Roof tar repair

[dchou4u]

During the recent heavy rain in Southern CA, our office warehouse experienced some leaks that seem to coming down around a small pipe that runs up through the roof. I went up on the roof today and noticed that the tar around the copper pipe seems to be cracking and lifting up. Can someone recommend a product to easily patch it? I have enclosed 2 pictures of the area and the pipe of interest. The photo-1.jpg picture clearly shows the tar lifting up on the lower right corner of the copper pipe.

Thanks a lot...

[Bert Byfield]

More than a brand of tar, you need to fix the leak with flashing of some sort. The tar is secondary to the mechanical fix.

[Reno]

I went through this with our warehouse. We got some tar repair whose name I no longer recall but it was a silvery colour with black streaks when you stirred it. Medium thin stuff so it soaks in fairly well.

Go to a good roofing supply company - don't use the cheap stuff from the retailers.

The old patching you have looks terrible from point of view of leaking. You should try to remove as much of it as you can, including that felt. The felt looks as though it wasn't completely soaked through with tar. The repair stuff may leak through the opening around the pipe so be carefull - maybe get some new felt and soak it well and then cram it around the pipe so the liquid won't run along the pipe. Use a lot of the repair stuff in several layers. Takes about 5 or 10 minutes between layers.

Your problem occurred because the tar dried out and cracked either from shrinkage or from being too stiff to flex as needed. You can keep the new repair from drying out by sticking on a layer of cloth or plastic that is UV resistant. The roofing supply company should have something you could use. In a pinch a piece of the same roofing sheet that is on the roof could do but it would be too stiff to work with easily. Something more flexible would follow the surface of the repair and keep the sun off.

Now that I think of it - get the diameter of the pipe and ask the roofer for a collar with a skirt that would be clamped around the pipe and tarred down around the perimiter. That would look professional.

[Hat]

------------------------------------------------ From the photo, the tarred square area looks "spent," and the leak could originate anywhere in that area (including around the pipe). My guess is that the pipe itself could be the source of the problem because copper is a great heat/cold conductor. It is only a matter of time before the copper high conductivity does its job in drying out and cracking the tar, no matter the quality. You did not explain the utility of the copper pipe (it looks like an AC condensation vent), but I would consider replacing it with PVC before repairing the square area shown in pic 2. This is problably a job for a professional.

[Stormin Mormon]

My one experience with roof tar, was when I had a leak in the roof of my mobile home. The Home Depot near me had a one galon can of silvery tar. I had to buy a trowel for the purpose, it's not easy to clean that stuff off. I also got some fiberglass cloth. Trowel some tar on, and put fiberglass over that, and more tar.

As the others have suggested, good idea to try scraping off as much of the old cracked tar as possible.

And a real roofing company would likely have the brand and type of sealant that works in your part of the country. My place in NYS would take different stuff than deep south, or arid climate.

[Tony]

I can't believe no one asked what the hell that pipe is for? I see the close pipe with an open end on top, then in the background is a T with the top part open. And it's all half assed propped up on wooden blocks. What am I missing here?

[dchou4u]

Someone recommended Henry 11Oz. 208R Rubber Wet Patch. He said I can apply this into the cracks and then do another layer on top up to 1/4" thick.

The copper pipe is for the rooftop A/C condensation drainage. We have several A/Cs that are sharing this drainage pipe.

[Joe]

The whole thing looks like an amateurish and botched installation. Get someone better qualified to find the right kind of flashing with a rain collar and do it over. Should only be a couple of hours to make the change.

Joe

[Tony]

OK, condensation drain makes sense. Just a really crappy job, maybe it was their first time?

[JIMMIE]

Really looks like someone just poked a hole through the roof and smeared some roofing cement around. You could do the same for a quick and dirty fix reinforcing the cement with some wire mesh would make it a lot better but still far from a pro job or call in a pro to get it done right

Jimmie

[dchou4u]

Hi, does anyone have a photo or a website that can show me how it should have been done? It is a good learning experience for me. The original install was done by the builder of our office building about 5 years ago.

[Stormin Mormon]

I'm also curious. I think it looks like vent for sewer. It's the only thing I could figure. Like you say, it's a really strange use of copper.

[JIMMIE]

The propped up half assed part is a dead give away, HVAC drain

Jimmie

[Oren]

If it is 5 years old and leaks, speak to the builder. Do you own or rent this building? Any warranty from the builder?

[clare]

Bulldog WetStik if you can still get it in California. It is a fibrated plastic roofing cement that will stick to wet surfaces.

[aemeijers]

Nobody else said it, so I will- the preformed doohickeys they sell for sealing a membrane roof around the hardpoints for a roof deck should work for that. Cousin to the self-stick ice membrane stuff, just precut and shaped for a deck penetration. I'd cut back the failed thing around the hole, and use some emery cloth on the pipe.

Put yeah, that was a pissant way to run a drain through the roof. Whenever HVAC cycles, or it gets sunny, that copper is gonna move around. Around here, they usually run those through the parapet wall on backside of building, then down, staying outside the heated envelope, and not penetrating the roof.

-- aem sends...

[Phisherman]

It needs a rubber boot installed. Oatey makes a few kinds.

The pics got me wondering if the copper pipe running through the roof is a hack job of some sort that needs correction?

[dchou4u]

If I get a rubber boot, can I install the boot above the existing tar without having to tear everything up? Do I just apply the cement around the new flashing? Does the rubber boot create a waterproof seal around the copper pipe without having to use any chalking or tar?

Thanks

[dchou4u]

I wonder how I am going to install a rubber boot since there is a horizontal copper pipe connected to the vertical copper pipe.... I can't slide the new rubber boot over the copper pipe and down to the roof surface.

[aemeijers]

Find a split one that wraps around, with a seam that you can glue or something. Or since most boots in stock will be for larger pipe anyway, slit a larger one. Same material you glue it to the roof with should work for the seam. I'd look for a self-adhesive boot, and once it is down, paint over it with some sort of sealant that will flow into the cracks. Next time they have to fuss with those roof units, I'd look for some other path to route that drain.

-- aem sends...