Flat roof (rolled roofing) Guaranteed?

[chicago]

I was told by a developer suprv that a brand new roof had been put on and was guaranteed for ten years.

The next day I went back to take a look.

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[Brian G]

Oh my...... [:-bigeyes

Brian G.

The Good, The Bad, and the...Whatever in Hell That Is [:-yuck]

[chicago]

How would you have commented.?

That thing around the vents was like a swimming pool for asphalt.

Nice flashing to eh.

Wonder if it will last till all the units are sold?

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by chicago

How would you have commented.?

That thing around the vents was like a swimming pool for asphalt.

It's this roofer's attempt at building something called a pitch pocket. Properly done, you construct a flashing well (or curb) around the awkwardly shaped penetration, then fill it with pourable sealant. This roofer's version is a nightmarish mockery of a pitch pocket though.

Nice flashing to eh.

Wonder if it will last till all the units are sold?

If this roofer was dumb enough to do all the stupid stuff you can see, you can bet that he did other stupid stuff that you can't see. I wouldn't bet a dollar against that thing leaking tomorrow.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[John Dirks Jr]

In the second photo, it almost looks like the lap between the two rows is wrong. It looks like the lap is facing the uphill side and would catch the water rather than divert it over and down. I dont know for sure because it's hard to tell from the picture.

[chicago]

Laps are facing down hill,which may be the only thing right.

I tried to stiffle my choking when I opened the hatch and peeked at this roof.

I was totally expecting a rubber roof,with metal flash strips and rubber boots around vents.This looks like how they did it before I was born.

I told my client to have her lawyer take a good look at the warrenty.

The association will get stuck on this one if they do not fix it.The funny thing is it even had spots with many granules missing.Yes ,it looked laid recently.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by chicago

Laps are facing down hill,which may be the only thing right.

I tried to stiffle my choking when I opened the hatch and peeked at this roof.

I was totally expecting a rubber roof,with metal flash strips and rubber boots around vents.This looks like how they did it before I was born.

This is a modified bitumen torch-down product. It just happens to be a granule-coated version of the product. Unless you're very young, this product was not used before you were born. You're confusing it with a built-up roof with a cap sheet.

Mod bit roofs are fine. They're one of the better products for this type of application. This one was just installed by fools who didn't know what they were doing.

I told my client to have her lawyer take a good look at the warrenty.

The association will get stuck on this one if they do not fix it.The funny thing is it even had spots with many granules missing.Yes ,it looked laid recently.

There's a chance, thin though it may be, that a talented roofer could fix this. He'd have to be a nice guy to agree to do it. But it's possible.

I'd recommend banning the original installers from setting foot on the property again. If they come back to try to fix it, they'll make it worse. Guaranteed.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[chicago]

I have never yet seen this modified bitumen with granules on an inspection yet.

How can you tell from the photo?

According to what I have read roll roofing is considered handyman material used primarily for barns and sheds with life of 5-10 years.

.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by chicago

I have never yet seen this modified bitumen with granules on an inspection yet.

How can you tell from the photo?

It's too neat and flat to be anything else. If it were comp roll roofing, there'd be globs of mastic everywhere, especially in the field. Plus, there'd be lumps, bumps & wrinkles all over the place.

According to what I have read roll roofing is considered handyman material used primarily for barns and sheds with life of 5-10 years.

That's true. In fact, I'd only use it on a shed or barn if I didn't mind them leaking. But I don't believe that this is roll roofing.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[chicago]

Thanks I had that in the back of my mind on the report and kept focus off the material.

I found out these are called pitch pockets and normaly they use metal strips with a cold sealent which should be slopped or pitched as the name implies.

That is enough to give it a poor report.

[JayD]

Originally posted by Jim Katen

Originally posted by chicago

How would you have commented.?

That thing around the vents was like a swimming pool for asphalt.

It's this roofer's attempt at building something called a pitch pocket. Properly done, you construct a flashing well (or curb) around the awkwardly shaped penetration, then fill it with pourable sealant. This roofer's version is a nightmarish mockery of a pitch pocket though.

Nice flashing to eh.

Wonder if it will last till all the units are sold?

If this roofer was dumb enough to do all the stupid stuff you can see, you can bet that he did other stupid stuff that you can't see. I wouldn't bet a dollar against that thing leaking tomorrow.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

A pitch pocket should not have several items penetrating that are so close together that the pitch or material used to seal cannot properly seal around each penetrating items. Pitch pocket's should be filled to overflowing. Wires or cables should not be tied around plumbing penetration. Patches applied are covering what appears to be the anchor points for the gutter straps (installed after the fact). Flat roof has some sloped it when a sloped is present. The runs of Sheet should be in a shingle like manner which are reversed in this case.

I would ask the developers supervisor, what brand of roof this is and who the inspector was that issued the 10 year guarantee. It would be interesting to look at the inspector's report utilized to authorize a 10 year guarantee.

[chicago]

Since this thread I made it a point to learn more on this subject.

Looking back on the photo's I can only say

Yesh!

[msteger]

I recently saw something similar to this. The home's owner was an elderly widow and claimed the roof had just been replaced. When I got up there, I saw something similar, but it was also all rippled and obviously not a new install. The widow apparently even provided the roofer's receipt to the buyer. The asphalt roof condition looked to be well over 5 years old..closer to 10 and within a few years of replacement. Some sketchy roofers out there.. be careful.

[BornaRoofer]

You wont be able to tell from photos the type of material it really is. Cheap roll rfg will look the same as a good modified bitumen system in a pic. If its thicker and is kind of rubbery its mod bit. You have to know what you looking at. If its the good stuff it could get a warranty for up to 25 yrs. All that being said the installation is poor. The gutter Installation is no good for sure and id bet the seams need some tlc to.

[Eric B]

A brand new roof was put on. Not likely that they would have put on an old roof.