Decra Roofing [RE-wrenches]

Matt Tritt solarone at charter.net
Fri Apr 23 19:45:32 PDT 2004


 

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Matt, Jerry, etc.,

Since Mats stick together, and because he's absolutely right, I also
have seen a dropped screwdriver leave a ding in this type of roof. I
have also seen dents left by bare feet. I have also seen these roofs in
a "floating" condition where the nails have backed-out because of
expansion/contraction from heat and cold. For this reason (and others)
the hanger bolts that penetrate the metal will, in effect, be what holds
the roofing down - at least the sealant you've used will. For similar
reasons to why those nails have backed-out, the roofing will eventually
break free of the sealant; with all that expanding and contracting on a
daily basis it won't take long, and the roof will leak. That means it
will be your fault!

Another reality of wood framed buildings, especially those bitchin spec.
houses, is that rafters are seldom exactly parallel to each other. This
is one of the reasons that makes the Cal-Pac roofing so attractive to
some roofers since, in an overlay application, all they have to do is
drive a whole lot of nails into the existing roof (without even paying a
lot of attention to hitting rafters) to fasten their nailer boards. So
just how DO you find the rafters, eh? Ultra-Sound?

Any of us who have a "knack" for doing these roofs shouldn't have to
worry much about competitive bids! ;-)

Matt T  (Who hasn't bought a lottery ticket yet!)

-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Lafferty [mailto:mlafferty at universalenergies.com] 
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2004 11:38 AM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: RE: Decra Roofing [RE-wrenches]


 

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Jerry C and All:

First of all, to Jerry: I'm sorry if what I said was offensive to you.
Not my intent.  

My previous post referring to "U-Bent Hanger Bolts" was NOT referring to
the Hanger-Bolt (Lag one end, Machine Thread opposite) that Jerry
indicated.  My apologies to anybody who took it that way.

My reference was to a "U-Shaped All-Thread" setup.  (The "U" under-grabs
the bottom of the rafter. A Nut/Washer on top of but below the roof
surface is used to secure the protruding standoff bolt.)  Jerry's
Hanger-Bolt setup is a more solid mounting point than the "U" at
3/8-1/2" Diameter... It does "defeat the floating design" stuff I
mentioned due to the fact that flexibility at the top flashing point is
not achieved.

I guess I see it all this way: I just put my perspectives out to the
list for the purposes of sharing experience where I think it applies,
hopefully for the use and benefit of all.  It is up to each of us to
determine our comfort-level with all that we do, no matter what it is.
Hopefully in a responsible and informed manner.  Partly due to the
high-profile nature of what we do, "Bad news travels especially fast".
Based on "Political Environments", this is especially important.  I
would hate to hear of somebody getting into a situation that hurts them
and, in turn, sheds bad light on all of us.  

I stand behind my position that the Cal-Pac system is the least
desireable for the reasons mentioned previously, but maybe you will end
up installing PV on every one of them in No-Cal!  My statement regarding
"dropping a screwdriver" is from numerous observations of Existing
Conditions while engaged in service call activities (Prior to having a
Digital Camera or I'd send ya some pics).  It's also from experience
dealing with many Customers who had leakage, warranty, and legal-action
issues (All unrelated to Solar!!!!).  The rate of incidence for these
that I've observed has been significantly higher in this product than
others.  My personal observations.... Take it for what it's worth.

I don't have any "Dog in the Fight", other than seeing this whole thing
we kill ourselves to do, being sucessful.  The more applications that we
can responsibly and effectively serve, the better we all are.  Plain and
simple. One of the values of this list.....

One of my concerns relating to Multi-Layer roof systems, whether or not
an "Engineer signs off on it" or "the Building Department didn't even
require Engineering", is this: Multiple layers of roofing add weight to
the structure.  Adding the weight of a PV system to these should be
carefully considered, not just from a "How can I seal it for my 5-year
warranty" perspective.  We should be building for longevity!

Many of us rely on some form of the "Glass Offsets Live Load" factor...
There's a big difference between Live and Dead!  The example I use is
this: Lie on your back.  Now I'm gonna walk across your chest (Live
Load).  Next, I'm gonna stand on your chest for the next 30 years (Dead
Load... Not to mention the bad scenery!)  Which one do you prefer? 

Most of the "Original Shake Roof" structures built in the last 30+ years
that I've seen weren't designed for overlays. (Not to mention the actual
"guys who cut the rafters and drove the nails" factor!).  Just because
"a roofer got away with it", doesn't mean it's "OK for us to" in my
book.  Each site varies.  I've seen more than a few 2x4 rafters that I
trust to hold more load than 2x6's with the same span. It all comes down
to responsibility, awareness, knowledge, and comfort-level.  (I've
crawled a few attics where the rafters are barely touching the
ridge-board... Valleys... Yikes!)  

You can all do what you want.  I'm not stopping you.  I'm not trying to
stop or discourage "blazing the path".... I'll even support reasonable
"blazing" efforts to the extent I can.  That's an open and free offer to
all.  I sure don't have all the answer, but look forward to having more
of them.  One of the things that I think most of us have in common.
Part of "the thing that drives us"....  

I just feel a certain responsibility as a Wrench for "putting it out
there" when I see something I have a definite take on and believe it is
worthy of noting.  It's a take it or leave it to me.  I read 'em all...
Bite my tongue on some... Spit it out when I have something I think can
be of value to somebody.  No harm intended.

Pray for Sun.... Does anybody have tomorrow's winning Lotto numbers for
CA???? Care to share?  I don't need all of it... 

Matt Lafferty
Universal Energies Institute
mlafferty at universalenergies.com
(916) 422-9772
(916) 628-7694 Cell
(916) 914-2247 Fax
www.universalenergies.com

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