pueblo style/flat roofs...love'm or hate 'em? (contractors, roofing)

[rybert]

It might be interesting to see the energy savings over a given time as well.

[Towanda]

Originally Posted by trailtramp

Inspector told us we should do some repair now

Our inspector said the same thing - several patches to be made -- we asked the seller to make the repairs -- and they agreed.

Remember it is still (I think) a buyer's market and a motivated seller may agree to make the repairs the inspectors says are necessary.

[ohyes]

I own a true Adobe! Not Pueblo style mass built houses but the real thing, hand custom built.Beam's and wood ceiling! Flat roofs are a pain in the arse! Water goes where it want's to go and trust me it will. I love my house and wouldn't move for anything but they can be a pain and adobes offer other challenges also. But hey it's the pit falls of home ownership!

[jghoo]

I just finished rehabing a 49yr old adobe style in NE Heights. I had it down to the studs. I did not see any signs of mold and only found dry rot around 1/2 of one window. I had the roof re-done by Alverado Roofing. Did a good job.
Now if I keep the house i truly believe the best way to go is a foam roof. they have solve the UV breakdown issues and they add an Isulation value of 10. That in itself is a big deal. they also put a slope in the foam so no more puddling. It is a closed cell system so no puncture issues. The cost for a 1500sft +1car garage would have been about $7200. You can get money back from the city and gov. total around 1000. The cost for Alverado was about 4500. I have no affiliation with the foam guys. I just thought it made a whole lot of sense. I didnt do it because I had not budgeted for any roof. It seems to address all of the issues with old roofs. The lifespan i think is around 20yr.

[NURSEYDUDE]

First, we know its balloon fiesta time....since it always rains...even if it hasnt rained in weeks!

Last weekends rain came thru our bedroom ceiling. Were taking bids on capping it with the white membrane. Half our neighbors in our complex have done this and have good luck. What i hear is that you need to make certain they slope it with styrofoam or whatever the use. Eight grand bites the dust. 15 year warranty against leaks. The decision will be made today. Got no choice. Laters all.

[rybert]

It's my understanding that all new flat-roofs in California have to be white. Maybe NM should follow suit.

[Merlander]

The elastomeric product we used, Elastek, used to only have two colors: White & tan. The tan's reflectivity/emissivity #'s weren't too good, so for homeowners subject to HOA covenants saying "no white roofs" [or homeowners that just didn't want a white roof] they came up with "Energy Tan." It's slightly lighter in color than the tan, but has reflectivity & emissivity values similar to the white coatings. I was thinking about using it but the roofing supply company we used only had the white and the tan.

Of course the energy tan was really more of a coating for pitched roofs than flat. The only major problem with the white color on a flat roof is the glare when you're up there working...

[rybert]

New solar tubes just waiting for your flat-roof:

Tubular Solar Panels Slash Costs, Boost Efficiency | EcoGeek - Clean Technology

Glare is a positive for these puppies!

[cmfurry]

I have an IB roof system installed on my house for 5 years now. Somebody got on the roof (suspecting Comcast), now it leaks. It will cost $75 an hour to find the leak. For the cost of this roof, I could have put 2-3 T&G roofs on and it have last longer (plus I can fix it myself when I identify the leak). Lifetime warranty,..... on the membrane, but the total roof system, which is what the customer is looking at, is only as good as it's weakest point, and that usually is the installation. So lifetime warranty on the product doesn't mean diddly when there is a 1 year warranty on the installation as that will most probably be the weakest point.

So, for the price, think about 2-3 T&G roofs before leaping into the lifetime warranty statements made by ANY company.

[mortimer]

Originally Posted by Tim Rankin

... HOA covenants saying "no white roofs" ...

Reason:

In NM, many neighborhoods have a large slope to them so that
just a few blocks away, houses can be 100 or more feet lower.

My neighbor (#1), who's roof is below our ground level did the
white roof thing and my other neighbor (#2) ( on my level )
complained because in the morning, the glare was terrible.

I live next door, but the glare did not reflect toward my house.

The problem was solved by having the vertical surfaces painted
in the color of the side stucco. Now, the sun bounces off the
horizonal surface away from neighbor #2.

This is still going to be a problem for those living on slopes way
above ( like hundreds of feet ) white roofs. The will look out
on a sea of blazing white instead of the browns and greens
they are used to.

This problem will be solved in the future by only having the
horizonal surfaces be the white color and possibly by having
some strategically-placed baffles. This is otherwise known
as "intelligent installation."