Roofing
We made a change from the plans again.
The plans show only the cricket done
with EPDM rubber roofing, and the rest
of the roof done with Pro-Panel (metal).
When we spoke to our roofer, he didn't
like the pro-panel idea. He thought that
the roof was too flat and metal would
require too many penetrations to be a
good choice. Many other people have put
the metal up, and I haven't heard of any
problems, but it seemed that the
likelyhood of problems was greater with
the metal roof. Who knows.
The plans show only the cricket done
with EPDM rubber roofing, and the rest
of the roof done with Pro-Panel (metal).
When we spoke to our roofer, he didn't
like the pro-panel idea. He thought that
the roof was too flat and metal would
require too many penetrations to be a
good choice. Many other people have put
the metal up, and I haven't heard of any
problems, but it seemed that the
likelyhood of problems was greater with
the metal roof. Who knows.
We decided to do the entire roof with the EPDM,
thinking that if we don't like it, we can put the
Pro-Panel over the rubber. The first step is to put
down "celotex" which is a fiber board that the glue
can stick to. It is possible to glue the rubber right to
the plywood, but the plywood must be screwed
down instead of nailed so that a nail doesn't work
itself free and puncture the rubber. We nailed our
plywood.
thinking that if we don't like it, we can put the
Pro-Panel over the rubber. The first step is to put
down "celotex" which is a fiber board that the glue
can stick to. It is possible to glue the rubber right to
the plywood, but the plywood must be screwed
down instead of nailed so that a nail doesn't work
itself free and puncture the rubber. We nailed our
plywood.
The celotex also offers some sound deadening. It
gets screwed to the plywood with plates that keep the
heads of the screws from pulling through the
fiberboard. The next step is to roll out a piece of
rubber and cut it to size, always starting at the lowest,
most downhill part of the roof. Next, we rolled half
of the rubber sheet back on itself and put the glue on
both the rubber and the fiberboard. It is a contact
cement,
gets screwed to the plywood with plates that keep the
heads of the screws from pulling through the
fiberboard. The next step is to roll out a piece of
rubber and cut it to size, always starting at the lowest,
most downhill part of the roof. Next, we rolled half
of the rubber sheet back on itself and put the glue on
both the rubber and the fiberboard. It is a contact
cement,
so you wait for both surfaces to partially dry before
you push the rubber back onto the roof. Being careful
not to put any bubbles in, and making sure that all
parts of the rubber and the roof have glue, we slowly
pushed the rubber back into its permanent spot. Then
we moved to the next lowest spot and did it again.
Once all of the rubber was down, we taped the seams
with seam tape, and caulked the seams with lap caulk.
Just like that our roof was water proof. We were
anxious for our next rain to see how well it worked.
When it did rain, the roof sure did work, the only
problem was that we hadn't framed or roofed the
cisterns yet, so the water didn't have a good place to
go! Instead, it flowed off of the roof, down the tires,
onto the concrete and into one of our planters. This
picture is
you push the rubber back onto the roof. Being careful
not to put any bubbles in, and making sure that all
parts of the rubber and the roof have glue, we slowly
pushed the rubber back into its permanent spot. Then
we moved to the next lowest spot and did it again.
Once all of the rubber was down, we taped the seams
with seam tape, and caulked the seams with lap caulk.
Just like that our roof was water proof. We were
anxious for our next rain to see how well it worked.
When it did rain, the roof sure did work, the only
problem was that we hadn't framed or roofed the
cisterns yet, so the water didn't have a good place to
go! Instead, it flowed off of the roof, down the tires,
onto the concrete and into one of our planters. This
picture is
about half way through pumping the water
out of the planter. We figure that there was
between 300 and 400 gallons of water in it.
Bummer.
out of the planter. We figure that there was
between 300 and 400 gallons of water in it.
Bummer.
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