Thread: Asphalt flat roof with brown "stains."

Hi, hope someone has run into this before. This roof is a mess. From inadequate drains and drainage, alligatoring, completely soft (every step I took left a boot print), and curious of all is the asphalt seems to be turning or stained brown. The homeowner says it was re-roofed two years ago.

If it was only against the house I might be able to narrow it down, but it's random all over the place. Maybe stains from foliage? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Nate

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The roofing job appears marginal, at best, with variations in aggregate application and some hefty bird-baths. But I suspect the brown stains are the result of a combination of siding run-off and excess heat build-up from sunlight reflecting off the siding, possibly made worse by shallow cover over galvanized flashing underneath.

Originally Posted by BridgeMan

The roofing job appears marginal, at best, with variations in aggregate application and some hefty bird-baths. But I suspect the brown stains are the result of a combination of siding run-off and excess heat build-up from sunlight reflecting off the siding, possibly made worse by shallow cover over galvanized flashing underneath.

good call...i didn't mention the siding was aluminum. thank you!

From my view of the photo - it appears that the general roof area was recoated with an asphalt based sealer. The brown spots may be evidenced of the older original deteriorating roof edge at the roof-wall junction.

Again based on your comments of your boots sinking into the coating, I have experienced similar conditions on recoated roofs where the lower original substrate is loose roof stone.

My take - it experienced previous roof leaks, hence the recoating. Just a temporary patch at best.

Originally Posted by Nate Postrech

Hi, hope someone has run into this before. This roof is a mess. From inadequate drains and drainage, alligatoring, completely soft (every step I took left a boot print), and curious of all is the asphalt seems to be turning or stained brown. The homeowner says it was re-roofed two years ago.

If it was only against the house I might be able to narrow it down, but it's random all over the place. Maybe stains from foliage? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Nate

pic6smaller.jpg

Nate, this looks like nothing more than a gravel surfaced built-up roof that was swept of loose gravel and had liquid roof coating poured on it. This is sometimes passed off to unsuspecting homeowners as a "reroof". The brownish colored areas probably don't mean much either way.

Don Putnam
www.roofconsulting.com