Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with roof

Right ski roof rack?

Wood — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:25:23 -0800

I want to buy a ski roof rack for my late(st) model Honda Civic. Any suggestions? I'm concerned about any impact on the fit (seals) and finish (paint) on my car. How justified is this paranoia? Also I will likely eventually want to carry bikes or other cargo.

Patches and tarps and caulk, oh my?

notashroom — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:58:23 -0800

How can I implement a temporary fix for a leaking roof? I've had various water issues with my 37-year-old house since I bought it nearly 5 1/2 years ago. The first was water running down the wall of the basement when it rained, which was resolved by replacing all the gutters and installing gutter screens (others were indoor plumbing issues and not relevant to this). I thought this might have resolved the problem causing water damage to the bathroom ceiling at the outside wall as well, but it has not. The damage increased so slightly as to be unclear whether it was new damage or not until the last several weeks and tremendous amounts of rain we've gotten in the Atlanta area. It's now clear that there is additional water coming in and causing further damage.

I cannot afford to hire a roofer right now. I expect to be able to do so in 3 months or so, and only need a fix to last about that long. I'm also likely going to need to have the bathroom ceiling replaced. My roof is shingled and sloped, 2 storeys from the ground at that point, and I have attic access and a ladder. I've read the responses to AskMes and found this question and that to be somewhat relevant. I do not want to put a tarp on the outside of my roof, but would be willing to put one in my attic (and then what?) if that would help. I'm smewhat comfortable making modest home repairs, but I don't have any great experience or expertise.

What is the best way for me to temporarily forestall further damage without a big cash outlay or anything that takes a great deal of know-how?

How do I transport a walker?

klwatts — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 05:39:09 -0800

How do I strap a walker to the top of a Pontiac Sunfire for a long distance trip? I'm taking my parents to Nova Scotia for the week and my Mom requires the use of a walker. The walker is too big to fit in my trunk so the only option is to put it on the roof - but I've never done this before. Any help or suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks!

Home repair referrals in Minneapolis please.

Juicylicious — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:56:53 -0800

I need a referral to a plumber in Minneapolis who can do a good job replacing my 1930 toilet. Also need a roof repair, sidewalk, and tree removal. I'm home on leave and as usual I find my home in disrepair after two years away.

I own a 1930 tudor duplex with the original bathroom fixtures and tile (both wall and floor). It has the old wall-mounted toilet tank, which has a hairline crack and is leaking. I am going to look for a replacement tank tomorrow. If I cannot find one, I will have to replace the entire toilet. After doing some preliminary internet research it appears that plumbing has changed quite a bit in the last 80 years and any replacing can damage walls, floors and aesthetics.

I need a recommendation for an experienced Minneapolis/St. Paul plumber who can either replace the tank or install a new toilet and not turn my bathroom into a disaster zone.

My roof also sustained some damage due from the recent tornadoes. The insurer says the damage is not enough to exceed the deductible. Still it has to be repaired in spots. I need an honest roof person.

I have to put in a sidewalk around my house, going from the front steps around through the backyard to the garage. I was thinking of those poured concrete pieces that look like stones. It is a job that I am not prepared to do on my own.

And lastly, there is a large tree on the property line in front of my house that is beginning to grow into my wrought iron fence. It must be removed. I hold no hope of the owner of the other property taking care of the problem.

All of this has to be done in the next four weeks before I deploy once again for another year.

Who's at fault for a fallen tree?

MaryDellamorte — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:59:19 -0800

Fallen tree filter: Who's responsible and does home owner's insurance factor in? My boyfriend woke up this morning to a fallen tree from a neighbor's yard on his garage. It put a hole in the roof and took down some power lines. No one I know has had any experience with this sort of thing so I was wondering if anyone else has? Is it the neighbor's responsibly to have it removed? Will their home owner's insurance cover this? We're at a total loss of who to call and what to do, thanks! Oh and we're in Virginia if that matters.

Is it OK (consequence-free) for my condo association to delay all roof shingle replacements until January?

amtho — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:28:30 -0800

Is it OK (consequence-free) for my condo association to delay all roof shingle replacements until January? We're heading into hurricane / big wet storm season here in North Carolina, and I just found out that our condo association, in order to build up our cash reserves after some heavy spending, has decided that only certain repairs (safety issues, condo sales inspections) will be performed until the next fiscal year begins in January.

I don't care too much about my one shingle falling off, but knowing the extent of the damage that a leaky roof caused to my condo _before_ and not wanting to see that happen to several people through the community -- and thus being, as part of the collective, responsible for those expensive potential repairs -- I'm worried about this as a policy.

