rebuild the framing of your flat roof, or to convert it to a steep slope roof. This may be done if your flat roof construction creates unsolvable roof leak problems, such as ponding water and other roof leaks, or if you want to convert your roof type to a sloped roof for aesthetic reasons – for example if you want to add skylights or a metal roof.
Removing a Flat Roof
Method is key in the removal of flat roofing, assuming you want to work as quickly and safely as possible. An old flat roofing, damp can quickly become a problem; it permeates through the surface layers and causes the wooden joists that hold up the roof to rot. If this has happened, then chances are high that your entire roof will need to be removed. Depending on the size of the roof that you have to take down, it is quite likely that a lot of debris will be generated in the course of the demolition. You should prepare yourself for this prospect in advance and order a skip before you begin work to save on clean-up times later on.
Safety should always be your first concern when approaching any demolition job, particularly when the demolition in question involves working at height. You have to make certain that you have a safe way on and off the roof, either by way of ladders or scaffold towers where admissible. The roof also needs to be checked for stability if you are going to need to do a lot of walking across it. If you find that stability is in question, you will need to use working boards to reinforce it, and to prevent yourself from putting your foot in it (and through it).
Begin the job by taking down the guttering. If you have more modern types of plastic guttering, it is quite likely to be a simple case of unclipping easily. Older or sturdier types of guttering (the types that the burglars are always climbing up in films) are likely to take a bit more effort to remove, but it should still be no more than a matter of loosening some screws. If you will need to reuse the guttering, then you should store it in good order and lay it out in a place where it won’t get crushed (the better care you take over this task, the easier it will be to reinstall). If you aren’t going to reuse it, chuck it in the skip as you go.
With the guttering gone, you need to remove the fascia boards. Roofs that are covered in chippings (gravel) will need to be swept clear before you remove the roof covering underneath (stone chippings and gravel are used as ballast for the roof covering and also serve to reflect the UV rays that can cause damage to asphalt roll roofing). Again, if you plan to reuse the gravel then you will need to bag it up in rubble sacks and remove it from the roof for safe storage. Avoid overfilling the sacks, as overly heavy sacks can make getting off of the roof with them a hazard. If not reusing them, skip them.
After the stones are gone, you will need to take up the roof felt. Begin by prising up the sides of the material, tearing it away in sections and disposing of it immediately in the skip. Be sure to use work gloves while undertaking this task, as well as safety goggles and any other relevant safety equipment. After the felt, you need to take off the supporting boards (roof substrate). A number of different materials may have been used to board the roof, but most will be removed in the same way. Prise them off of the joists with a wrecking bar and remove any hazardous nails as you go to prevent injury.
With the boards off, next you need to tackle the joists. You should be able to remove the joists using only a wrecking bar (flat bar), but you may also need to remove the furring strips if you are planning to reuse the timbers (assuming they are safe to reuse, i.e. they are free from rot and what not). Only people who are confident and competent should undertake this kind of demolition job, so if you are unsure about it then you should seek professional assistance. Houses with flat roofs are likely to be harder to insure than those with standard roofs (maybe this fact is why you want to remove it) but you can still get the flat roof house insurance you need with a non-standard insurance provider.
This flat roof removal guide is a guest blog post submitted by Zoe Restick.
This post is actually an email conversation with a customer, regarding Tapered Insulation and our flat roof installation in Cambridge, MA done in the summer of 2010. This email conversation is posted as is with the customer’s permission – the only editing on this post was done to remove any personal information, and spelling . I thought this would be interesting to our readers who are interested in tapered insulation and/or have ponding water problems with their flat roofs.
Here is the original roof video, so you have a better idea about this roof:
Original email question about tapered insulation
Peter Hello, We live in Wellesley. We were referred to you by a friend. I was reading your article on flat roof installation and was confused by the calculation of roof pitch/slope on the flat roof you had installed in Cambridge. The page I’m referring to is: http://www.coolflatroof.com/flat-roofing-blog/flat-roof-cambridge-ma/ In the second paragraph you mention that you sloped the roof at a rate of 1/4″ per foot and that the span was 24 feet.
You mention, and I quote:”we started with a new 1/4″ per foot slope tapered insulation system, spanning over 24 feet run, which gave us a 3 inch difference between the highest and lowest points of the roof, and eliminated ponding water.”
