Recently we finished installing an aluminum standing seam metal on a residential home in Wayland, Massachusetts. The roof is made of .032 Aluminum, coated with grey finish Kynar 500 coating. It is a 1.5″ snap-lock standing seam, attached with stainless steel clips and wood screws. Also, as you can see, there is a rail snow retention system, which I will describe in detail bellow. It consists of cast-aluminum mounts attached to ribs of the standing seams roof and two rows stainless steel cross bars (rails) to hold snow and ice from sliding off the roof.

Originally, the homeowner was having bad problems with Ice dams and roof leaks. Originally the roof had “ice belt” made of copper, but it only covered the bottom 2 feet of the roof and as we discovered later, during a roof tear-off, it was tucked under the shingles above it by only 2-3 inches. Needles to say, this copper ice-belt did not work as it was intended to and the ice dams were still creating leaks. After a while, to solve the Ice Dams problem the home owner installed large sheets of aluminum.

Read the rest of this entry »

It is no secret that a metal roof, although designed to last a lifetime, is only as good as its installers. Additionally, metal roofing is a completely different animal than asphalt shingle roofs, cedar shake or even slate roofing, and to be able to install a metal roof correctly, you need a professionally trained metal roof mechanic.

Usually when a metal roof is installed by a seasoned roofer, who never worked with at least one of many types of metal roofing, the results are more than sad. The roof begins to leak with the first rain, the roofer’s reputation suffers and a very unhappy customer seeks to resolve the problems with the manufacturer, and files complaints with BBB, Angie’s List and other consumer protection organizations. Fortunately, all of these troubles can be avoided if a professional metal roofer is hired to do the job.

We understand the needs of home and business owners, and their demand for the highest quality of materials and installation. We hand pick the best materials and the most thoroughly thought-out roofing systems, and combine them with our unique installation methods, which in the end, provide you with a true lifetime roofing solution, and unmatched beauty for your home.

Examples of our unique approach to installation of metal roofing:

In the above video clip, you may see how we approach the installation of this residential metal roof in Revere, MA. As with most roofs, attic ventilation is crucial to the longevity of the roof, its wooden substrate and the health of the entire home, including its occupants. There are multiple ways to ventilate the attic space, but the most effective way is to utilize a ridge and soffit ventilation system, where the cold air enters the attic through the soffit vents, located along the eaves of the roof and escapes through the ridge vent. However, the ridge vent is often the path through which the wind driven water can penetrate the roof, causing slow, but devastating damages to the roof’s framing. Since the amount of water coming through the ridge vent is usually insignificant, homeowners will not notice the leak for many years, at which point the damage has already been done, and repairs can cost thousands of dollars. It is very common that the wooden substrate is completely rotten along the ridge line, and so are the tips of the rafters merging at the peak of the roof.

The solution to ridge vent leaks:

Water-tight ridge vent system

We designed a special way to raise the ridge vent off the roof level by 3/4 of an inch. While insignificant in therms of aesthetics, this bump-out prevents the wind drive water to enter the ridge vent cut-out, while the ventilation still works just as efficiently as it would have otherwise. Notice that the custom flashing we use rests on top of a pressure treated 1×4 board. The flashing is inserted into the top lock of the last course of aluminum shingles, which makes it impossible for wind driven water to penetrate the roof. Just as an extra protection measure, we used commercial grade exterior caulking at the joins of top locks between every shingle.

Ice Dams can cause very serious and expensive to fix problems, and are usually caused by improper ventilation of your attic space and inadequate insulation of your roof. Ice Dams are a sign of heat loss in the attic, and this lost heat is money you throw out the window.

This Ice Dams Prevention Guide will help you identify Ice Dams and eliminate either sources of the problem (preferred method, though not always feasible) or the effects, which are just as dangerous for you home, as they cause rot and mold damage not only to your roof, but also inside the walls.

Ice Dams Guide – quick navigation:

What are Ice Dams – technical explanation of ice dams and what causes them.
Ice dams and poor roof ventilation – ice dams are caused by warm air in your attic, which requires adequate ventilation.
How to solve Ice Dams problems – a permanent solution to prevent ice dams.

Ice dams may seem harmless at first, but they are known to cause thousands of dollars in roof leaks, structural  damages and repairs of your home. The can also create dangerous mold growth, which can cause or aggravate allergies, asthma and other respiratory diseases.  Fighting ice dams can be costly, and you also need to know how to approach the problem to make your efforts more efficient so that you can permanently eliminate ice dams.