I just talked to a board member who seemed to feel that roof shingles weren't that big a deal, and that even under normal circumstances, a single shingle might not be replaced right away. But the roofs here are such that shingles fall off occasionally, and so I'd really like to know what the risks are here.

I realize that there's a "membrane" under the shingles, then the plywood of the roof under that, so obviously water's not going to be dripping in any time soon - but I don't want my or my neighbor's wooden roof framing to rot, I don't want additional damage if a very strong storm does come along, and I'm not sure whether the (perhaps low) risk of these things happening would outweigh the "reward" of merely delaying these repairs for five months.

Does anyone know how worried I should be?

If you think I should be worried, I'd love to have some data-like facty sources to bring to the next board meeting.

Recommend a roofer

chrisroberts — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:11:59 -0800

I need a new roof. Can you recommend a roofer? I'm in the market for a new roof before the rains get here. Can you recommend a roofer? So far, I have only gotten one quote that seemed extremely overpriced. I have a call into the roofer that did our old house, but we may be too far away now. So, do you have any recommendations or warnings for roofers in the area?

Location: NE of Salem, Oregon

Blue and red roofs in Beijing?

molecicco — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 07:45:41 -0800

Look at GoogleMaps over Beijing. About a quarter of the buildings have rooftops that are red or blue. And the color is really strong in comparison to everything else. Has the image been colored, or are they just painted? Either way... Why?

The House is a-Rockin'

Tube — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:09:41 -0800

Why are there big rocks on this roof? Though the paint on the building appears to be new, the strange roof texture has been there for years. The pitch of the roof is low, so I can't see what kind of material is under the rocks. I don't see any obvious asphalt or wood shingles, corrugated metal, fiberglass, or tiles.

A great deal of moss has accumulated between the stones. I assume this is unintentional, but I don't know for sure. I've driven by this building for years, and the roof has always been like this.

I wonder if tar paper was put down, then never finished with shingles. Perhaps the rocks were to prevent the tar paper from blowing away. Yet there seems to be an awful lot of rather large rocks; more than enough to simply hold tar paper down, I would think.

For what it's worth, this is a commercial building, not a residence.

This is the only roof like this I've ever seen. Is it simply an unusual style? Do the rocks serve a function I'm unfamiliar with?

Rack-ing my brain.

eschatfische — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:50:48 -0800

RoofRackFilter: in which the poster ignores all the good advice he received earlier, buys a used Volvo V70, and is confounded by the roof rack. So, I bought myself a rather high mileage 2001 Volvo V70 T5 on the cheap. So far, so good. Took it to a local mechanic, had a few things done, slapped on some new tires, and it's driving like a champ.

However, the roof rack appears to be an aftermarket custom roof-rack. I've scoured Google, and it looks like it not only isn't the Volvo OEM roof rack, but it also looks fundamentally unlike any other roof rack I've found on my searches. It didn't come with cross-bars or a cover, and I'd sort of like to grab some to both keep those screws from getting rustier, and also possibly haul our bikes somewhere.

I'd love to know what kind of bars I'd need to mount things; a reference to the manufacturer and model, a link to somewhere with crossbars or instructions, or just an explanation of how this works.

Thanks!

How noisy are metal roofs?

jrossi4r — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:59:28 -0800

Just how noisy is rain on a metal roof if you're not underneath it? We're thinking about putting a metal roof on our small barn, but I've heard that they can be very noisy in the rain. It's at the bottom of our property and we don't spend a lot of time in there, so that's not really a problem for us. My concern, however, is that the sound may be annoying to our neighbor. There's about half an acre between the barn and her house with a hedgerow between. There are two large trees that hang over the barn--I'm not sure if that would help or hurt the noise level.

Do you live near a house/barn/shed with a metal roof? If so, just how bad is the noise? Would we be crappy neighbors to go with metal instead of shingles? Any advice or opinions on metal vs. shingles would also be appreciated. Thanks!

Help my pups poop in the clouds!

iknowizbirfmark — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 10:30:15 -0800

I want to build a dog run on a flat (well, 1% or so) modified bitumen (I think) roof. What materials should I use? (The roof has high parapets, and there will be an enclosure around the run, so don't worry about dog or person safety.)

I definitely want to keep moisture away from the roof as much as possible and allow for air to circulate under the plywood/cedar chips. What materials should I use, and in what order? I want the top to be wood chips, probably cedar. What should I put immediately under the cedar? And what should be the base of the whole structure?

I was thinking, from the roof up, some sort of moisture-sealing sheet, then frame of pressure-treated 2x4s, another moisture barrier, then plywood base resting on that (the plywood will be about 2 inches off the surface of the roof), then landscaping fabric, then cedar chips. I feel like the plywood and 2X4s will rot pretty fast, though. Should I try to use something synthetic instead?

