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Fiberglass Roof?


Mike Lamb

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This was a hard plastic underfoot. It was seamless but I could see some faint 4x8 patterns. One section was patched. Is this fiberglass? Any insights are appreciated.

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It looks like a product similar to Seal-o-Flex or Hydro-Stop. Commonly refereed to as Liquid Applied Deck System. They're quit popular around here. There's a few different brands that have similar product system and many different finish coats so identifying the exact manufacture is difficult. I usually refer to them as a Paintable Rubber Membrane or Liquid Applied Deck System.

They require periodic recoats every so many years. The system in the pictures you have is in poor shape and is in need of a repair/recoat. I wouldn't be surprised if there's leaks.

http://www.emagcloud.com/Siplast/Sealof ... eMagV2.pdf

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I've never seen a roof even slightly similar to that, but we're seeing dozens of wall issues in the repair business. More than I could have imagined in ways I wouldn't have believed 8 years ago.

CMU with wood floor platforms is it's own little (big) perfect storm. Stucco on CMU without parapet ventilation and impeccable flashing detailing is in the same league as some of the stuff Cramer's finding in Florida. CMU cavity and core ventilation is critical.

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  • 2 months later...

It looks like a really poorly done urethane membrane.

If you saw the pattern of the decking beneath it the installer failed to detail the joints between decking and then applied the surface material way too thin.

You start with a clean deck - preferably marine-grade plywood. The plywood is roughed up on the surface with some 80-grit and then flashings are installed 12 to 18-inches up the inside of the parapet walls and the sides of the house and integrated into any pan flashing below the doorway to the house. Coil stock is bent to form a trough that will pass through the parapet for scuppers. A hole will be cut in the up flashings where the scuppers are located and then the inside ends of those scuppers are inserted through the holes, notched and bent flat to the flashings.

A special primer is painted onto the floor, onto the flashings and up the up-leg to a height several inches above where the siding is to end above the balcony.

They allow the primer to dry for about an hour and then a thin layer of liquid urethane is applied with a squeegee over the flat leg of the flashings out onto the wood for about four inches, over every seam in the plywood deck, and over the marriage points between the up-leg of the flashings and the doorway sill pan and the scuppers as well as onto the outside of any floor drain flanges.

Fiberglass mesh is imbedded in the urethane to strengthen the membrane where there are joints in the plywood, over all vertical joints in the up flashings, and at all other transition and marriage points, the squeeze-out is smoothed out and then they leave and allow the surface to cure for about another twenty-four hours.

The next day the installer comes back; and, using his trusty squeegee, the installer applies a thin coat over everything. That coat is about 1/16-inch thick; and, if it's done right all transitions where the flashings change from metal to wood deck, where the metal is bent at the scupper onto the up flashings, the joints in the deck, and all metal tabs are all smoothed out and none are visible. The installer leaves and gives it 24-hours to cure.

The next day, he's back again and applies only enough urethane to make the surface sticky. He then sprinkles a thin even coat of fine sand into the wet urethane and leaves.

The next day he comes back, uses a soft-bristled brush to sweep away the excess sand, blows off any loose sand using an air tank and nozzle and then applies a finish topcoat to the deck to seal the sand in place.

Nobody is allowed to go onto that balcony for the next two (preferably three) days. After the stuff has cured properly, the cladding can be installed on the walls of the house on the inside of the balcony and the inside walls of the balcony parapet, being careful not to drive any nails through those flashings any closer than about six inches from the balcony floor.

If he's done it right, when it's all finished the membrane will be about 1/8 to 3/16-inch thick and extremely durable. Like Jim said, you should be able to push your thumb into the surface and the little ding your nail makes in the membrane should slowly disappear. None of the fiberglass mesh, the seams between adjacent pieces of plywood decking, the transition points between flashings and deck or where the scuppers and drains are integrated into the balcony will be visible.

The last time I had a deck or balcony surfaced with that stuff, that was done the way it appears to have been done in your picture, the adjective I used to describe the application was abysmal.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 years later...

Hi Guys,

I am seeing some cracking n leaks on my fiberglass roof deck. Its just 7 years old. However, mistake i made was to recoat it elastomeric aluminum fibered coat instead of gel coat. Now sanding is not working as fiberglass is thin n coating is too rough/strong. Without sanding its not bonding to the aluminum coat.

Is there any other option to seal the crack? Maybe some “ special putty” ? 

 

- Thanks All

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