Although ice dams are common on most roofs in the northern regions of US and Canada, they cause most damages and leaks to Low Slope roofs, as it is much easier for water to “travel” up a low pitch roof vs. a steep roof.

Additionally, you may see many roofs in New Hampshire, northern Massachusetts, as well as other parts of the country with 2 x 2 feet aluminum pans locked together along the eaves of the roof. These metal sheets are installed so that ice formations would slide off, and ice dams would not build up. This may work for steep roofs, but on a low slope, the ice dams can form in the center of the roof as there is not enough pitch for water to run off.

What are Ice Dams and what causes them?

If you live in Northern US, Canada, or any other region with cold winters and lots of snow, you’ve seen and possibly experienced first hand Ice Dams and problems that they create. Just a few of the most common ice dam related problems include roof leaks, rotted roof decking / exterior & interior walls / framing, mold and related respiratory illnesses (allergies, asthma, etc.), reduction in insulation effectiveness and associated heat-loss.

Ice dams are just that – they are large ice formations along the eaves of the roofs. The main causes of ice dams are poor ventilation and / or inadequate insulation in the attic. In a nutshell, when warm air from the living space of your home rises into the attic, it melts the snow, which runs down and freezes at the eaves, creating ice dams. If your attic is poorly insulated, much more warm air escapes, and larger ice dams form.

Lets see how ice dams are created and what can be done to get rid of them:

When it snows outside, a thick layer of snow settles on the roof, and the warm air from the attic slowly melts the snow. Melted snow begins to run down the roof toward the eaves, which are usually colder than the rest of roof surface. There, water freezes, thus creating ice dams. As more and more water melts at the top of the roof and freezes at the bottom, ice dams grow to a thickness of over 4-5 inches.

As ice dams become larger, and more melted snow water runs down the roof, it hits the already large ice dams and can not go down any more. At this point it starts to refreeze under the shingles. At the same time, warm attic air melts the newly formed ice under the shingles, which starts to drip inside the attic and /or down the walls.

Ice Dams and Ventilation:

Even if you have a very well insulated attic, which blocks most of the warm air from escaping your living space, still, some warm air will escape into the attic. This is where you need a working ventilation system, which will vent most of the warm air from the attic and will create a temperature parity between outside and inside the attic. Only then the snow will not melt artificially, and will not create ice dams.

Today, the most effective and commonly used attic ventilation system in residential construction and roofing is the Soffit / Ridge vent system. Although soffit/ridge systems is the best-performing type of ventilation, it is not always possible to implement it. While implementing a good ventilation system on a new construction home is easy, some of the older homes were designed to have no ventilation at all, or optionally were build with two gable vents that are usually two 12 x 18 inches openings at the peak of the gable-side walls. These are not as effective as ridge and soffit vents but still work O.K.

In many cases however having a ventilation system is not an option due to many reasons, such as financial constrains or building limitations. For example, if a home was build with insulation stuffed between the roof rafters, but the the builder did not install baffles, which would create an air pocket to allow the flow of air. In this case no ventilation system will work as there is no room for air to circulate. Of course, this situation can be fixed, but it would cost a lot of money and many home owners are unwilling to spend that much.

Other types of roofs that are not designed to accommodate effective ventilation systems, such as ridge / soffit vents or gable vents, are Hip Roofs and low slope roofs. In the case of hip roofs, you could get away with static box vents or power vents with a thermostat. These are not as effective, but still provide some ventilation.

In the case of low slope roofs, builders and roofers not only need to solve the ventilation problems but also they have to make sure that there are no leaks caused by the air vents. Unfortunately, too many builders and roofers do not include any ventilation on a low slope roof, as it is easier for them to avoid potential leaks. For example, a ridge vent on a low pitch roof will allow the wind driven water to enter the attic.

Since most low slope roofs are not vented, ice dams are much more likely to occur and cause extensive damages to the roof and the interior of the house, as it is a lot easier for water to travel “upward” on a low pitch roof. Most low slope and flat roofing systems are designed to have their seams put together with glues and adhesives, ranging from solvent based seam lap adhesives used with Epdm black rubber to Tar and roof cement used with asphalt and modified bitumen roofs. Du to the nature of adhesives, these roofs are prone to develop leaks, as adhesives break down with time and weather affecting it’s longevity. Ice Dams only speed up the process, as the ice melting and re-freezing process expands the gaps between the seams.

