Hello To Everyone!
This afternoon I found that the wind had ‘peeled back’ the roof – rolled roofing material and tar paper ( no shingles ) – from over our den. It is roughly 16’x 18′ in area. The pitch is very flat, 1:6, I would say.
When I climbed up to make my inspection I was further surprised to see that 1″ x 6″ rough-cut lumber had been used rather than plywood sheathing to form the roof decking. Our home is an Oak Park, IL bungalow and being from NM, I do not know what construction practices to expect in this part of the US. I’ve been used to seeing 4′ x 8′ plywood used rather than loose lumber for roof decking. In my opinion it’s a ‘no brainer’ to use the plywood as it goes on faster and provides a far superior surface for laying the roof down.
Oak Park is very populated and there are trees everywhere. I say this because all of this helps to buffet the wind and decrease its force. I can only assume that shoddy workmanship was the cause of this because had the roofing material been properly nailed to the decking (if you want to call it that) the wind would not have been able to rip it off as easily as it did. The wind has not been bad at all of late which makes all of this the more surprising. In addition, ours was the only house in the neighborhood to suffer this damage.
It seems to me that these 1″ x 6″ ‘s should be ripped off and 4′ x 8’ plywood sheathing used in their place. The 1″ x 6″ ‘s did not look to be in a serious state of deterioration however, a piece of this lumber actually stayed attached to the roofing material after it had ‘peeled back’. This of course, brings up the question of whether or not this lumber is properly nailed on in the first place. Plywood, properly nailed, will eliminate all the nooks-and-crannies, provide a flatter surface for the roofing material, and give the small number of roofing nails used solid material to keep the roofing material down. Which is why I am about to ask –
WHAT IS THE BEST ROOFING CEMENT TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN????
I am aware that when using rolled roofing material, a person uses nails sparingly but does rely heavily on a good roofing cement. There are so many on the market that choosing the proper cement is a daunting task to say the least.
I abhor shoddy workmanship regardless of where it is found. This den was an add-on to this wonderful 1920’s era bungalow. The shingles on the house proper were undisturbed in all of this. I do not know who did the den work but the shingle job on the house was superior otherwise the shingles would no doubt be off as well. In that regard, we were fortunate.
Thanks to all in advance.
Regards,
Phillip
Replies
Phillip,
How old is this addition? 1x6 sheathing was once the material of choice for roofs - back when the old guys trusted it more than plywood. On roofs where cedar shingles were used, it was still the material of choice until quite recently because cedar needs air circulation and skip sheathing (where there is a gap between the boards) provides that.
If your roof is as flat as you say it is, I'd suggest you get a professional roofer to look at it. The tolerance for error goes down with the slope of the roof, and if the wood is pulling up it sounds like you could already have some water infiltration weakening it. From the sound of it, just gluing down the same old roof with new cement is only going to be a barely adequate temporary fix and may cause you more expensive problems later on, unless you just want to do that until a roofer can come and address the problem properly. From what little I've gleaned, roll roofing is the lowest budget approach to shallow roofs, and no matter how good the workmanship you can't overcome the material selection.
As for wind, just because your house was damaged and others weren't, that doesn't mean that it was caused by poor workmanship. A tornado or microburst can demolish one house and leave the one 6 feet away untouched. You are now living in tornado country and you don't need a big wind storm to get a tornado, just a good thunderstorm. Now we'd probably have heard on the news if a real tornado touched down in Oak Park, but there are little 'weather anomalies' that don't get reported, especially if they don't affect many people or go unwitnessed. One more thing to keep in mind is that all of those buildings affect the wind. They can redirect and funnel it down so that it is more powerful. There was a once a skyscraper in NY where they were very worried because if the hurricane winds came from one direction it would fall down, from another they were safe.
Take all I say with the knowlege that I'm just another homeowner, not a professional of any kind. Good luck with getting your roof back in order.
Aimless,
Thank you very much for your response.
This is my second response to you. In the middle of the first the website went belly-up and that was that. I'll try again.
I asked my neighbor, who has lived next door for 30 years, if he knew how old this addition was. His response was that to the best of his recollection it was in place when they moved in. That makes it at least 30 years old and may coincide with your cedar shake observation.
And yes, there are indeed plenty of gaps in this sheathing. Yesterday I saw an 'active' wasps nest in the area which was left exposed by the board that was still attached to the rolled back roofing. The wasps obviously could make there way below the roofing material and then under the sheathing. Which, again, makes me want to point my finger at shoddy workmanship. From what I could see there was no insulation under the sheathing either.
