Roof Repairs
EPDM Rubber Roofs
If we repair your existing EPDM roof before August 15, 2010 and then
install a new EPDM roof anytime within the next five years, 100% of the amount
you paid for repairs will be discounted from the price of your new EPDM roof!
That is like getting the repairs free of charge!
The popularity of EPDM Rubber roofs in the Twin Cities is well-deserved; it is
the simplest and easiest roofing material to install and maintain. When EPDM Rubber
roofs start leaking, the cause is almost exclusively trivial; an area of a seam
begining to delaminate, or a flashing that has worked loose. Leaks in an EPDM
Rubber roof are rarely an indication of roof failure. Leaks are an indication that
maintenance repairs are needed--not a whole new roof!
Because of the high quality of the materials used in EPDM Rubber roof
installation,
even poor workmanship can result in a roof that lasts five or six years before any
problems show up. The typical EPDM Rubber roof leak is the result of deficiencies
in the bonding technique used to seal the seams. Minor differences in seam
preparation, adhesive application, and seam bonding can result in minor areas of
the seams delaminating after a number of years.
When seams or flashings begin to delaminate, it is NOT a sign that immediate
replacement is necessary. It is a sign that maintenance of the roof is necessary,
and nothing more. Replacing an otherwise perfectly sound EPDM Rubber roof because
the seams show ordinary wear is both expensive and unnecessary.
Depending on the condition of the seams on your EPDM Rubber roof, relatively
simple maintenance repairs can typically add five to fifteen years of trouble-free
service life to your existing roof. Repair processes are project-specific and range
from caulking and reinforcing the specific area of seam delamination to installation
of a 6" wide EPDM flashing membrane on every seam. In any event, the cost of expert
EPDM Rubber roof repairs is a small fraction of the cost of replacement.
The primary reason that most roofing contractors recommend replacement of existing
EPDM Rubber roof installations is a lack of skill. New EPDM Rubber roofs can be
applied by relatively unskilled personnel, while maintenance repair of an existing
installation requires a meticulous attention to detail, combined with a level of
technical expertise that is lacking in most roofers. Competently repairing EPDM
Rubber requires considerably more skill than smearing a trowel-full of asphalt
cement on a visible split in the roof.
Built-Up Asphalt Roofs
If we repair your existing asphalt roof before August 15, 2010 and then
install a new EPDM roof anytime within the next five years, 100% of the amount
you paid for repairs will be discounted from the price of your new EPDM roof!
That is like getting the repairs free of charge!
The primary reason for the failure of most roof repair efforts on existing asphalt roofs—and the primary
reason for “recommendations” that a complete new roof must be installed—is lack of knowledge and lack of
skill on the part of the roofers. Because asphalt rapidly becomes brittle as it ages, the processes and
techniques used for installing new asphalt roofing materials—whether in new construction or renovation—are
totally inadequate for repairing older roofs.
A roof membrane more than five or six years old is like the windshield of your
car when it is covered with ice. Throw boiling water on it to "thaw" the ice, and
the rapid expansion of thermal shock will crack the windshield. Similarly, using
hot asphalt to repair an existing roof causes extensive “mini-fractures”
throughout the roof membrane that expand into full-fledged cracks through the
entire roof membrane in a relatively short period of time. When typical
roofing procedures are used to repair that crack, the most common occurrence is
an identical crack parallel to the original crack, and immediately adjacent to
it. The second most common occurrence is a “new” crack extending beyond the ends
of the original crack.
Because most roofers install new and relatively flexible materials, they find it difficult to adjust their
procedures to compensate for the lack of flexibility in existing roofs. Even those few roofers knowledgeable
enough to understand the differences between new and existing roofs tend to make the same mistakes; it is
easier to repeat habitual procedures than to exert the effort necessary to determine the most effective
procedure in each situation.
Surface preparation is a key element in a successful roof repair or roof maintenance procedure, and the
element most frequently ignored by roofers. Gravel-surface roofs require extensive preparation before repair,
yet the average roofer sweeps the heaviest gravel away from the area to be repaired with a dirty straight
broom, then immediately begins piling new asphalt on the defective area. Occasionally reinforcing the asphalt
with a strip of fiberglass fabric adds little to the effectiveness of the repair.
First, an absolutely clean surface is necessary for the new repair materials to bond with the existing
roof. The layer of dust that remains on the roof after brooming is an effective barrier to adhesion; all
nonsense about the “solvents in the asphalt leaking into the membrane to effect a bond” aside, the bottom
line is that any dust or debris on the surface of the roof will diminish—or completely prevent—bonding of the
repair materials to the existing roof surface. The
same dust or debris provides a pathway for water to work its way underneath the new repairs, accelerating both
the delamination and failure of the repairs and a resumption of the same problem leaks.
For a gravel-surface roof, the embedded gravel needs to be scraped down to the smooth roof
surface—preferably by someone conscientious enough and skilled enough not to gouge holes in the roof while so
doing. Once the embedded gravel has been scraped away from the defective area, that area should be swept
clean with a broom, then blown clean with a high-velocity air broom or "stadium cleaner.” The three step
cleaning process is essential; the embedded gravel is scraped down to the smooth surface of the roof membrane,
the area is then vigorously swept with a stiff-bristled broom to loosen remaining dust and debris, and,
finally, the area is blown clean with a high-velocity air broom. If any dust remains after the third step,
the area must be re-swept and re-blown to assure a clean, smooth surface for repairs.
Second, as effective as asphalt may be for new construction, it is far less so for repairing existing
roofs. Asphalt plastic cement, in particular, is almost useless for effective repairs. It is too stiff to be
workable, has too many dry fillers to bond readily, and has very poor adhesion. A microscopic film of dust or
moisture on the roof is enough to prevent it from bonding, and even when it does bond, it contracts so much
as it cures that is likely to cause additional roof fracturing as it contracts. Asphalt plastic cement can be
used in some circumstances by competent professionals who understand its limitations; in the hands of the
average roofer it is a recipe for disaster.
Why is asphalt plastic cement so popular for repairs? Because the deficiencies may take weeks or even
months to show up, at which time the roofer can claim that it is “a new leak” that is unrelated to the
previous work, despite the fact the “new leak” may have been directly caused by the repair of an existing
leak.
Why go through the hassle, expense, and aggravation of replacing your roof when all you need is expert
repair and maintenance? Call us today at (651) 414-9643 for a free roof inspection and repair estimate.
Saving money by avoiding costly and unnecesary roof replacement not only makes good sense, it is good
business.