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Hi everyone,
I am battling with a water leak problem - I have an old home and there's an extension created in the kitchen previously - every time it is windy + rain I get a leak just at the beginning of the extension.
I hired a contractor who put tar coating on the entire roof above extension but the leak still persists.
Well, now he wants me to buy silver paint and says it will fix it? I tried researching silver paint but nowhere does it say it can fix gaps/leaks?
I think what he is talking about is aluminized roof coating. It is sold under the brand name Koolseal, among others. It may fill in the small holes in the tar coating caused by bubbles and stop the leak, but if it takes wind+rain to cause the water intrusion I think I'd be looking closer to edges, overhangs and valleys for the source of the leak rather than coating the entire surface. That being said, the Koolseal is a good covering for a tar roof, as it reflects the majority of UV rays, leading to a longer roof life and less heat build up.
Still think I'd have him do a serious inspection of the roof edges before I coated it though.
I assume the addition has a flat roof, or a shed roof with such a low pitch that it might as well be flat.
Tar is no longer considered a useful waterproofing agent when there are so many better solutions. Basically NOTHING that you can "brush on" is as good as the modern elastomeric membrane systems.
A little bit of work will be needed to remove the mess of the previous exterior "fixes" and then ensure that years of water infiltration have not rotted away the whole structure. You have to fix that. Then you can seal it all up with proper materials.
I have seen some "brushed on" roofs last 30 years, but once leaking starts it is foolhardy to try and coat more goo on. The added weight of more layers of brushed on "fixes" end up stressing the structure and causing more leaking. The gaps get worse and the underlying brushed on tar cracks open up wider allowing more water inside. Like a dog chasing it's tail more layers mean more weight and more stress.
A properly installed elastomeric membeprane will be a fraction of the weight. It can be sealed far better than tar ever would hope to work. It will last fifty years. If the membrane is run up the adjacent wall it is will be more effective than any flashing. If there is a brick (or block) to siding joint / transition you may still need some flashing, but to get to the point where you can determine whether the supporting walls are sound or need tuck pointing the goo will have to be removed from the whole area.
Years of hap hazard maintenance eventually catch up with a building. I would bet that this started very shortly after the addition was originally built. Maybe a bad gutter backed up with ice or got ripped away in a wind storm. Some genius saw "roof patching tar" in a pail and started slathering that on instead of getting to the real problem, keep doing that long enough and the whole wall and roof will be less sturdy than a cardboard box...
Chet is exactly right. I cannot remember how many leaks in commercial tar roofs I have had to battle. I'd hire the contractor, he'd come out with the tar bucket and about 40% of the time stop the leak for a year or so, and then another would open up. The other 60% were nightmares. Sometimes there were more leaks AFTER a fix than before. Some sort of membrane is the only way to go. It'll cost more, be a mess during installation, but if properly installed will work reliably.
I assume the addition has a flat roof, or a shed roof with such a low pitch that it might as well be flat.
Tar is no longer considered a useful waterproofing agent when there are so many better solutions. Basically NOTHING that you can "brush on" is as good as the modern elastomeric membrane systems.
A little bit of work will be needed to remove the mess of the previous exterior "fixes" and then ensure that years of water infiltration have not rotted away the whole structure. You have to fix that. Then you can seal it all up with proper materials.
I have seen some "brushed on" roofs last 30 years, but once leaking starts it is foolhardy to try and coat more goo on. The added weight of more layers of brushed on "fixes" end up stressing the structure and causing more leaking. The gaps get worse and the underlying brushed on tar cracks open up wider allowing more water inside. Like a dog chasing it's tail more layers mean more weight and more stress.
A properly installed elastomeric membeprane will be a fraction of the weight. It can be sealed far better than tar ever would hope to work. It will last fifty years. If the membrane is run up the adjacent wall it is will be more effective than any flashing. If there is a brick (or block) to siding joint / transition you may still need some flashing, but to get to the point where you can determine whether the supporting walls are sound or need tuck pointing the goo will have to be removed from the whole area.
Years of hap hazard maintenance eventually catch up with a building. I would bet that this started very shortly after the addition was originally built. Maybe a bad gutter backed up with ice or got ripped away in a wind storm. Some genius saw "roof patching tar" in a pail and started slathering that on instead of getting to the real problem, keep doing that long enough and the whole wall and roof will be less sturdy than a cardboard box...
I assume the addition has a flat roof, or a shed roof with such a low pitch that it might as well be flat.
Tar is no longer considered a useful waterproofing agent when there are so many better solutions. Basically NOTHING that you can "brush on" is as good as the modern elastomeric membrane systems.
A little bit of work will be needed to remove the mess of the previous exterior "fixes" and then ensure that years of water infiltration have not rotted away the whole structure. You have to fix that. Then you can seal it all up with proper materials.
I have seen some "brushed on" roofs last 30 years, but once leaking starts it is foolhardy to try and coat more goo on. The added weight of more layers of brushed on "fixes" end up stressing the structure and causing more leaking. The gaps get worse and the underlying brushed on tar cracks open up wider allowing more water inside. Like a dog chasing it's tail more layers mean more weight and more stress.
A properly installed elastomeric membeprane will be a fraction of the weight. It can be sealed far better than tar ever would hope to work. It will last fifty years. If the membrane is run up the adjacent wall it is will be more effective than any flashing. If there is a brick (or block) to siding joint / transition you may still need some flashing, but to get to the point where you can determine whether the supporting walls are sound or need tuck pointing the goo will have to be removed from the whole area.
Years of hap hazard maintenance eventually catch up with a building. I would bet that this started very shortly after the addition was originally built. Maybe a bad gutter backed up with ice or got ripped away in a wind storm. Some genius saw "roof patching tar" in a pail and started slathering that on instead of getting to the real problem, keep doing that long enough and the whole wall and roof will be less sturdy than a cardboard box...
Fix this right while it is still standing!
Can't rep you, but good post. OP, listen to this guy, he knows what he's talking about.
The silver paint is used on seams you might have on a flat metal roof like a camper tailer.
Even there, there are better alternatives. Metal foil tape is one.
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