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By russell, October 5, 2009 3:30 pm

I have said it before and I’ll say it again. If your not careful in selecting the right roofing contractor you may end up with a roof that looks like the picture below.

This is what happens when you drag your foam hose through wet foam

This is what happens when a foam applicator drags the foam hose over wet foam. This kind of thing  does happen from time to time but the real problem here is the fact that it was left like this. Normally you would take your grinder and grind it flat and then apply your coating, apparently this roofing contractor was to lazy to do it right. Kind of makes you wonder what else they didn’t do. Well take a look at the pictures below.

All around bad foam detail

This picture shows all around bad foam detail. First off they foamed in the A/C condensate line and the A/C electrical conduit. So if for some reason you needed to replace the electrical  or condensate line in addition to hiring an A/C contractor you will also need to hire a roofer. The foam detail is all around bad.

Too much foam on the pipe and not enough around the base of the pipe

This is really a all to common mistake. 9 out of 10 foam roof leaks are due to a failed penetration or some other component and not the foam it’s self. If they would have put the foam they sprayed up the sides of the pipe around the base of the pipe this wouldn’t have happened. As you can see someone tried to fix this by brushing some elastomeric coating around the pipe and as you can see it didn’t work. The proper way to fix this would be to re-foam the pipe. If you didn’t have the money to hire a roofer to do it you could apply a thik bead of urethane caulking around it. It will be a semi permanent fix. By the way this type of failure is due to settlement and the lack of foam around the pipe.

In a nutshell this property owner paid some one to give them a new roof and then paid someone else to fix their mistakes. And believe me it’s not cheap, had they hired a roof consultant from the very beginning the job would have been done right the first time and would have cost them a lot less than it’s costing them now. Remember that cracked pipe how much damage did it cause inside the structure? How many pipes were failed  like that…. About 9. So remember when you decide to have roofing work done it might be a good idea to at least call a roofing consultant  to see what his fees are you might just be surprised. Or you can roll the dice.

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By russell, August 13, 2009 10:03 pm

Here is a good example of  how a common oversite can cost consumers money. In this tutorial I am going to explain why this scupper failed. I am also going to show you how to do a basic repair that will stop the leak . And finally I’m going to show you the damage caused by neglect.

In the picture below you will see a failed scupper. The reason this scupper failed was due to the roofer not tearing out the old roofing  from inside and around the scupper, before applying the new roofing material. Common practice for overlaying an old roof with a new roof is to what they call “divorce” the old roofing from around scuppers, pipes and other penetrations. The reason they do this is because these are weak areas and are often the source for leaks.    

Failed Scupper

As you can see where the arrows are pointing are places the old mastic has dried out and seperated from the scupper. Had all of that old material been removed prior to the new roof installation this would have never happened.

Ok now that we can see where our leak is, how do I fix it? Go get a couple tubes of urethane caulking and a caulking gun apply the caulking in all the cracks and tool it with a piece of cardboard or putty knife. You can then apply some elastomeric roof coating over the top of  that And the repair is finished.

Repaired Scupper

This kind of fix is easy to do yourself. This type of repair is considered a permenent fix. However if your roof is under warranty call your roofing contractor and have him tear out the old material and redo it. If this happened at one scupper chances are all of the scuppers are the same way and need to be corrected.

Below is a picture of the damage this leaking scupper caused.

celing cave in

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By russell, August 10, 2009 8:41 pm

This article will show you how a tile wall detail is installed on a tile roof system. Keep in mind there are other methods used depending on what type of wall you are tieing into. In this example the roof detail will be lathed and stucco applied over the top. The roof flashings will be behind the lath and stucco. This is how a new constuction stucco home in Arizona would be done.

Step #1.

Your underlayment is installed and nailed, the underlayment type will vary. Typically a 15# or 30# organic felt is used this is the most common.

Tile underlayment

Step #2.

Next we install a J-pan metal and nail it to the wall over the top of the underlayment this metal allows water to run off the roof.

J-pan Metal

Step #3.

Next we are going to flash over the top of our J-pan with another metal called Z-bar. 

Z-bar flashing

Step #4.

Now we apply a waterproofing paper over the top of our Z-bar.

Waterproofing paper

Step #5.

Our tile roof wall detail is now complete. Next we will lath and stucco our wall and lay the tile and the roof is correctly installed.

Finished tile wall detail

There are other methods to do wall details as well. This example was used because it’s a common method used in the southwest. Whatever method  you use the principals are all the same. The underlayment always has a flashing over the top.

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By russell, July 28, 2009 6:33 pm

Here is a common problem both property owners and roofers run into. Leaking windows! I’m going to explain how you can tell the diffrence between a roof leak and a window leak. Identifing the  leak yourself can save you money by calling the right contractor for the job. Sometimes roofing  companies also do window service too, but not all of them.