Additionally, asphalt shingles are often used on low slope roofs, which is a blunt ignorance on the part of homeowners, who did not do the due diligence, and hired a roofing contractor to install such a roof, as well as home owner abuse by shady roofing contractors, who do not let the home owner know that the roof they are about to install violates manufacturers installation guidelines and annuls the warranty on the roof. By definition, a low slope roof is pitch less than 3, while ALL shingles manufacturers require at least a pitch of 3 to install their asphalt shingles product.

In many cases, with luck of proper ventilation and in some cases improper roofing materials used on low slope roofs, some home owners turn to heated electric cables to melt the ice dams. Despite common opinion that heat cables solve the Ice dam problems, it could not be further from truth.

Here is why heat cables do not solve Ice Dam problems:

First, just a reminder that ice dams are caused by hot air escaping your living space and lack of adequate ventilation. Heat cables use electricity to melt the ice formations. Therefore, you are trying to fight a heat / energy problems by throwing more energy into the cold atmosphere, so instead of fixing the problem you just add a band-aid, which does not even work. At the same time, you incur ever increasing energy expenses, while the problem not only remains there, but becomes worse.

Heat cables melt the ice dams along the eaves, but there are still ice dams forming just above the effective range of heat cables, so your ice dam leaks now occur high up the roof slope, affecting more insulation and aggravating the problem even more.

Permanent solution to Ice Dam problems:

The best thing you can do to eliminate ice dams is to improve your attic ventilation and add / improve insulation to minimize heat loss.  Insulation should be your first step, as poor attic insulation is the main cause of ice dams, and besides, you don’t want to keep wasting your money on heating up your unused attic. Seal the gaps between insulation, use expandable foam insulation for tight spots, etc. If you have the soffit vents/air intake slots, make sure that loose insulation does not block the air circulation.

Install proper ventilation. As mentioned before, soffit and ridge vent system is most effective, and does not cost a lot if you are having a new roof installed. You can also add it to an existing roof, but make sure there are appropriate conditions for adequate air circulation. Do NOT mix different ventilation systems – if you do so, there is a good chance that one system will minimize the effects of the other, therefore your ventilation will stop working.

What to do if you cannot improve / fix  ventilation and insulation issues:

Although it is best to eliminate the source of the problem – heat loss and improper ventilation, it is not always a viable financial option for many homeowners, and another solution is required. As I discussed earlier, heat cables do not work and only increase your energy expenses. The best solution for a sloped roof is to have a Metal Roof installed.

Metal roofs are designed to prevent the damages associated with ice dams, by preventing the water from traveling upward. Be it a standing seam metal roof or an interlocking shingles system, Ice formations may occur, but the design of the roof will not let the melting water rise and penetrate the roof surface.

In fact, due to its smooth surface, metal roofs shed ice and snow, which comes down like an avalanche. To prevent this snow from damaging things bellow and falling on someone’s head, special Snow Guards must be used, which you can see in the image above.

For low slope roofs, we install an IB roofing system, which features hot-air welded seams to prevent water from entering the roof, and is perfect for residential low sloped roofing, as it comes with an asphalt shingle pattern to give it an architectural look and design.

To properly ventilate a low slope roof, we’ve created a special assembly method, which allows the installation of ridge vent, and eliminates associated roof leaks. We raised a ridge vent by 2 inches from the roof surface. This clearance is more than sufficient to prevent any water from entering your house through the ridge vent.

In conclusion, I will once again mention that it is best to go to the source of the problem and fix as much ventilation and insulation as you can. Combine a great, energy efficient attic insulation with a permanent, cool flat or metal roof, and you will get a long lasting, great looking roof that will not leak, will save you money on roof repairs and heating / cooling costs, and take away many headaches of being a proud homeowner, as well as allow you to enjoy your home without ever worrying about roof leaks.

If you live anywhere in Massachusetts, Rhode Island or Connecticut, contact us to get a free roofing price quote and schedule a roof inspection and estimate to install a lifetime flat IB roof or a beautiful metal roof. You can also use our online roofing price calculator to estimate your roof replacement costs and annual energy savings.

