charlieb Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 Drawing on the brain trust here. One of my inspectors came across this today. He called me to come take a look at it. As best as I can tell it's a series of cement panels, covered with a mesh and portland based coating, sealed with a elastomeric product and a coat of white paint. As the photos show, the edges are in poor condition and there are cracks that extend through the portland coating. Click to Enlarge 46.84 KB Click to Enlarge 53.32 KB Click to Enlarge 38.42 KB Click to Enlarge 34.94 KB Click to Enlarge 58.86 KB Click to Enlarge 64.35 KB Click to Enlarge 69.59 KB Click to Enlarge 37.16 KB Educate me.
kurt Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 woof...... You got yourself a dandy. I have no idea whatsoever, other than I'd be telling folks to tear it all off and start over.
Brian G Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 Jeez, a cement/concrete roof. I ain't never hear'd tell of such. All I can think is to be very frank about how unusual and unpredictable this roof is, and how bad things could get if it goes horribly wrong while they own it. Can you imagine what it might cost to remove that sucker and replace it with something normal? I would also say something like "It's far more likely to leak than to not leak, now, later, or sometime". Brian G. Bizzaro Roofing Inc.
charlieb Posted April 15, 2011 Author Report Posted April 15, 2011 Ya'll are on my concerns. WHO would even know how to repair, if it can be, properly? A member of the AIA owns the house. Sorry SH. Good to see my fellow redneck posting. At this point we plan to document the damaged areas and tell the client to have a deep pocket to be able to install something conventional. Scott this is on the south side of Main Harbor. Just down from the party boat.
kurt Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 An AIA member.......there ya' go....... I bet the white stuff is the goop called "Conklin"; it's a roof coating material that was popular with a lot of architects up here that thought they knew how to repair roofing with goop.
charlieb Posted April 15, 2011 Author Report Posted April 15, 2011 The guy rely on me, and I on ya'll at time, when the run into something odd. I just had to drop by and look at this house. Below are a couple of comments my guy asked for help on. 1. Roof covering status: I take it you have described it. --- There is a substantial amount of damage on the edges of this roof system. There are also cracks in the surface of the material. they will eventually allow water to enter the attic but I found no water entering the attic space today. Considering the roofââ¬â¢s condition and its unusual composition, I recommend you have the funds set aside to remove all of this material and install a more conventional roof system. 2. Walls Material: Thin, approximately ½Ã¢â¬
charlieb Posted April 15, 2011 Author Report Posted April 15, 2011 Just got Lee to send the photo from the report folder Click to Enlarge 38.28 KB
Bill Kibbel Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 They're called ferrocement roofing panels. How old is the building?
charlieb Posted April 15, 2011 Author Report Posted April 15, 2011 Well were have you been? 26 years old.
Mark P Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 I found the following statement doing a google search. "In saline environment, thin concrete elements need to be protected on top and bottom surface from corrosion" Is that salt water?
mgbinspect Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 I bet it's light weight material - using something like perlite for an aggregate. Such mixes were being experimented a lot in the 80's. It might even have Calcium Aluminate Cement, which is known more for use in refractory applications, but due to it's fast setting time, is also used by such gangs as DOT for concrete pavement patching (or at least it used to be). Another benefit of this cement is it doesn't react with much, which may explain why the expanded metal mesh isn't rusted all to hell. The downside to perlite as an aggregate, though, is that the it's a pretty consistent granular size - no fines. So, there would be some unavoidable voids which could hold water. The setup would rely heavily on a good outer covering. That may explain why the edges look like they do - moisture intrusion and freeze / thaw cycles. I fooled around with the stuff myself back then. It goes to full strength in a matter of hours, so proper curing is critical.
hausdok Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 Hi, When I saw the photo the first thing I thought of was those homes with stone roofs (soapstone) in the Caribbean. Don't you guys remember the This Old House series of episodes about a decade ago where they rebuilt a pretty beat up house in Bermuda (?) and went to the quarry to cut the stone used for the roof? Weren't those lapped like that and then coated with a thin layer of concrete? ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!! Mike
charlieb Posted April 15, 2011 Author Report Posted April 15, 2011 Mark, The marina is on a freshwater lake. Many thanks to Bill. I spent a couple hours searching and reading up on the product. Our client appreciated getting up this morning and having additional information to base his decision upon.
mgbinspect Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 Mark, The marina is on a freshwater lake. Many thanks to Bill. I spent a couple hours searching and reading up on the product. Our client appreciated getting up this morning and having additional information to base his decision upon. Can you brief us? Input....
charlieb Posted April 15, 2011 Author Report Posted April 15, 2011 Basically I found who I believe the manufacturer of the product. The edges are in need of repair and the coating needs to be reworked. I have no idea what this involves and provided him with the info to contact the manufacturer. I also found a research paper one the maintenance and repair of the product. They only wanted $40 for the paper. I'll let him buy that. I wish I could sow into the trust more but that's what I have.
mgbinspect Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 Basically I found who I believe the manufacturer of the product. The edges are in need of repair and the coating needs to be reworked. I have no idea what this involves and provided him with the info to contact the manufacturer. I also found a research paper one the maintenance and repair of the product. They only wanted $40 for the paper. I'll let him buy that. I wish I could sow into the trust more but that's what I have. Rats... I was hoping to learn of its composition. Yeah, I saw the same $39.00 report... What!? $39.00?... nah... Lol...
Tom Raymond Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 Charlie, I think you should buy it and post it here. If we all think it's a valuable resource, we could all hit your paypal account with a few pennies each to cover your cost[]
charlieb Posted April 15, 2011 Author Report Posted April 15, 2011 Ummmmm NO However, If he buys it, we make follow up calls, and he would like my opinion of the report, I will share.
Scottpat Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 Just got Lee to send the photo from the report folder Click to Enlarge 38.28 KB I know that shack! It use to be owned by the Fowler family.
John Kogel Posted April 15, 2011 Report Posted April 15, 2011 They're called ferrocement roofing panels. How old is the building? If ferrocement makes a good boat, why can't it make a good roof?I suspect it can be repaired and will last longer than the shack and the dock it's sitting on.
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