If after reading this and you still not sure of the source of your leak try to find a roofing contractor that also offers window service. This way you will be able to get it fixed, and not have to pay some roofer who can’t fix it  a service call fee.

Identifiying a window leak:

If you develop a leak around a window.

 Is the water coming from the top of the window frame (usually the corners) or is it coming from the celing above the window frame.

If the water is coming from the cornners of the window frame then it is more likely a window leak and not a roof leak.

If the water is coming in from the celing above the window it’s probably a roof leak.

Some common causes of window leaks are due to

1. improper window mositure barrier (most likely not this).

2. Dry rotted, cracked seals. (most likely)

3. Plugged window weeps (depends on window type).

4. Cracked stucco.

5. Defective windows or window installation ( this is being seen more and more).

Below is a picture of defective window glass. If your home or property has windows that look similer to the pictures below and your home is less than 10 years old then you may have a constuction defect lawsuit, and may be entitled to compensation.

Defective window seal

The above picture shows defective window glass. The problem here is an inproper seal in between the two panes of glass.

If your windows look like this you may be entitled to compensation.

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By russell, July 26, 2009 3:40 pm

In this tutorial we will learn how to properly repair a  parapet wall split on a built-up or similar type roof system. The materials you will need are.

1. Caulking gun.

2. Urethane Caulking.

3. Polyester fabric (ty-tex tape)

4. Elastomeric roof coating and paint brush.

The first step is to clean the area of repair and apply the urethane caulking.

Parapet wall split

Step 2. Apply a heavy coat of elastomeric roof coating to repair area.

Apply elastomeric roof coating

Step 3. Lay the polyester fabric across the repair area make sure the fabric runs past the repair area at least 2 inches on all sides.

Polyester fabric

step 4. Apply 1 more coat of elastomeric roof coating on top of the polyester fabric and brush or roll the coating in.

Apply one more coat of elastomeric coating

Now the repair is finished this is what it should look like.

Finished wall repair

Doing this kind of repair yourself can save you alot of money. The leak was obvious and now you can do it yourself. A leak like this can end up in hundreds if not thousands of dollars in damages. Regular roof  inspections can and often find these kinds of problems before they cause any damage from water intrusion.

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By russell, July 23, 2009 6:46 pm

What is a Cementitious roof ? Or also known as C-cure. C-cure is a light weight Cementitious concrete that is spray applied over a polyurethane foam roof. It is one of the most expensive foam roofs you can buy. The  c-cure has a very high fire rating and is usually applied on schools, government buildings, high traffic roofs or anywhere you need a fire rating.

I was on one recently and took some pictures. The foam application part of the roof is just about as good as they come, but Cementitious part of the roof is as bad as they get.

The application of a Cementitious roof is as follows:

1. Polyurethane foam is applied at a thickness of the roof spec. usually @ 1 1/2 inches or greater.

2. An elastomeric roof coating is applied @ about 1 gal. per 100sqft.

3. A second coat of elastomeric roof coating is applied @ 1.5 gal. per 100sqft. At this time a #6 Aggregate is applied into the wet coating @ the rate of about 35-40lbs per 100sqft.

4. All verticles ”anything above the roof surface” walls, pipes, a/c curbs t-tops ect.  are coated with an elastomeric coating.

5. Finally the C-cure is applied over the roof surface. It’s applied in both directions to prevent voids. The dry thickness is 1/4 of an inch. The finished surface should have a smooth apperance with only the top of the aggregate visable.

Below are some pictures of an inproper c-cure application that will lead to premuture roof failure. Also pictured are incorrect repair methods.

Failed c-cure roof due to improper application

Popcorn Looking c-cure roof

This next picture shows a repair done using an elastomeric roof coating. Elastomeric  coating will not stick to c-cure so thats why this repair has failed.

Elastomeric coated c-cure repair

This next picture shows a c-cure repair done using an aluminum roof coating. You can’t use this coating on a c-cure roof.

You can't use aluminum roof coating on a c-cure roof

What happens now?

This deficiency was discoverd during a roof inspection. Good for the owner because the roof  has not yet completely failed. The bad news is a $15000 c-cure recoat 10 years early. The bottom line here is had the building owner used a roofing consultant to over see this roof installation he wouldn’t have the problem he now has. This is more common than you might think.

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By russell, July 17, 2009 7:07 pm

In this tutorial I’m going to show you how to repair blisters on your foam roof. Foam roof  blisters are not uncommon and are relatively easy to fix. There are many things that can cause blisters please refer to our F.A.Q for common causes.

Normally blisters are not that big of an issue to be concerned with. Unless you have alot of them , They are unusually big  or they are broken. If the blisters are broken then prompt attention is needed to fix them because they can be a source for leaks. It should also be noted that blisters bigger than a baseball should be fixed by a roofing contractor who does foam roofing.