References and Resources:

• Step by step guide about installing metal roofing.
• Roof repair guide, which includes cost estimates for basic and advanced repairs, as well as what you can expect and how to choose a roofing contractor to fix your roof. Useful information for DIY homeowners, property maintenance personal and business owners.
  

We have not updated our roof project profiles in a while, but now since we started using a blog it has become much easier. This is one of the first in a series of projects we’ve completed in the last 12 months, that never made it to our website. We start this series with a flat roof in Connecticut.

I will try to objectively describe the roof problems that our customers had, and what we did to eliminate the roof leaks, as well as give them peace of mind that their IB Cool Roof will protect their home or building, and provide our customers real money savings on the ever-rising energy costs.

On the roof in Andover, Connecticut – with a happy homeowner after the IB flat roof installation was complete

Roofing problems and our roof installation in the words of the homeowner:

In December of 2008 my wife and I awoke to a dripping sound in our master bedroom. Much to our dismay the drip quickly became a steady stream of water as we were experiencing a rain storm that totaled 4″. We placed buckets under the stream to mitigate the damages. The next morning I opened up the Sheetrock ceiling which was sagging down. Upon opening the ceiling I could see that all of the insulation and plywood was wet. As I moved across the room I found that it wasn’t just that area that was leaking, but several places. Our flat roof measures 20′ x 34′ and has a 1 pitch covered with 5 year old roll roofing. We tarped the roof and called a water damage restoration company to come in and dry us out. Unfortunately, MOLD was discovered growing on the underside of plywood decking, framing, and Sheetrock. An industrial hygienist was hired to do testing and determine the mold spore levels. We ended up have to demolish the entire area and have the mold professionally re-mediated. The insurance company did not like to hear about mold. Their limit on coverage was $10,000.00 and we were facing $24,000.00 in damages!
This is a very small amount when you see how much it can cost to remove mold. Insurance companies also will not pay to repair your roof. Especially a flat one. They will only cover the resulting interior damage. I was frustrated with the extent of damages that occurred all from what appeared to be a little leak. Often times, by the time water comes through your Sheetrock it is too late and you have lots of mold and wood damage waiting for you. After settling with the insurance company I began to research possible ideas to make sure this never happens again. I investigated the idea of raising the roof pitch, which proved to be very expensive. Next I looked into flat roof systems such as rubber. I found that the seams end up leaking after a while. Not to mention the fact that it is ugly, and retains heat making the inside of your home hotter in the summer. I also looked into metal but no one could install it on such a low pitch and guarantee me that it won’t leak. Finally, I found Leo’s website talking about the IB Roof system. I was amazed by the fact that this product provided a lifetime guarantee for the product and labor. I also loved the fact that it is attractive looking and reflects the hot sun keeping my home cooler in the summer. As an added bonus, in the future I can add IB solar panels to my IB Roof and generate my own electricity. I’m told that in some places the cost for IB Roof may be a bit more than the alternatives. However, for me the cost of the IB Roof was actually less than my quotes to go with a rubber roof. Therefore, it was a no brainier. Leo and his crew were on my job-site within just a few days after our initial contact. It was impressive to see how the construction was preformed and you can really see the quality of the product. Leo and his crew were very respectful of our home and they kept the property clean. I have already recommended Leo and IB Roofing to a few people that I know have up coming flat roof projects. If you are considering a flat roof project you can’t go wrong with Leo and IB Roofing. Do it once, stay green, and enjoy!

Alex from Andover, CT

Roof problems, causes of leaks, and installation of a new IB Roof.

When I first met with Alex, the roof had an expensive, heavy-duty tarp on it and about 5 inches of snow. Although it was the time of a very cold arctic air front in New England, it was actually good for Alex’s roof as cold temperatures kept the snow from melting for a couple of weeks.

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Flat roof covered with tarp to prevent more leaks

Alex planned to tear-off the existing rolled asphalt roofing with the help of his friends over the weekend and, put the tarp back on, until we would come to install our roof. All went as planned, but it snowed the day after Alex and his friends removed the old roof, and replaced rotten plywood decking and fixed some rafters. On Monday morning snow melted and the roof began to leak again. The heavy-duty tarp turned out to be damaged in few spots, and the roof was virtually unprotected.

We had to adjust our work schedule to quickly come out and make Alex’s roof watertight, to prevent any more water damages and additional repair expenses. Fortunately, the weather was dry for a few days, and on Wednesday we came to install our roof. Once on the roof, we found that there were numerous causes of leaks. The major contributing factor was due to roof rafters caving in, and creating a cavity for water to puddle on the roof.

