A roofing question for you contractors out there..

[1BigDog]

I have a flat garage roof and 8 years ago I had the tar and gravel surface replaced by a rolled rubber roof with a granular surface. The roof just started leaking along one of the seams, maybe a 3' length. I have read that just coating the area with tar will eventually deterioriate the rubber roof itself. Other than calling in a roofer, is there anything that I could do to stop the leak myself? :mo money:

[mini-muffin]

Hope somebody can help you with this one.

 

Margaret

[1BigDog]

Some help you turned out to be....

[Condor]

I have a flat garage roof and 8 years ago I had the tar and gravel surface replaced by a rolled rubber roof with a granular surface. The roof just started leaking along one of the seams, maybe a 3' length. I have read that just coating the area with tar will eventually deterioriate the rubber roof itself. Other than calling in a roofer, is there anything that I could do to stop the leak myself?

 

Most RV supply places sell that rubberized roof sealer for trailers etc. Maybe that'll do the deed??

[cmiles3]

depends on the type of roofing used. Was this the rolls where they mopped the asphalt on the roof, then laid out the roll? Did they use hot asphalt or cold asphalt cement?

 

Or was this the rubberized rolls, where they lay down the rolls, then heat them with flame?

 

You can put a bandaid patch over the leak, if you know where it's coming in. Scrape off the gravel or take of the top layer over the leak, clean it, apply rubberize asphalt cement, put a layer of roofing felt over the patch, apply a larger size layer of cement (4" wider all around) another layer of felt, and a third layer (wider than the 2nd by another 4") and another layer of felt. Use the felt with the small aggregate on it (like shingles) for the final layer- this provides resistance to the sun that cracks the asphalt.

 

It's the asphalt that seals the roof; the felts just hold everything together.

 

Wear old cloths, shoes & gloves. You'll probably want to throw them away after you're done. Don't sit on the couch before changing, and you don't want to take a ride on the bike after without changing.

[friesman]

Don't sit on the couch before changing, and you don't want to take a ride on the bike after without changing.

 

 

Hmmm sounds like you know from experience? Esp the couch remark seems kinda telling.....lol!!

 

brian:stirthepot:

[BOO]

Sounds like you have a rubber roof. I would try and find out exactly what you have and go to a supply house and buy the proper adhesive to close the seam up again. If it is a rubber roof I'm surprised the seam has let loose, also this sounds like a warranty issue to me. It should have some kind of warranty especially since it was a short time ago.

 

Jerry

[cecdoo]

Sounds like you have a rubber roof. I would try and find out exactly what you have and go to a supply house and buy the proper adhesive to close the seam up again. If it is a rubber roof I'm surprised the seam has let loose, also this sounds like a warranty issue to me. It should have some kind of warranty especially since it was a short time ago.

 

Jerry

 

Yep what Jerry said, find out what type roof you have, and then get the correct seam adhesive for your roof, and re-do the seams that are loose, they have so many different products out in 3ft rolls, you need to know what they used. Craig

[ChurchBuilder]

Are you sure it's rubber? The granular surface sounds like plain rolled asphalt roofing. If it is rubber definately do not put asphalt patch on it. It will make your problem worse before long.

[saddlebum]

Don't sit on the couch before changing, and you don't want to take a ride on the bike after without changing.

 

 

Hmmm sounds like you know from experience? Esp the couch remark seems kinda telling.....lol!!

 

brian:stirthepot:

in my house i would not have lived long enough to make the couch remark:doh:

[hmoc75]

i do home repair for a living and you should have a warrenty on the roof. different roofs have different times. find your reciept it should tell you if your still covered. by law there should be a warrenty. if your not covered anymore go to a store that sells roofing and ask what kind of patch kit you need for your roof. good luck

[mtman]

I have a rubber roof on my RV and I use Kool Seal for the fixes. It's an elastomeric coating. Go to http://www.koolseal.com/ and you will find all kinds of stuff to fix your roof. It's sold at RV stores, like Camping World.

Hope this helps,

Wayne

[1BigDog]

It definitely is a rubber roof. A thick, non-tearable membrane which was rolled and the adhesive was torched down along the seams. The warranty already ran out. 3 year warranty. The Florida heat and sun sure do take its toll on roofs here. Im still waiting to hear back from the installer. Maybe they will cut me a break. If not ill just have to wing it myself. Thanks.....

[clawed]

The product u have is torch applied modified bitumen rolled roofing. lift the seam , it must be clean and dry, apply some roof cement,under the loose seam, top and bottom, push it down in place, and add a small amount on top. that will get u sealed off temporarily. then at your liesure,the area must be cleaned and primed with asphalt primer and a new piece of the material torched down, after the primer has dried. 1gal roof cement should do 3'. don't pile it on too thick, so the modified can be installed later.

[Al Bates]

I have a flat garage roof and 8 years ago I had the tar and gravel surface replaced by a rolled rubber roof with a granular surface. The roof just started leaking along one of the seams, maybe a 3' length. I have read that just coating the area with tar will eventually deterioriate the rubber roof itself. Other than calling in a roofer, is there anything that I could do to stop the leak myself? :mo money:

In the long run you may save a lot of time and money by adding a gable roof. It also looks better.

[1BigDog]

The product u have is torch applied modified bitumen rolled roofing. lift the seam , it must be clean and dry, apply some roof cement,under the loose seam, top and bottom, push it down in place, and add a small amount on top. that will get u sealed off temporarily. then at your liesure,the area must be cleaned and primed with asphalt primer and a new piece of the material torched down, after the primer has dried. 1gal roof cement should do 3'. don't pile it on too thick, so the modified can be installed later.

Bingo! Thats what it is. Its been so long that I forgot the proper term for it. I think ill just go ahead and get a qualified roofer to fix it properly. The original installer hasnt called me back yet.

 

In the long run you may save a lot of time and money by adding a gable roof. It also looks better.

Al, the original intent was to add a deck over the roof, which is why we left it flat in the first place. After we had the roof done we discovered that it was too much trouble to add a door from our upstairs bedroom to the deck area. This was an option when first buying this house, but the original owner chose not to add a deck. To put a door in now would require a contractor to tear off part of the house roof to properly install a header. If it was done while the house was being built, it would have been so much easier. Only thing I can do now is to fix the leak and once the roof needs replacing then go ahead and have a pitch installed.

 

Thanks Clawed and everyone else.