If I calculate the run of 24 feet and the slope of 1/4″ per foot, the highest point I come up with is 6 inches not 3 inches… For a 24′ run to rise 3 inches that would equate to 1/8″ per foot and not 1/4″ as you state in your documentation. I was told that 1/8″ per foot isn’t adequate to quickly shed water and snow off a flat roof. Is there something I’m missing?
I would like to get started on a flat roof installation possibly with your company but I would like to understand your calculation before I go ahead with the estimate. Would you please let me know what I’m missing here?
Thanks
Peter.
Leo:
Hello Peter,
You are correct – we did use 1/8″ tapered insulation on that job – I just checked my calculations. The highest point is in fact 3 inches – not 6. For some reason this did not cross my mind when I wrote the article, as we made the decision to use 1/8″ tapered ISO when we first saw the roof in June and this fact never crossed my mind again. Read the rest of this entry »
Senior project written by Riess Stanley Nov 4, 2010
With economic strife on the rise, it has now become necessary to seek out ways to save money, as well as to find ways to “stay green”, and to do what you can to help the environment. Unfortunately, accomplishing both at the same time seems to be very difficult. Believe it or not, there is a smart, fairly simple, and very efficient way to succeed in these two areas in a way not often looked upon as a money saver, but rather a necessary and costly project when it doesn’t need to be; the roof. When you really get down to it, the roof is either costing too much, or saving plenty.
First off, if a building with a flat or low-sloped pitch was to have a black tar roof, it would be taking more money than one would realize. In warm weather, the black roof will absorb so much heat that an abundance of energy and money would need to be invested into cooling down the building. Moreover, all that heat beating down on the roof will make it crack, which in turn will cause it to leak once the rainy weather begins. This defeats the entire purpose of a roof. So, what is a low cost alternative for a black tar roof, that can keep the roof cool during summer months and can keep out the rain? The answer; PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) single-ply membrane. Read the rest of this entry »
We installed this flat roof near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the summer of 2010. The roof installation consisted of four separate roof sections on different levels of this house, which at the time was undergoing major renovations inside and out, including total new insulation in walls and between roof rafters, new heating system with radiant floor heat, new energy efficient windows, and a new IB PVC flat roof (which we installed of course).
The old rubber roof was leaking and we had to remove it, including the wet roof insulation, and we installed a new 50-mil white IB Flat Roof, with 4 inches of tapered insulation (4 inches at the highest point and 1 inch at the lowest level). The tapered insulation system was utilized to eliminate ponding water on the two bigger sections of the roof. At the deepest point, there was as much as 2 inches of ponding water, and the puddle with at least 12 feet diameter. This ponding water caused both the roof leaks and the roof rafters settlement.
In July of 2010 we installed a new IB PVC flat roofing system with custom-made copper drip edge metal, on a new construction home in Newton, Massachusetts. This house is located around the corner from Newton Center.
In this job profile we will demonstrate all stages of this roof installation, and show the new Copper Drip edge, which IB roof systems has recently introduced and made available to its certified roofing contractors.
First, let’s go over the roof specs and details. The building on which the roof was installed is an new construction garage / guest house with two car bays on the first floor and guest rooms with a balcony / deck on the second floor. Because of heights limitations in Newton, MA, the top portion of the roof had to be flat, with a little slate roofing mansard around the roof perimeter, to resemble the slate roof on the main house. The home owner chose IB PVC Flat Roof, as the roofing material for their building project.
The roofing membrane we used, was an 80-mil white IB PVC roof, mechanically attached to a wooden substrate, over 3 inches of tapered ISO insulation. All seams were hot air welded using Liester welding equipment.
Around the roof perimeter, we installed IB’s new Copper Drip edge metal with PVC coated flange, which allows us to seamlessly integrate copper with an IB roof. The PVC cover tape is welded to both the roofing membrane and a drip edge metal, leaving exposed copper to give this roof a beautiful look of a classic slate roof with copper flashing.
