Don't Ignore Wet Roof Deck
October 21, 2014
Wet roof decks simply can't be ignored. Recovering a wet roof deck won't make the problem go away. That's because recovering a roof deck will likely only cause the roof to blister, or cause other serious problems that won't be covered by a warranty.
Here's how to tackle a wet roof deck the right way. First, identify wet areas in the roof. To do so, one of three types of moisture surveys should be completed: infrared, nuclear or capacitance. None of these actually measure moisture. Instead, they measure the effect moisture has within the roofing materials.
For best results, match the type of moisture scan with your roof since each moisture scan works differently. Infrared surveys measure the heat retained or lost in insulation that has become damp. Ballasted roofs aren't a good candidate for infrared surveys because the rock itself retains a lot of heat, giving potentially false readings. Nuclear moisture surveys measure hydrogen atoms in the roof, meaning that any membrane with a large hydrogen chemical component will send positive readings. Water is a good conductor of electricity, and capacitance surveys measure electricity traveling through the roofing material. This won't work on a roof with wet or ponded areas, and may require modified instruments on EPDM roofs.
The amount of moisture found in the roof, if any, may dictate the choice of whether to recover or replace. The more areas of moisture found, the more expensive it will be to replace those areas.
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