By steve October 22, 2009
The guys at Cool Flat Roof gave me a great deal on a metal roof, took only a few days to do, and it was great service! totally worth it. Check them out: www.coolflatroof.com ...read more
Why is EPDM rubber roofing so popular? EPDM rubber is popular among many roofing contractors, because it is cheap, easy to install and not a problem to buy. A roofing contractor does not need any certification from the manufacturer to purchase rubber roofing material, as is the case with IB PVC roofing of Sarnifil single ply membranes. Rubber roofs are also popular because roofing contractors working in residential and small commercial roofing markets have their priorities work organization set in such a way that they need to get on and off the job as quickly as possible - usually 1 day. The also employ roofers who install asphalt shingles all day long and most of them never worked with rubber before or have don it once or twice. While this may work for regular asphalt shingles residential roofs, where water runs down the roof instead of staying on top of flat roof, as is usually the case with rubber flat roofs, these general lack of flat roofing experience and installation methods tuned to be 1 roof per day, result in numerous leaks, unhappy customers and disappearing contractors. Roofing Contractors: Residential vs. Commercial There is a clear difference between residential and commercial roofing contractors, and while the latter, never go into residential market, former sometimes land a big commercial job here and there and although most of residential roofers are simply not ready for commercial jobs, they still go into it, and often fail miserably. Commercial roofer on the other hand are professionally trained unionized companies with large crews and all the necessary equipment. When a 15 men commercial roofing crew come to a job site, everyone knows what to do, an the job goes smoothly and gets done very fast. 90 percent of their work is usually flat roofs such as, single ply membranes, built-up roofing and tar+gravel roofs. Because commercial roofing companies install mostly flat roofs, they have years of experience in a somewhat narrow field and they have seen if not everything, them most of what can be going on that roof. Residential roofing contractors on the other hand see only asphalt shingles and a VERY occasional small flat roof dormer. That is why residential flat rubber roofs leak so often. In depth look at EPDM Rubber roofing: Although rubber roofs are arguably the most "popular" ( read most sold flat roofing material ), it is far from being the best. Let me repeat myself - it is sold so widely because it is inexpensive and cheap to install, while is somewhat waterproof, but lets look at it in details. Rubber roofs are installed using various types of glues and adhesives, which after some time fail due to weather and temperature fluctuations, Standing water, which is very common on flat roofs, further increases the rate of failures of the glued rubber roof seams. Although lately, rubber roofing industry has evolved and now uses peel-and-stick flashing tapes and accessories activated by a special primer, these also fail, and require an roof repair every few years, if not more often. While the rubber membrane will last 20-30 or even 40 years, the seams last an average of 7-10 years, and once they fail the water gets in, destroys the insulation, roof deck, ceilings, etc. Even if you fix the roof, the damage has already been done. Wet insulation loses its insulation qualities, and the building owner loose heat through poorly insulated roof. Moisture trapped in the wet insulation, rots the roof deck, creating mold and potential allergy problems for building occupants. Moneys spent on repairs and lost due to poor insulation are much more that would have been spent on a much better roof such as IB PVC roofing system which is also a single-ply roof like rubber, but is a cool roof,which will save considerable amount on money in reduced cooling costs and also features hot-air welded seams which will not break apart because the adhesive fails. ...read more
By Cool Flat Roof MA July 09, 2009
In our previous article we discussed how to choose flat roofing contractor, and now that you have the basic knowledge to weed out fly-by-night roofers, you can concentrate on choosing the right roofing material for your project. When you start your research, you get overwhelmed with choices and every roofer has his or her own suggestion. While the general rule is that you first choose a contractor you can trust and go with what they suggest, this usually applies to residential sloped roofing, where most contractors use some type of asphalt shingle, most of which are similar in quality. Choices of flat roofing material are very diverse and and getting the wrong product for your particular project may result in continuous roof leaks, thousands of dollars in damages, and lots of frustration. Not all flat and low-slope roofing materials are the same, and while most of them will work for a simple porch roof that has a 1 in 