It is known among roofing professionals that standing water causes the majority of flat roof leaks. Standing / ponding water easily breaks the bond between roof laps, and enters the house, destroying insulation along the way. If left unattended, or unnoticed, these leaks will create thousands of dollars worth of damages, as well as pose a health risk – mold causes and/or aggravates allergies, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

My evaluation is that most water damages occurred were water ponded on the roof. Other leaks occurred due to Ice Dams, where ice slowly “traveled” between the seams, and melted under the rolled asphalt, causing slow, but steady rot of plywood decking and mold. Although Alex’s roof is not completely flat, Ice dams are known to affect roofs that are completely non-walkable, so this very low pitch roof was an easy “prey”.

Roof Installation:

We use IB PVC roofs exclusively, because in my opinion it is not only the best flat roofing product on the US market, but it creates a completely watertight blanket over the entire roof. With IB, I can look customers straight into their eyes and honestly say: “My roof will not leak!”

New IB flat roof

The reason why IB is such a great roofing system is the hot-air fusion welded seams. Once we weld two sheets of IB roofing membrane, a permanent bond is created, eliminating the possibility of water penetrations. Additionally, IB manufactures all the flashing components, which speeds up the installation process, and minimizes installation error.

Alex’s flat roof is actually an addition and was added as a shed dormer to a pitched roof. When this roof was constructed, builders put in a soffit / ridge ventilation system, which is always a good idea to have for wood roof frame / deck. However, a ridge vent can create many leaks problems, as it is very easy for water to be blown in by wind past the vent, and into the attic.

Normally, roofing contractors would just cover the ridge vent completely to eliminate leaks, but this would take away the ventilation, causing the plywood deck to dry out, de-laminate and slowly “dry-rot”.

We have created a custom design ridge vent assembly for low-slope roofs and shed dormers, where the vent sits two inches above roof level, eliminating the possibility of wind driven water entering the roof. Although the installation of such assembly is tedious and consumes a lot of time, it is the right was to go to maintain proper ventilation and to preserve the roof deck.

Ridge vent assembly for IB flat roof eliminates wind driven water leaks.

As sou can see from the picture, ridge vent sits on top of a 2×4 wood, which is completely wrapped with IB membrane to create a water-tight barrier, and prevent leaks through the ridge opening.

Conclusion:

Overall, it was a straight forward installation which took 2 days to complete.

Special thanks to Alex for providing us with delicious hot chocolate, which made our work easier and warmer during these cold January days.

If you have a flat roof in Connecticut, Massachusetts or Rhode Island, you can fill our roofing estimate request form. You can also get an instant price quote with our online Roofing Price Calculator.

Cool Roofs provide financial and environmental benefits and long-lasting protection from the weather.

Roofing represents only 3% of construction costs. Yet, many builders, architects / specifiers, roofing contractors and even home / building owners look to reduce their total construction and/or renovation costs, and all to often they find these savings in roofing. This cost cutting comes not only at the expense of installation quality, but also with the use of inefficient roofing materials. Two most common roofing choices are asphalt shingle for pitched roofs and Epdm ‘rubber’ for flat roofs. The former is made directly from oil, and the latter is made with oil by-products and other chemicals.

Cool Roofing

Are Cool Roofs for everyone?

In theory, every roof should be cool. If that was the case, our nation would greatly decrease its energy dependence and consumption. We would also improve our environment and air quality, and less electricity would be required to cool our homes and buildings. Bear in mind that over 50% of our electricity comes from coal-burning power plants and coal is the dirtiest source of energy, and pollutes air with, sulfur, lead, arsenic, CO2 and other harmful substances and green house gases.

However, many people would argue that cool roofs are only for Sun-belt states, and that black roofs are better for northern states. This is completely wrong. Lets review the differences of Cool (white) roofs and black roofs in terms of energy savings and heat gain in the summer vs. heat loss in the winter.

First of all, let me state a notion that in the winter, the heat does not escape the building (unless you open your windows), but rather the cold enters the building and lowers the inside temperature. With that notion in mind, lets compare the energy cost advantage of a black roof in the winter and a white roof in the summer.

Energy Costs Calculation.

