|
|
|
Flat roof repairs
blisters pitch pans and flashings |
|
|
When working on a gravel roof the best way to save
money is to maintain it. There are a lot of things
that can go wrong because of the fact that it is a
flat roof. and has many different flashings there
are many areas that can leak if not checked and
taken care of . you have your metal flashings you
have your perimeter wall flashing with seems. you
have pitch pans. some have a/c units. and most have
drains. these are your weak areas. because they are
on top of the roofing area. To have any of these
areas replaced can become pretty expensive. I am
going to explain how you can take care of
these problems your self at a very low cost. |
Picture 1
Here you can see sleepers witch are the 4x4s
under the A/C unites .They are used to absorb the
vibration when the unit is running. Also not to have
the units directly on the roof.
You can also see the yellow PVC pipes with blocks
under them again to keep them off the roof it self.
The reason you do not want things directly on the
roof is because in the Summer time they can be
absorbed into the tar and gravel. So if you needed
to repair or move them chances are you will damage
your roof in the process. Where the A/C Freon lines
go into the building you can see a square box around
it witch is a pitch pan. Any where you have
something going through the roof you need a pitch
pan around it. You fill these pitch pans with
roofing cement to prevent water from entering. You
should check these after each winter cold weather
could cause the cement to crack. If this happens
fill in the cracks with new roofing cement .And you
should be good till next year.
Picture 2
Here we have a chimney.
You can not see it but at the bottom where it
flairs out. under the cement and membrane there is
cove base witch is designed to give you that flair
at the bottom so water will roll off and not sit at
the base of the chimney. This is another area you
check after each winter to check for cracks sliding
membrane any damage around the chimney.
Picture 3
This is a vent stack that comes from your plumbing.
Around it is a flange when I did roofing we used led
boots witch covered the entire pipe. You can
see the flange is sitting above the gravel
witch means water can get in. To fix this you would
scrape an area around it at least 6" you can use a
hammer a scrapper what ever you have. After
scrapping sweep the are free of gravel. To repair
you will need roofing cement a trawl 6" membrane.
apply roofing cement over the flange and the area
you scraped apply your membrane
put 3" on the flange and the rest where you
scraped smooth it out with your trawl then apply
another layer of roof cement. and you are done cheap
and easy. |
Picture 4
This is a blister you can see the felt is exposed
and cracked. Repairing is pretty much the same. scrap
a 6"area on both sides of the blister
remove all the
gravel you will need a utility knife. Because you
will need to cut out the blister. Then you will do a
patch on a patch. Apply your roofing cement on top
of the area you cut out.
Then apply your membrane. Smooth it out with your
trawl. Add another layer of roofing cement. (First
patch finished.) Now you do the same thing including
the area you scraped out. When finished sweep some
of the loose gravel over it and just like it was
never there.
Picture 5
Your roof drain. The most important thing
on your roof. This is where all your water flows.you
must make sure that it is always free of Debreu
unclouded and always flowing freely. I have seen
roofs collapse from the weight of water. It is very
dangers and very expensive to repair.
Click here for part two.
Flat roof repair part
two |
|