12 pitch, that is usually not the roof you've got. Most flat and low slope roofs are complicated, with numerous roof penetrations and often ponding water. Almost all flat roofing systems available today (with the exception of Spray foam roofing) come in rolled sheets and their overlapping seams must be put together to make the roof watertight, not just now, but for many years. However, most of these systems rely on glues and adhesives to seal the seams - EPDM rubber roofing and rolled asphalt. Others use open flame to melt the material which should then bond together (modified bitumen products) or hot tar/asphalt to saturate multiple layers of tar paper - this is the built-up roofing. Despite the long time of being on the market, these roofing systems and methods are outdated now, and as experience shows, these roofs fail after about 10 years, despite the quality installation. Problems with the above roofing systems is that weather and elements destroy the adhesives and melted bitumen seams start to come apart. Additionally, none of the above systems are warrantied for ponding water, so if after a rain your roof becomes a swimming pool, without proper drainage, all that water will leak inside your home or building. Another disadvantage of these older roofing types is that they pose serious difficulties when it comes to installing flashing details around most roof penetrations. Example of such penetrations are Sky-lights, HVAC units, heating/plumbing vents, masonry chimneys, roof hatches, equipment mounts, elevator shafts, etc.Even with the very common rubber roofing membranes, most penetrations pose quiet a challenge for installers, as there are no pre-made flashing components such as inside / outside corners, drains, thru-wall scuppers, etc. Therefore all flashing is done using uncured patches of rubber material and adhesive, which often results in flashing coming off and leaks. All these roof penetrations require special attention to details and in many cases special roof flashing accessories, which most of the above roofing systems lack. As a result, roofing contractors have to improvise, and create roof flashing out of field material which was not designed for such purposes, and in many cases have to rely on tar to seal the penetration. In the end, the quality of your flat roof depends on some adhesive and how well it was put on by the installer. Bear in mind that installers sometimes take lunch and cigarette breaks and combined with unpredictable weather there are just too many variables affecting quality of your flat roof. Because of the above mentioned limitations of common flat roofing systems, when we were choosing our main flat roofing product, and after weeks of research and field testing, we chose an IB PVC single-ply flat roofing membrane, featuring hot-air welded seams. The hot-air fusion welding allows to create permanent physical bond between two sheets of roofing membrane, and it virtually becomes a single piece of material. In fact, a pull test shows that the seam weld is stronger than the material itself. This means that if you weld two pieces of IB pvc membrane and try to pull them apart, you will tear the membrane, but the seam will remain intact. IB roofing membrane is also extremely flexible, elastic, yet very durable. It allows to the roofing contractor to easily seal any roof penetration, and with pre-manufactured, fully welded flashing components, the installer will minimize installation errors. Additionally, IB PVC membrane is a cool roof, and will reflect up to 90% of solar heat, and dramatically reduce your energy costs. IB roofing systems are perfect for Green Roofs, as they will insure that once a green roof is installed, there won't be any leaks in the underlying membrane. IB Roofs also come fully integrated with Solar Photo-Voltaic system to create green, renewable energy right in your roof, without any roof penetrations, minimizing installation costs, risk or roof leaks and maximizing the Federal renewable energy Tax credit, as the cost of roof is included into price of solar PV system installation. Overall IB Roof will be the best choice for your residential or commercial flat roof and is guaranteed to last a lifetime on any home and also comes with the best commercial warranty in the industry - 25 years available with the the 80-mil membrane purchase and No Dollar Limit on Labor and Materials. ...read more
By Cool Flat Roof MA March 25, 2009
In 2024, replacement window trends focus on sustainability, smart technology, and superior insulation. Homeowners prioritize eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient solutions like triple pane windows, which offer thermal insulation and noise reduction. Smart windows, integrated with home automatio... ...read more
You may have considered starting your own apartment cleaning service. If you have startup capital and are physically capable, there is a demand for these types of services. Apartment owners and managers often hire services to clean apartments after tenants move out. Apartment management services also ... ...read more