Heat gain through the roofing surface: As you can see from the chart above, on an 85 degree F day, IB cool white roof will only gain 6 degrees or about 8%, whereas a black surface roof such as a rubber roof or rolled asphalt or tar roof will gain 87 degrees (!) or more than double in temperature to a total of 172 F. If you get down on your knees, you will actually get skin burns. Imagine all this heat entering inside your home or place of business…

For comparison purposes we will use a White IB PVC roof and a regular Epdm black rubber roof. We will use DOE Cool Roof Calculator and with following parameters:

Gas will be used as a source of heat, but since gas rates differ from city to city, we will convert the BTU value of 1 gallon of oil to that of 1 therm of natural gas. The oil price used in this comparison is $2.39 per gallon which is the average here in Massachusetts for oil customers with delivery contract as of January 8, 2009. Please note that the price of 1 barrel of Oil today is $41.89.

Calculation metrics:

• Insulation R-Value: 6, 13 and 20 (6 is the average for existing residential building where we replace a flat roof)
• Solar Reflectance: 85 for IB Roof and 6 for Black EPDM. Although IB’s reflectance is 87% the calculator will not let us use more than 85, and since with dust accumulation on the roof reflectance drops, it is safe to use this number.
• Infrared (thermal) Emittance: 88 for IB Roof and 86 for Black EPDM.

Scenario 1 – Boston, MA.

Cost of electricity in the Metro Boston area is approximately $0.22 per kWh. The cost of heating the building we get by multiplying price of 1 gallon of oil by 0.71  = price of “1 therm of heating oil” – $1.70 / therm. Note that this is not the price of one therm of natural gas, but rather a BTU conversion from oil to natural gas. I use oil as it is the most common source of heat in the north east and New England in particular.

Scenario 2 – Los Angeles, CA.

I will assume the energy price in CA, as I do not live there. For electricity rates I will use 30 cents per kWh. This assumes peak rate (when most people actually use their air-conditioners) and all the surcharges, delivery charges, etc. This is the total cost per kWh.

Since gas prices in CA right now are jus a bit higher as compared to Mass. we will use $1.80 as the price of therm of heating oil. Bear in mind that in California, they rarely use heating and it is mostly natural gas or electricity or propane for remote homes.

Other calculation metrics:

• AC efficiency: We use an average of 2.0
• Heating System efficiency: We use an average of 0.7 or 70%. My brand new Burnham closed loop hot-water radiator system is 86% efficient. The older heating system it replaced was about 50% efficient if not less. Also note that this is the burner efficiency and not the total system efficiency. Total system efficiency is greatly dependent on how well your house is insulated, the type of windows you have and the type of heat delivery you use: radiant, air ducts, steam or copper pipes with hot water circulating through the system.

Results – Net Savings per 1 square foot of flat roof area per year: Boston:

• With 6-r insulation Net saving is $0.079 or almost 8 cents.
• With 13-r insulation Net saving is $0.037 or almost 4 cents.
• With 20-r insulation Net saving is $0.023 or almost 2.5 cents.

Los Angeles:

• With 6-r insulation Net saving is $0.217 or almost 22 cents.
• With 13-r insulation Net saving is $0.1 or 10 cents.
• With 20-r insulation Net saving is $0.062 or almost 6.5 cents.

Let us now assume that you home is 2000 sq. ft. and has 6-r insulation value of the roof. In Boston, MA you would save $160 per year in electricity alone if you replaced your existing black roof, such as epdm rubber or tar & gravel, with a cool IB roof. Also add a leak free performance of IB roofs, no more roof repairs and other costs associated with roof leaks. In Los Angeles you would save $440 each year! Also add the Energy Star tax credit for cool roof installation of $500. This is an actual tax rebate, and it equals to an average of $1800 worth of tax deductions. In conclusion, I’d say that Cool roofs are much more efficient in the southern states where there is a lot more sunshine and almost no snow. But even here in New England, a cool roof is a very attractive choice for people who are looking to get long term savings, lifetime leak free performance and/or are worried about the environment.

Cool roofs vs. Black roofs:

While asphalt shingle is the ‘de-facto champion’ of sloped roofing with its VERY low cost and severe price competition in both residential and commercial markets, when it comes to flat roofing, there are more choices. Old-timers will recommend a 3 to 5 ply Built-Up roof or a two-ply Modified Bitumen. With the abundance of these and other tar and asphalt roofs still in service, and some new roofs being installed (although each year there are fewer BUR, asphalt and bitumen roofs being installed, as the flat roofing industry is quickly transitioning toward single-ply roofing membranes), all of these roofs are destined to end up in our land-fills, as recycling programs for asphalt-based roofs are virtually non-existent. That is millions of tons and billions of square feet of oil waste are going into the ground each year.