On the second floor, we installed the same 80 mil roof with differently shaped copper metal, over a walk-out balcony deck, and additionally flashing the roof and the door opening, with IB’s pre-manufactured roof flashing accessories. After the roofing membrane was installed, a floating roof deck was installed on top. Read the rest of this entry »
Update – Oct 26, 2011: Exactly 2 years after the initial Sarnafil PVC Roof repair (read details below) I went back to that roof. This time there were 17 new holes in the roof. I repaired it once again with IB PVC flat roofing material. Check out the full review of this latest PVC roof repair in Needham MA, as well a overview of a DuraLast PVC roof that we repaired on a 22-story apartment complex in Cambridge MA.
Update 2: a Trocal roof repair also reviewed below – section of that roof has completely shattered over past winter, and we had replaced it with IB PVC Flat Roof in the spring of 2011.
Check out the video of this new PVC Roof repair:
Original PVC Roof repair article
PVC roofing is one of the longest lasting flat roof membrane systems, and most PVC roofs installed, will last in excess of 25-30 years. PVC roofing utilizes Hot-Air welding of the seams, which allows the roof to remain watertight for many years, as there is no adhesive to fail ( as is the case with EPDM rubber roofing ). Still, even PVC roofs can leak. Sometimes because of poor installation, and sometimes because of physical damage to the roofing membrane. You may have heard about the Trocal PVC roof failures, which was the only major case of PVC roof failures (below we will explain how Trocal roofs failed).
In this article we will discuss and demonstrate the PVC roof leaks and repair procedure, based on two recent repairs we have done. First, please note that even if your PVC roof leaks – you should not be too worried – PVC roofs are rather easy to repair, and you will rarely need to replace your entire roof.
What makes PVC roofing so “awesome”?
Awesome is a strong word to describe a roofing material, and yet that is what I think of PVC roofing. Although PVC is not the most durable (strong) flat roof, with hot air welded seams, you can install PVC on almost any roof, even if there is ponding water. Another great feature of PVC roofing (IB flat roof in this case, as PVC roofs from other manufacturers may not perform the same as IB roofs), is the fact that even after 30 years on the roof, the material is still flexible, and you can easily weld new material (such as a patch, or a flashing) to it. Also I should mention that most PVC membranes are compatible with each other, though if you use PVC materials from different manufacturers, or unapproved installer, you will probably void your warranty. At the same time, most TPO roofing membranes (which are similar to PVC roofs) will loose elasticity, and ability to be welded in as little as five years after installation.
As promised – a quick look into why Trocal PVC roofs failed on a massive scale, forcing the company to be sold to another large roofing materials manufacturer.
Trocal PVC roofing was one of the first commercially available PVC roofs in the US, and they worked great at first. But they had one major drawback – they were unreinforced (today, most PVC membranes are reinforced with polyester scrim sitting between the top and bottom ply of the membrane). When the ambient temperatures were below freezing, a Trocal roof could crack or shatter if you simply stepped on it, especially if it was really cold. Later, all PVC manufacturers switched to reinforced membrane, and some would add special chemicals to increase the elasticity of the membrane. Today, unreinforced PVC membrane is used only for flashing accessories such as inside / outside corners, pipe flashing, etc.
The repair of Trocal PVC Roof:
This Trocal roof sustained damage from a falling tree branch in December of 2009, and cracked along the edge. Although the roof was over 20 years old, it was still fully weldable and we were able to repair it with new IB PVC roofing membrane in Jan. 2010. We removed the damaged section of the roof, cleaned the surface with MEK solution, installed new PVC coated IB Drip Edge metal, and welded 50-mil white IB roofing membrane. The repair was performed in a 25 degrees outside temperature, so we had to take special care not to damage the rest of the original roof. Read the rest of this entry »
Most solar systems are installed on a roof of a house or a building. The exception are solar farms or ground-mounted solar installations, but these are rare, and usually 100% commercial solar systems. The reason most solar systems are installed on a roof is because of limited space – especially in the urban environment.
on the other hand, roofs represent significant unused space, and are usually not shaded by trees, nearby buildings, etc – they are the highest point of a building with great sun exposure, which makes them perfect to install solar panels on.
In this article we will discuss solar roofing systems, which integrate roofing materials with solar PV panels or solar thermal systems. Although most roof-mounted solar systems are installed on top of an existing roof – be it an asphalt shingles roof or any type of flat roof – these solar systems are not integrated into the roofing material, and therefore are not solar roofs.