I have also thought about using some sort of patio-type bricks, but I don't want to use any heavy material, and I'm having trouble finding non-stone patio materials. Something like this might be useful as a base, although I want the top surface of the run to be wood or cedar chips.

I've googled extensively, but none of the links address dog runs AND modified bitumen roofs.

Cause of palate pain when eating

hungrysquirrels — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:08:32 -0800

Pain in the roof of the mouth when eating, often the first meal of the day. My Google-fu has failed. Just unanswered questions. Anyway, sometimes when I have a meal, usually the first of the day, the roof of my mouth starts to burn to the point where I have to stop eating.

Usually it is dry things like a bagel before eating or drinking something else, but right now I'm having some veggies that were cooked in olive oil and it's doing it again.

Anyone know what triggers this? Or at least a soothing remedy.

What are the metal blocky things on roofs?

Sully — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:46:30 -0800

What are those blocky, meta-encased things on top of buildings? Hi. I was on the train today and we are slightly elevated, and I'm passing all these buildings, and I can see their roofs. There are some things that are obvious. For example, there are those vents, that come up, curve around and have an opening. I can only assume they curve around so as to keep rain and snow out. But what are they venting?

But then I see these grey metal things that look like very large boxes. Sometimes there are two of them. Sometimes three. What are they? And how come some roofs have two and others, three? What purpose do they serve?

Thanks to you all.

Napalm is right out.

Netzapper — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:43:49 -0800

What do I do about the rats living in my roof? Without leaving decomposing rat corpses above my ceiling? There's a gap between the roof of my house and the joists and ceiling below it. Since we live in the Pacific NorthWet, I assume that this is to mitigate moisture/mold issues.

But, some rats have chewed through the mesh that covers the gap. And now a whole family of them lives in there, scurrying around and keeping us awake at night. They feed off of my compost heap, but even when there's no food available they still use my house as a home base.

I want them gone. But, I don't want any corpses rotting up there. This rules out poison, as I'd have no control of where they died. The space is too small to put my cats up there. I've considered building an armed robot, but I suspect that the joists will render a wheeled vehicle useless. If I just block off the hole, I'm certain to be trapping live rats inside who will either a) die of starvation and rot; or b) chew another hole elsewhere to escape.

At this point, the best plan I've come up with is to fill my paintball gun with hard rubber riot control balls and lay in wait for them to either emerge or attempt to enter. In the times when I sleep, I would block up the hole. (Mind you, I know that air rifle pellets would be more humane, but I don't want a zillion little holes in my eaves.)

I suppose non-lethal measures would be acceptable. But, my primate territorialism is demanding rat blood.

Perhaps the secret service will recruit ceiling cat next...

grapefruitmoon — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:37:02 -0800

West Wing Filter: What's that dude doing walking on the roof? I just started watching The West Wing on DVD. I know, I'm about a zillion years behind. I'd watched a few seasons before, but with the AWESOMENESS of the Obama administration, I've gone all nerdy and started reading about politics for the first time ever, which of course meant that I absolutely had to RIGHT NOW start watching TV dramas about politics. That is to say: PLZ NO SPOILERS. Not that I anticipate any, but y'know.

ANYHOW. The actual substance of my question is very simple. In season 1, there is what I assume to be stock footage of the White House that clearly shows a man walking along the roof. Is he Secret Service? Checking for snipers? Is this standard procedure?

(Any other tidbits about security related weirdness also appreciated.)

New Roof

Lylo — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:40:28 -0800

FLAT ROOF tear-off/replacement question: What is the difference between using HOT tar versus WARM tar? Also, if a roof needs replacement, how cold can the outdoor temperature be before it is inadvisable to do a roof tear-off job? (Is November or December in Chicago a bad time to do this job?, we would like to do it before it snows)

Hurricane IKE bought be a new roof. Help me pick one out.

JPowers — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:14:51 -0800

Hurricane IKE bought me a new roof. Help me pick one out. I live in Houston, Texas. Hurricane IKE did a number on my roof. My insurance company has given me $14k to buy a new one.

I know nothing about buying a roof. Only thing I know is that roof companies can be quite shady.

1) What's the best way to find a roofing company? Obviously a flip through the Yellow Pages would work, but are they any websites that list the most reputable companies? Also, if you know the area, any suggestions on specific companies to consider would be great?

2) 20- or 30-year shingles? Seems to me that 20-year would be the best route to go (since it's the cheapest). We only plan on living in this house for another five years or so, which means someone buying the house would still have 15 years of "good roof" left.