Another problem associated with the above-mentioned roofing materials is their color – most are black, which attracts and transfers tremendous amounts of solar heat into the building or a house. As a result, the air-conditioning system must work over-time to maintain a comfortable working and living environment. This causes overloads and power outages on electrical grids, increased cost of electricity, and as a result – higher electric bills.

To offset the above-mentioned high cost of electricity, many people choose to install a Solar PV roof system. This is especially true in California where $0.35 – 0.40 per kWh of electricity is a normal residential rate. We wholeheartedly support nation-wide deployment of small and large scale solar photo-voltaic systems, but the first step, which many people should take before installing solar systems, is to reduce their average energy consumption. This is where Cool Roofs come in very handy.

Financial Benefits of Cool Roofs:

1 – Energy savings of Cool Roofs

Cool roofs provide tremendous reduction in cooling cost by reflecting 85-90% of solar heat and keeping your residence or place of work cooler in the summer. This directly reduces your electricity costs. This also puts less strain on your HVAC equipment, which leads to less maintenance, reduced repair costs and longer life for the Air Conditioning units.

2 – Cool Roofs last longer and leak less than black roofs.

Cool Roofs generally outlast their counterparts by 50-100% and require much less maintenance and repairs than Rubber roofs, modified bitumen and tar / asphalt roofing systems.

For a flat roofing market, the two major players are PVC and TPO membranes. These are single-ply, thermoplastic roofs which are hot-air welded together to provide decades of leaks-free services. There are also acrylic and urethane cool roof coatings which make existing black roofs cooler and increase their service life by 5-15 years.

Note: PVC and American-made TPO roofs are fundamentally different in terms of their chemical formulation and life expectancy, but both are considered cool roofs and Ideally should last 20+ years. Learn more about the difference between PVC and TPO roofing.

While 40 years ago there was no real alternative to asphalt-based roofing materials in the US market, for over 30 years we had cool roofs that are energy efficient, light weight and provide long-lasting protection with much flexibility to accommodate for any obstacle present on the roof. PVC Roofs were the first real cool roofs to hit the US commercial roofing market. Some US manufacturers of early PVC membranes (most notoriously Trocal) had problems with their product, such as membrane shattering in extremely cold temperatures. The problem was due to the membrane being non-reinforced with nylon scrim. All major PVC (and TPO) membranes on the market today feature reinforcing scrim.

IB PVC / CPA roofing feature a true Non-wicking scrim, which prevents the capilary water penetration between the two layers of the membrane. This is only one of many benefits of IB PVC Roofing which sets it apart from all other flat roofing systems.

3 – Cool Metal Roofs.

Residential metal roofing

For large commercial / industrial applications, there is structural metal roofing, usually found on space metal buildings, aluminum reflective coatings, etc. Although these do not meet Cool Roof requirements, they still are more energy efficient than black rubber and asphalt-based roofs.

For residential and some commercial / retail / restaurant applications there are various styles of Architectural Metal Roofing. Usually coated with Kynar / Hylar high-performance coatings (paint) these roofs carry a Cool roof lable and also greatly increase the energy efficiency of you entire home or building.

Even without a Kynar coating, metal roofs are always “cooler” than asphalt shingles. Since metals (especially aluminum) have a much lower thermal mass, they do not store the heat, and cool off much faster than any asphalt based roof.

The biggest financial benefit of metal roofing is its longevity. Most metal roofs carry a lifetime warranty – usually 50 years is considered lifetime. Most metal roofs will outlast their warranty, and many are known to last more than 100 years. As we always mention to our customers, the roof is only as good as its installer. An improperly installed metal roof may leak after the first heavy rain. This does not change the fact that a metal roof is the true life time product when installed properly.

Environmental benefits of Cool Roofs:

IB Roofs as well as other Cool Roofing systems provide enormouse benefits to the environment. From reduced CO2 polutions to reduction of roofing material waste going into our landfills, the whole chain of benefits is too complicated to fit into a general theme of this article. Therefore, I will only list the basic environmental benefits here, and in the future will dedicate an entire article to just this one topic.

