Steel Roof Leaks

The screws are backing out or need sealer around them.

I forgot the mention this. I took a job and my men used a liquid roofing sealer and I thinned it down to use a paint sprayer with a 6 ft ploe gun and a adjustable tip. It will clog some but clear it and move on. We sprayed all along all the screws of an apartment building roof. It has held for 5 years now but I expect they will need service in a year or 2.

Hand tightening to replacing the screws with a roofing screw that has a gasket will be expensive but last longer I expect.

The owner need to try and find a way to control the effect between heat and cold on the roof. The screws will back out when roof cools if they were not driven all the way in past the threads.

He will most likely have problems in other parts of the roof over time. That is why I covered all the screws to add a little resistance to their natural movements.

There were a post recently called "what screw is this" - the screw might be your answer. It can be permanently fixed at the bottom and can be tightened at the top.

Out of curiosity -

What is the span and the slope?

What type of roof structure?

Can any deflection be noticed under weight?

You are right Hendrik.The hanger mate it was named in the end. Very helpful. The system I am using it with could solve many roofing problems. Watch this space. Good luck. Ky.

Snow builds up above the seam and capillary action draws in melting snow (or water as we sometimes call it).

Or weight of snow causes flex which opens up mounting points/ seams etc?

There is a material called snow roof coating. Is comes in varying colors.

The nice thing about this stuff is that its light weight and easy to apply and lasts for a good long time.

It's not terribly cheap but nothing that works well ever is.

An 11 ac. roof and only a dozen spots with "leaks" in the winter time? I am worndering if this just condensation building up over some machinary that is producing heat. The number of leaks seems really out of wack mathmatically. I would check that first before heading up to the roof.

There may well be condensation.

But it is quite possibly ice damming.

Ice damming occurs frequently with residential low slope roofs that have heat escaping into the attic and/or poor ventilation. Black shingles exacerbate the problem. Basically, the snow/ice melts from underneath, runs down and freezes at the exposed overhang (eaves), creating a "dam", which causes the accumulating melt water to back up between the roof and the snow and find its way under the shingles. In essence, the water is running up the roof.

This can be resolved with low slope shingles (more overlap), roofing membrane (ice & water shield) beneath the bottom 3 feet of shingles, attic ventilation, attic insulation, and sealing off the attic from living space warm air leaks (for the worst source of condensation, check bathroom exhaust fan ducting, also seal the top course of cinder block walls) in residential situations. In winter, cold attic = healthy roof.

If you don't have an an attic (which I suspect you don't), insulating between the roof joists with spray foam, sealing the roof panel joints (as earlier described), and those zig-zagged heating cables along the eaves would be measures to consider. The added bonus of the spray foam would be reduced heating/cooling costs.

Google ice damming for a better description.

Interesting..... ice damming...like it!

Damm Ice......!!! Interesting!!

Del, I was going to compliment your previous assessment of the situation, but now I offer kudos to my Northern neighbor. I certainly had never heard of such. It makes perfect sense.

Damn the ice damming!

Better and better....!

Have a really Great day!

I am having a problem with a roof leak near the brick/masonry chimney. A few days back during a heavy rain my attic bedroom began to leak. The meeting of these two roof lines is leaking despite reshingling. To put a steel roof on the entire house is too much cost to bear but my problem is solved by greentech.

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Condensation on the inside can be one problem, especially if the building has a concrete floor. Another possibility is the temperature of the snow could be causing the roof to contract and deform.

If condensation, then you'll probably need to insulate the ceiling from the inside. If contraction is the cause, get on the roof on a bright, sunny day, and use liquid rubber or silicon caulking on all the seams and glob some around each screw. I suggest using friends, unless you're a nut for counting screws.

If friends are involved, I suggest plenty of beer.

Fibre-glass it!! (11acres??? only joking!) On the other hand yo could fibre-glass the few leaky areas if it was proved there was a need.

I had a friend that made the mistake of casting a concrete floor for his steel building. When the temperature was right, it rained in his building and you didn't dare touch a metal surface without fear of electrocution.

Metal roofing brings up nasty memories. Every metal roof manufacturer will claim to be water tight, but in the field very few are. These structures are a bear to try to make leak free.

I am assuming there is some type of interior insulation with a "vapor barrier". This vapor barrier will allow water to run from it's source to some other area away from the leak or condensation. Where water drips on the floor is usually not the location of the leak.

I also assume there is some roof penetrations for ventilation, equipment, etc. Each penetration can also be a suspected leak or condensation point.

Thermal movement on a 500,000 square foot structure can be significant. Check the roof for expansion joints, and see if they are in good shape. If not fix them.

About the only good thing I can say for the "pre-engineered" metal buildings is they are relatively cheap. But you get what you pay for. Good luck trying to seal it up afterwords. There is a reason the builder doesn't want to bother with it now.

Wornder is his building could be a possible power source. If people were getting schocked.

The correct answer is...ice damming. The fix...heat cables. With a standing seam roof, rubber roofing won't do much good. You can check out heat cables at the Depot or Ace Hardware. They ain't cheap but they work to breach the dam. And even though this sounds stupid, you only turn them on when the sun shines (keeps the dam open while the snow is melting). I've used them for years on a shingle roof that had leaked badly.

Take the builder to court and force him to fix it!!!

I thought that in the USA, the lawyers were used first! This is a classic case proving that to be right!!!

It would be cheaper to cover the roof with gold leaf....

Now that is really sad if true, and I do believe you....

In the USA you get a Zillion Dollars, for spilling the hot coffee that you just bought at MacDonalds in your own lap, because nobody told you it was hot and could burn, but a roof will not be made to do what is supposed to do!!

Where's the Rhyme or Reason Guys?

Now if the roof worked for say 2 years or more, then I understand why, but did it?

In Germany and the UK, most building work is sold with say a 20 (or more) year guarantee.....except from fly by night companies of course.....

Maybe the roof problems should be put on a US website, with the name of the company and the time it took to leak etc etc etc.......

Now that's what really works in the US! As long as you have the distribution. And it's almost impossible to sue some one for libel or slander in America!!!

I agree that we are a litigious society. Excessively so in my humble opinion. However the hot coffee comment is always brought up and I am obligated to respond.

While most of us see this as a laughing point I do not. Quite the opposite. I see this as justice prevailing. I will explain.

Some time ago Readers Digest published a letter from either the daughter or the grand daughter of the plaintiff, an elderly woman. Now, as I recall, the coffee was mishandled and the plaintiff spilled it in her lap either on her own or as a result of a bad hand off. The scalding coffee was so hot that she received 2nd and 3rd degree burns to her upper thigh and pelvic region, including her genitalia.

2nd and 3rd degree burns do not come easily. I have spilled coffee often. I have no burns.

As the story is relayed in the letter, this particular restaurant had been told of the problem in the past on at least one occasion and failed to respond.

So, an elderly woman is burnt. Is scarred. And hurt through painful treatment. Now it comes before a jury. A jury of my peers ( I hope) would see the absurdity of giving a boatload of money to a woman for spilled coffee after reviewing evidence as presented in the formality of a courtroom. Rather, this jury stood up and said there was a problem and accident that could and should have been prevented due to negligence.

I also recognize the embarrassment the family was caused by challenging big business. A business with some of the deepest pockets in the country.

CR3

Maybe I picked a bad example, but there are plenty more examples in the way I was trying to explain the problems with the fact that 70% of the whole world's lawyers live and work in the USA......

.....and the roof is still leaking!