On an inspection Thursday, I called the roofing material rolled roofing. I have since been informed that it was "modified torch Rubberoid". What is the difference? There are no photos so don't ask.

Are you talking about modifide bitumen? If so, there is a HUGE difference. Roll roofing should not be used on anything other than dog houses because it has a very, very short life (~ 5 years or less).

Modified bitumen is a membrane roof material that is fairly durable and long-lived (~20 years, maybe more).

You can usually tell the difference between the two:

Mod bit is flexible; roll roofing will crack when bent sharply
Mod bit usually is 36" wide w/ ~ 3" lap; roll roofing is typically 36" with but the exposure is generally less than half that

__________________
"Baseball is like church. Many attend but few understand." Leo Durocher
Bruce Breedlove
www.avaloninspection.com

Never heard of "modified torch rubberoid"??? And a Google search turned up nothing under that name.???

I ditto Bruce's post.

The only other thing I can add is that I once saw a roof with a thin rubber coating that kinda floated over it. Looked crappy to me but...no idea what it was called.

__________________
Tim Moreira
Suncoast Home Inspections
Suncoasthomeinspections@yahoo.com

Try ....Torch Applied Roofing - Installed Year Round!

Actually, 'roll roofing' can be used generically for any roofing which comes rolled up, which includes basically all types of single ply roof coverings.

Many roofers think 'mineral surfaced 90# organic felt' when they hear 'roll roofing', the response you heard was telling you "specifically" what type of roll roofing it was.

There is roll roofing which which is/can be applied with a cold process.

There is roll roofing which is applied with hot mopped asphalt.

There is roll roofing which is torch down applied.

There is roll roofing which is mechanically fastened.

Withing those general application methods there are several different types of roof covering material. And, within those different types of material are different brands.

You were told it was torch down and the brand Rubberoid.

__________________
Jerry Peck, Construction / Litigation Consultant
Construction Litigation Consultants, LLC ( www.ConstructionLitigationConsultants.com )

What kind of structure was this on? If this is on a home, I'm betting it is not installed properly.

__________________
Scott Patterson
Spring Hill, TN
http://www.traceinspections.com