General benefits to the environment: Again, I’ll use IB Pvc roof as the example, but most other cool roofs will “fit the bill”.

As a side note, I’ll mention that USA makes up about 5% of world’s population, yet we consume 25% of the world’s energy. It is also estimated that 30% of US energy consumption is just wasted. Therefore, we (Americans) waste 7.5 percent of the worlds entire energy.  And we wonder why gasoline / oil / electricity is so expensive….

• PVC roofs last an average of 2 times longer than other flat roofing systems. PVC is extremely durable & versitile – therefore rarely needs replacement. When you hear that PVC is not recycled bear in mind that most Pvc-based products are still in service.
• PVC roofs are 99% recyclable and will find use in other application after they complete their life-cycle. PVC rarely ends up in our landfills, as it is cheaper to recycle it than to dispose of it. You will usually see it at landfills as a water-proofing liner that will prevent toxins and polutants from enetering the ground under large piles of junk and waste.
• Although PVC roofs use fossil fuel as one of its basic components (natural gas – methane, to be exact), the also use chlorine as the 2nd major component – therefore PVC contains 50 less of fossil fuels than other plastics (such as TPO roofs) and  do not use and carbon / oil-based products in it. Therefore PVC is not directly dependent on foreign oil supply, unlike Epdm / Modified Bitumen / Asphalt / Other Thermoplasics and oil-based products.
• Cool roof properties of PVC (and other cool roofing systems) reduce electricity usage of many commercial / industrial / residential buildings year after year. As a result, less pollution is emmited into the atmosphere. In fact, if all roofs in the US were cool, we would reduce our nation’s energy use by an average 10% which is now just wasted!

After 3 days of rain, we finally got some decent weather on Monday. Although it was very warm for December, it was quite windy, which slowed us down. Nevertheless, we were able to get a lot of work done, including tearing of some old aluminum shingles/shakes, changing some plywood and of course making the roof watertight for the rain on Tuesday (yep, it was raining again)

As you may notice from the picture above, some of the roof rafters are not evenly spaced at 16 inches O.C., so each sheet of plywood had to be a trimmed top accommodate for the difference. Also some rafters “shift” left or right from their alignment… so to speak.

Since we knew it’s going to rain overnight and the next day, we covered the entire roof area with blue tarps. Later we will come back to this section to replace the rest of the plywood. We will also install Ice & Water barrier along all eaves and valleys and GAF breathable systhetic underlayment as the main waterproofing layer under the future Aluminum Shake Metal Roof.

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On Tuesday we have finally started replacing a metal roof on the IHOP restaurant in Brighton, MA – near the Harvard stadium. This will be a big project, involving replacement of all the plywood and fixing rotted wood where necessary.

Since Tuesday night, it’s been raining non stop for 3 days, yet, we had enough time to tear off the old aluminum shakes on the section you can see in the picture, replace 3 sheets of plywood decking, and make the roof watertight.

Why we replace a metal roof?

Although a metal roof (especially aluminum) should last a life-time, sometimes it does not. A roof is only as good as its installers. In this case, as well as with the IHOP metal roof in Hyannis MA,  which we installed in the beginning of the year, there were numerous installation defects. Namely, each shake was attached to the roof deck with only 3 clips and nails. While it is enough for the Brighton IHOP, since each shake is 3 sq. ft., in Hyannis, with all its high winds, shakes that were 5 sq. ft. were still attached with only 3 nails.

Another problem in case of the Brighton IHOP roof, shakes which apparently were manufactured by Alcoa, have very small locks – 3/8 of an inch, where as the best metal roofing systems (which we install) feature 3/4 inch locks, making them a much more durable and wind resistant metal roofing system.

Third, and this is more of a guess: the flat roof portion of the IHOP roof in Brighton was recently replaced. We found that most of the plywood decking underneath the metal shakes was wet, soft and in some places rotted. Our conclusion is that the old flat roof was leaking, which caused some of the water to go under the metal shakes, and caused the rotted deck.

Our choice of metal roofing:

The two metal roofing shakes above demonstrate a clear difference of quality and design vs. the manufacturer trying to save pennies on reducing the size of the lock, which greatly reduces the integrity of the whole roof system. Honestly, we do now know why the aluminum shake on the left has such a narrow lock, but from our experience, we know that it can pose future problems such as blow-offs of the entire roof.

We will post more reports and pictures as the installation is coming along.

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