Blisters are fixed as a part of a routine roof re-coat.

In this first picture it identifys a golf ball size blister.

Step 1.

Cut the blister out using a razor knife (bread knifes work the best).

This is a golfball sized blister

Step 2.

Fill the hole with a polyurethane caulking. DO NOT use any other kind of caulking your repair will fail.

Use polyurethane caulking to fill the repair area.

Step 3.

Tool the caulking with a piece of cardboard or putty knife. Make sure you tool the caulking past all of the edges.

Tool the caulking

Step 4.

Coat the repaired area with an elastomeric roof coating. This is a permanent repair.

This is the same process a roofing contractor will use to fix blisters that are baseball sized or smaller and less than a 1/2 inch deep.

Below is a picture of a blister that you should not attempt to fix. If you have one that is broke and might be leaking you can caulk it then have it repaired later.

Volleyball size foam roof blister

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By russell, July 16, 2009 10:25 pm

One thing that often damages a urethane foam roof is bird and bee damage. This type of damage is usually found near the edges of roofs or on top of parapit walls mostly on roofs with overgrown trees hanging over the top. What happens is  birds peck holes in the foam and then the bees come and tunnel through the holes. This kind of damage is very easy to fix if caught early, but if left ignored it can cause extensive costly damage. I have seen complete walls and edges in need of complete tear off and re-foamed because this type of damage was ignored. The reason birds and bees do this is because one of the main ingredients in foam is sugar. Some ways you can help prevent this is by

1. Keeping trees cut back from the roof.

2. Place rubber snakes or plastic owls in the areas that are being effected. 

In this tutorial I’m going to show you step by step how to fix this type of damage.

Things you will need:

1. Polyurethane caulking, DO NOT use any other kind of caulking they will not work (especially silicone) it will popout of the hole like a plug due to expanding and contracting. 

2. A piece of cardboard or something similar to tool the caulking with.

3. elastomeric roof coating, disposable paintbrush and gloves

4. caulking gun.

This is what tey call bird and bee damage

 Step 1.

Clean off the oxidized foam with a fingernail or brush.

Step 2.

Fill up hole with caulking.

Fill With polyurethane caulking

Step 3.

Tool the caulking with cardboard or putty knife, apply a little pressure to make sure the caulking is down in the hole.

Apply a little pressure to ensure the hole is filled

Step 4.

Apply a generous coat of elastomeric roof coating over the urethane caulking. This is very important with out this coating the suns uv rays will destroy the caulking and your repair will fail.

The finished repair

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By russell, July 15, 2009 7:20 pm

I gave a tutorial on finding and fixing leaks on skylights. It also covered what to and what not to do to fix them . And it didn’t take long to find a failed skylight that I could take pictures of to further explain how Skylights work and once again explain what not to do.

In this first picture it shows a caulked skylight lens. This is not recommended. Over time the caulking fails and the skylight will leak again

Caulked Skylight Lens

In this picture it shows the reason why the sky light was leaking in the first place. If you look the “weep” (this is where the water comes out of the skylight). Has been caulked and foamed shut, blocking the waters exit. The water traped inside can only fill the trough and leak inside of the house.

This is the inside of the skylight

The operating function is as follows. Water runs in between the lens and the metal frame (see picture 1). Fills up in the trough. The water travels to the cornners and then out through the weep on the side. This skylight is ruined and needs to be replaced. At a price around $150-$200 or more depending on who does it!

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By russell, July 11, 2009 12:58 pm

Here is an example of a roof  installation that was doomed to fail the second it was finished. This is about a 10 year old foam roof that was installed over the top of 3 other roofs. When this roof was tore off we found a cockroach infestation. Standing water between layers. And a host of other problems. Had the homeowner obtained a roof inspection prior to the foam roof installation this would have forced the roofing company to tear of all pre-existing roof layers prior to the foam roof installation. In most cases you are only allowed to have one  previous layer. This is determined by various factors to include, but not limited to the following:

1. That the roof structure is sufficient to sustain the weight

of the additional dead load of the roof covering.

2. Fire retardant requirements are maintained.

3. The existing roof covering is securely attached to the

deck.

4. The roof is structurally sound.

5. The existing insulation (if installed) is not water soaked

6. Roof drains and drainage are sufficient to prevent

extensive accumulation of water.

A failed 10 year old foam roof

In this picture it shows the roof layers being tore off and the discovery of water. There had been no recordable rain in at least 90 days.

Water in between existing roof layers

After a complete tear off, the roof is finished with a new ployurethane roof system. The new roof is properly installed and the homeowner should expect at least 20 years with proper maintenance.

This is a properly installed foam roof