Robert Foster
07-26-2010, 05:17 PM
We don't have many flat roofs around here and I ran across my first one today. I could use some help with diagnosing its condition. It's on a small 10 x 16 enclosed porch off the back of a 100 plus year old farm house.
The roof is a single ply rubber like product (I'd call it EPDM because it felt and looked similar to some EPDM material I used on a job in my past life)) which appears to not be adhered to the sheathing but is adhered to the metal drip edge at the gutter. It has a bunch of seams which have a combination of some joint tape and thin sealant.
The tape and sealant are becoming detached on the edges, but I didn't see any big failures. The ceiling below had some small average looking water stains but nothing that screamed out impending failure look out below. The stains appeared like they could of been there for years and for this time of year we've had a lot of rain in the last couple of weeks. I don't like the vinyl siding going all the way flush to the roof surface preventing me from seeing the roof wall junction detail, but vinyl installers seem to exist to frustrate me.
I'm thinking of noting the ceiling stains and commenting that the joint tape and sealant are beginning to fail and that the roof will need repairs in the near future.
Does that sound about accurate or is my ignorance about ready to get me in trouble?
Thanks for the help.
The roof is a single ply rubber like product (I'd call it EPDM because it felt and looked similar to some EPDM material I used on a job in my past life)) which appears to not be adhered to the sheathing but is adhered to the metal drip edge at the gutter. It has a bunch of seams which have a combination of some joint tape and thin sealant.
The tape and sealant are becoming detached on the edges, but I didn't see any big failures. The ceiling below had some small average looking water stains but nothing that screamed out impending failure look out below. The stains appeared like they could of been there for years and for this time of year we've had a lot of rain in the last couple of weeks. I don't like the vinyl siding going all the way flush to the roof surface preventing me from seeing the roof wall junction detail, but vinyl installers seem to exist to frustrate me.
I'm thinking of noting the ceiling stains and commenting that the joint tape and sealant are beginning to fail and that the roof will need repairs in the near future.
Does that sound about accurate or is my ignorance about ready to get me in trouble?
Thanks for the help.