I built a thousand-foot addition to a house I used to own in norther NM and did everything myself including the roof so I have some idea how it all goes together. If this is done properly, the felt/tar paper and the shingles lay flat against the roof decking so its difficult for me to see how a wasps nest could be built beneath all of this unless a gap was left for them to do so.
As to your comment about 'micorbursts' I'll say this. I had to run some errands yesterday and in passing one of our local parks I was shocked to see that a tree had been 'snapped' in half. It was not a very large tree, its trunk was about 10" in diameter, but this took some force regardless of its size. So I will have to agree with you that the wind in this area can funnel its energy from area to area performing damage with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel. This could also have been caused by lightning. Who knows? In NM the wind just blows and blows not doing much damage - usually.
I apologize for giving you the impression that I just wanted to re-attach this roof, I do not. I want it completely out of Cook County if that is possible. My plan, and it may not be a good one, is as follows.
First order of business, get the wasps to leave. Strip the old roofing material off and remove the sheathing. Check for water damage and repair as necessary. Once this is done I will insulate properly and then lay on the plywood decking. I have seen some 4' x 8' sheet material which is seemingly pressed wood but coated or impregnated with plastic or some form of hardened glue which is impervious to moisture. This is no doubt superior to the garden variety PW. Once this phase is complete, I want to use a tin roof. Many homes in NM are covered with plastic ( I believe ) coated galvanized tin roofing. This coating may also be a baked on paint. I am not certain of this. This material comes in many colors, is channeled to give it strength and is simple to put on. And, it is maintenance free. This may not be the best choice of roofing for an almost flat roof so all of this is still open for discussion.
Thanks for your input. I have been advised to move this post to http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/ so you will find it there if you care to do so.
Regards,
Phillip
Phillip,
I know you aren't convinced of this, but the gaps in the sheathing boards beneath a cedar shake or shingle roof are actually a sign of GOOD workmanship. Cedar needs to breath and skip sheathing is the way to do that. If you lay cedar roofing flat on plywood it won't last very long at all. But if you hate having critters in your attic, this isn't the best roof to go with. When we replaced our cedar shake roof, we left the skip sheathing and just nailed in some 1X plugs in the gaps over the rafters. That gave us a good surface for nailing plywood or OSB on top of the old skip sheathing, and it gave a nice solid base beneath the solid sheathing. We didn't do this because we were lazy, but because we wanted more support of the solid sheathing in between the rafters.
The metal roofing you are describing sounds something like galvalume. If I were you I'd check on the slope (you said the roof is very flat) that such a roof is recommended for.
Good luck with your project.
Many more people will see this if you post it at Breaktime, the forum affiliated with Fine Homebuilding magazine. Click on the second button from the left in the second row of buttons above, or on this link. http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/
Edited 5/14/2004 4:37 am ET by Uncle Dunc
Thank you very much, sir!
I was wondering exactly where to go with my post. I couldn't quite find what I was looking for. Am quite used to Knots where things are a bit more accessible ( to me at least ) than they seem to be on the FHB side of the fence.
Thanks again for taking time to get me on track.
Regards,
Phillip
Phillip,
I'm a builder who lives in Galewood and is currently restoring a 1898 era farmhouse in forest park, so I'm familiar with the climate here <hope the rain hasn't wreaked havoc with your addition>.
First and foremost, you'll have to remove all of the existing roofing material and decking. Check to see if there is any insulation present as it would act as a sort of "petri dish" for the formation and growth of mold spores. At this point you might want to verify that your existing rafters are adequate for the span.
That complete, I'd suggest a minimum 3/4" plywood roof deck. With a 1 in 12 slope, your finish materials are, in my opinion, limited to single ply rubber membrane, torch or solvent applied over approved sheathing board, properly flashed to the existing structure. This would best be provided by professional roofing contractors, as it is dangerous and quite installation sensitive.
Bone Roofing Supply, 1950 N. Narragansett would likely be able to recommend a roofing specialist for same.
Make absolutely sure you pull a permit for the work, as Oak Park aggressively enforces its permit ordinance.
Hope this helps.
you probably already have your roof fixed,or you are wet! anyway if not look at resheeting with 3/4 plywood and then a 60 mil epdm rubber roof. it will go on in one pc. no seams and will give you good service on low slope. larry
Larry,
Thanks for the info. I moved this whole post over to 43307.1 if you want to take a look. And no, I haven't done a thing yet as it is still raining off and on here.
Take care.