roof repair help

granny · #1 10/09/08, 11:58 AM

I have a flat roof. Leaking badly and causing ceiling damage now. Any ideas as to what roof sealants would help? Family is helping but money is very limited. I am unable to do a new roof. Any ideas for a roof coating that would work for awhile?

blufford · #2 10/09/08, 12:15 PM

I been there, leaking roof and little money. Maybe a well placed tarp will stop the water until you can get it repaired.

watcher · #3 10/09/08, 12:24 PM

The only thing I have found to work if the actual leak can't be found is to tarp the roof.

You might be able to do a quick and dirty roofing job with rolled roofing over the current shingles. I haven't priced it in years but it used to be fairly cheap and if you have a simple roof one person should be able to roof it in one day. It probably would last a year or so if you just laid it right over the old shingles.

doohap · #4 10/09/08, 01:11 PM

Been there ... leaky roof, no money. I suggest, like others above, a tarp. Some sort of sealant MAY work, but I had no luck.

Eventually, however, you should get around to actually repairing the mess. If the roof has been leaking for a while and there is damage to the ceiling inside, you may have some rot in the wood. Good luck.

Peace,
doohap

Common Tator · #5 10/09/08, 06:10 PM

I have never tried this stuff, but it might work. It says it works on flat roof repair.

http://www.amesresearch.com/roof_coatings.htm

bloogrssgrl · #6 10/09/08, 07:03 PM

Hoo boy do I have experience with this.

Old pool covers are pretty good if you know of anyone getting rid of any. Also, go to your local thrift stores, flea markets, etc. and buy up the old fiberglass curtains. They work well for spot patching.

We usually put a good glob of cold-applied asphalt roof coating, cut a swatch of old curtain or pool cover and lay it over, and then coat over that again with the roof coating. We've limped our flat roof along since 1995 doing this kind of stuff. We hopefully will get a rubber roof on it one of these days but estimates came in at $9000 on the low end.

If you can post any pictures it might help folks give advice.

Good luck.

Wolf mom · #7 10/09/08, 07:23 PM

Flat leaky roofs in Phoenix are the norm. (Lived there 30 years)

Get some elastomeric coating (in can) or if that's too expensive, get a wet/dry tar. Use latex gloves & those yellow spatula thingies from Home Depot or wherever. If you use elastomeric coating, get the rolled material with it & put that down first. really works.

Seal all around any pipe or anything coming up from the roof. Check your chimney. I had a roofer out & he couldn't find a leak. Of course not - he was looking at the roof when there was a big chink out of the chimney!

Walk your roof. Water travels and may not be coming in right over the leak inside.

You usually can see multiple cracks in the roof coating. Use a broom to clean the roof if you have to. See if the cracks are surface cracks or go deeper. Coat over all the deep cracks.

Make sure the edges of the roof are sealed down. Sometimes water will travel back up under the edge. I think there's a metal edging for this.

Tar more rather than less....I used to walk my roof periodically. Crazy lady, but you do what you can afford.

When you go to fix your roof permanently, try foam roofing. Not too expensive. When it's applied, the workers will reshape your roof so the water flows off correctly and doesn't puddle. (insulating too!)

It needs a top coating painted on (they throw a little sand in it to keep the birds from pecking) to keep it from UV damage. Needs to be recoated every few years (you can do it) & it'll last a very long time.

Best to you!

Beeman · #8 10/09/08, 08:48 PM

I would look at roll roofing which is really heavy rolls of roofing just like shingles but of course on a roll. Lay it across starting on the bottom and then overlap the next layer working your way up.

PyroDon · #9 10/09/08, 09:16 PM

If your after a sealant "Thru-roof" is one of the better products , it comes in either a tube like caulking or you can get a brush on gallon.
a second choice would be "coolcoat" a white elastomere roof coating .
In my opinion both of these are short term fixes .
use them for now to get through the winter and start saving for epdm or awaulplan ( a rubberized roll roofing) dont waste you time or money on 90 pound roll roofing or selvage.
Metal would be a third option .

MELOC · #10 10/09/08, 10:05 PM

i would choose patching the leaky areas with a sealant of some sort if you plan to replace the roof in a year or two. as a person who had to remove a porch roof and a low pitch house roof that had five layers of rolled roofing, i feel you are only adding to the problem if you cover the whole thing with rolled roofing. when you put added layers on a roof, you are adding a tremendous amount of weight and creating a huge disposal problem when the roof is eventually replaced correctly.

tamsam · #11 10/09/08, 11:30 PM

The elestic roof coating . It is used on travel trailers and rvs. Walk the roof looking for cracks and put a good coat on them with a brush. If the are wide or you think you need it tear any kind of cloth into strips wide enough to cover the cracks. Then put a heavy coat of sealant on and lay a peice of cloth over the crack and then brush and pat on more sealant untill it is wet all the way through. After this dries roll a good coat on the whole roof. If you have enough left roll it again. I used the sealant over plywood on a flat roof for roofing materail and it lasted 5 years I know of. Last I bought was at Lowes for about 73 bucks for 5 gallons. Trick is to do it while it is dry and early afternoon or morning. If you have gravel on the roof you may have to sweep it up and respread after the repair but I would leave it off. Good luck and I hope this helps. Sam