Metal Roof Repair
Pre-manufactured steel buildings can be prone to roof leaks. These types of roof systems are often constructed with improper roof fasteners and panel laps. The roof panels are designed to overlap several feet but are often installed with laps of only a few inches. These roof systems often contain fasteners that penetrate the surface of the roof. The fasteners are sometimes applied without the required neoprene washers, resulting in poor performance over the long term.
When leaks occur on metal roofs, maintenance professionals usually apply elastomeric sealant or roof cement at the panel laps. This is a near term solution makes the long term roof performance worse.
The two photos above are examples of pre-manufactured steel roof panels that were installed with inadequate panel overlaps. The roof on the left was coated with an elastomeric sealant and the roof on the right was repaired with Karnak roof cement. The application of cements and coatings does not provide long term benefits to the roof system because it creates a high spot on the surface of the roof, allowing water to be trapped behind the lap. Over time, the sealants will crack due to thermal expansion and contraction of the metal roof panels. A 60 Ft. Panel could expand or contract as much as two inches over the course of a year. After the sealant has cracked and the water creates a dam behind the lap, the resulting leak is often worse than the original leak. The surface applied sealant also encapsulates the compression plates and roof fasteners, making future roof maintenance more difficult.
The roofs photographed were installed (by another contractor) with only a 4 inch panel lap. The Deer Park Roofing staff provided the property manager with three options - installing an EPDM retrofit system over the existing roof, increasing the panel lap lengths, and waterproofing the existing laps. The property manager decided to waterproof the existing laps.
The first step in the repair process was the most labor intensive. The asphalt roof coating was scrapped off the metal roof panel. This allowed our installers to remove the compression plate and the roof fasteners. We then applied a non-curing sealant between the two panels. This type of sealant will not be damaged when the roof panels expand and contract. The compression plate is reinstalled with neoprene washers and screws. Larger screws were installed to prevent stripping and future fastener back out.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information on pre-manufactured steel roofs or metal roof repairs.