What is solar roofing? Roof-integrated solar systems explained.
Solar roofing is a final product which integrates a Solar Panel with the roofing material suitable for either a sloped or a flat roof. The solar panels used in solar roofing are usually thin-film photovoltaic laminates. Most popular Solar PV laminates commercially used today, are the Unisolar thin-film PV panels.
Unisolar thin-film PV laminates were originally designed to fit into and be integrated with standing seam metal roof panels. Unisolar panels are 15.5 inches wide and fit perfectly into a 16″ standing seam panels, and are attached or laminated with special butyl adhesive that is on the back of each Uni-solar PV panel.
As time progressed and solar integrators were having flat roof leak repair issues with solar systems they installed on flat commercial roofs. After they installed solar mounting racks and attached them to the roof deck, the fasteners would start leaking after a while. Roofing manufacturers adressed this issue with different versions of flat roofing materials that integrated Unisolar PV panels – one such system is IB Solar Roof. There are many types of both solar metal roofs and solar flat roofs, using solar PV panels from various manufacturers (though as I said, most do use Unisolar PV laminates).
In this article we will discuss different types of solar roofing systems such as Solar Metal Roofing, Solar Flat Roofs, and Solar Shingles that get integrated with regular asphalt shingles roofs.
Solar Metal Roofing
The most common type of solar metal roofing is the standing seam metal roof with integrated Unisolar PV laminates. Unisolar PV laminates were initially designed to fit in the pan of standing seam panels, with the connection terminals concealed by the ridge cap. Because the connectors or terminals of these PV panels are not UV stable, they need to be hidden from the sun, while the rest of the panel is of course exposed to the sun to generate solar electricity. Read the rest of this entry »
Last week, Boston was a host to hordes of roofing sales people, roof manufacturers’ reps and local roofing contractors from all over Massachusetts and New England. It was the NERCA (North East Roofing Contractors Association) annual roofing convention, where most roofing materials, tools and equipment manufacturers were present, promoting their new products and services.
After being to a few of these shows already, I have found that they don’t get any more exciting, but it’s always nice that NERCA sets up up open bars with semi-decent wine, and cheese / crackers / fresh veggies & berries tables. I think that for roof sales professionals, these roofing conventions have become a boring necessity, as all they do is schmooze with each other and talk about competition. As for me and other roofing contractors, we can always find some new and exciting roofing materials and roofing tools, equipment and services, such as infra-red roof scanners, roof lifts, a hydraulic-powered dumpster, which can be lifted to the roof level to speed up roof tear-off and clean up process. As a Flat Roofs contractor we were there supporting IB Roofs, which had a booth there, and I got to meet IB’s new Regional Manager Dana Spurgeon, as well as IB’s local reps in Massachusetts – Jerry Lang and Kevin Laprte (whom I already know of course).
Roofing Equipment presented at the Boston Roofing Show:
Besides the obvious and now ritualistic visit to the IB Roofs stand, I wanted to find as many cool, interesting and innovative roofing products at this show, and quickly wondered off, to explore the unknown. My first find was an excellent new automatic hot-air welder by Leister – the new Varimat V2. Read the rest of this entry »
Learn why TPO roofs fail prematurely, and discover the secrets that TPO roofing manufacturers don't want you to find out - PVC & TPO roofing
Find out why homeowners should avoid putting Rubber Roofing materials on their roofs, why you want to be cautious when dealing with residential roofing contractors who "install rubber" - Rubber Roofing
If you have a flat roof, chances a that you've been dealing with roof leaks for a while and no matter what you tried, the roofing membrane under your roof deck is leaking. Discover the flat roof deck solution that we offer - Roof Decks
Discover the new flat roof deck waterproofing material that eliminates the need to use Pressure Treated wood deck over the roofing membrane - IB DeckShield Roof Deck membrane is a slip resistant PVC roof, with beautiful design, long-lasting water-tightness, and lower bottom-line price!
Flat Roof Installation guide shows how we install our flat roofing systems, describing step-by-step procedures with actual installation videos.
. I thought this would be interesting to our readers who are interested in tapered insulation and/or have ponding water problems with their flat roofs.
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