3) Type of material. I don't want the cheapest -- I don't want the most expensive. Any suggestions on material? Do roofing companies often try to up-sell you on fancy material you don't need?

4) What's a reasonable price to pay for a new roof on a 2,200 square-foot house in the suburbs of Houston?

And of course, if you have any general advice beyond the scope of the above, please feel free to sound off.

Is there any way to keep the plants on my roof without violating any laws/codes in Brooklyn?

staveitoff123 — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:23:18 -0800

I have 15 medium-sized vegetable plants on my roof in Brooklyn, which is easily accessed via stairs (i.e. not through a hatch in the roof). The roof has been treated with that silver paint stuff and is surrounded by a metal railing. My landlord originally asked me to remove the plants for a "fire safety" inspection. I removed them but put them back the following day after the inspection. Today (several weeks later) I received a letter from my landlord stating that I had to permanently remove the plants because he received a violation for "illegally occupying the roof deck." I really don't want to get rid of my plants! Is there any way to keep them on my roof without technically violating any laws/codes??

How green is my roof?

gingerbeer — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 21:58:11 -0800

What are the best options for replacing our asphalt shingle roof with something equally long-lasting but greener? We need to put a new roof on our house. The default option is asphalt shingles (replacing the current ones with new ones). I'd love to have something slightly greener or less petroleum based if possible. The roofing company is willing to install other roof types if we choose what we want.

Standing seam metal roofing (my preference) has already been vetoed as too expensive. So we're looking for something greener than asphalt shingles, less expensive than standing seam, and no heavier than asphalt (no tiles or slate). Longevity is also an important criteria for us - a 30-year or better guarantee.

This is for an Edwardian era building in San Francisco, CA (i.e. no snow or ice, lots of wind and rain) with a standard peaked roof. Most houses in the neighborhood have some variety of asphalt shingles. We're interested in potentially putting solar panels on at some point in the future, but probably can't afford both a new roof and solar panels, and the new roof comes first.

So, what are my options? In particular, if you have installed something other than asphalt shingles, what did you use and why? Are you happy with it? How did the cost compare to asphalt? Has anyone out there used the recycled rubber shingles?

Should we get a foam roof?

Wolfie — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:29:21 -0800

Should we get a foam roof? We're buying a house that has an old tar and gravel roof that needs replacing. We've got a quote for something called a modified bitumen roof but I keep hearing about foam roofs.
They are supposed to last the lifetime of the house and add a lot of insulation value. Anyone have any experience? Can you recommend a good contractor in the SF Bay area?

accident involving lots and lots of soot-like dust and my bedroom...

krautland — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 12:01:04 -0800

accident involving lots and lots of soot-like dust and my bedroom... my landlady has a bunch of guys converting the loftspace below her roof into a proper attic she can store items in. one of them broke through the floor and into my bedroom below. we're talking a big hole here - he actually landed in my bed.

the whole room is covered in 2cm of soot-like fine black dust. it went into all the cupboards and closets. all my clothes are severly blackened. it looks sort of what you'd imagine the inside of a chimney to be like and the stuff it itchy and makes me cough.

if you have dealt with this kind of problem before, would you mind giving me some basic info on what to do? I'm not talking financial issues here, obviously that needs to be worked out but my questions at this point are more basic:

how do I clean that kind of mess thoroughly?
are all my clothes ruined or can I get that stuff out?
is this something dangerous beyond just a hassle or nothing to be too worried about?
I'm also not sure what to ask her to do before I go back and sleep in there again. the mattress is covered, the sheets are ruined, do we need professionals to clean this or how do I do it?

one more thing on the soot: I washed my hands four times now and I still feel it all over them. this stuff does not go away easily.

Small ones up top, Big ones down below.

bdc34 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:26:44 -0800

There are some buildings at a Cornell Univeristy with slate shingles. The shingles towards the top, near the peak of the roof are about half the size of the ones along lower part. Why? Is this common? My main question is if this variation in size is for asthetics or for a function? Or it based on some ancent slate shingling tradition?

How to get on rooftops in cities? (especially Portland, OR)

nnevvinn — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:39:58 -0800

I'm looking for a knowledge base about how to get on rooftops in big cities. I live in Portland, OR, so Portland buildings are of the most immediate interest to me, but I'd be interested in any city.

Questions about metal porch roofs.

librarianamy — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:02:23 -0800

I have some questions about the metal roofs on our porches. We have, as is common in our region, metal roofs on our front and back porches. (This is a photo of a house in our neighborhood, but not our house. Same kind of roof though.) They are in good enough condition in that they keep the rain and snow off of us, but cosmetically they're in need of some help. So I've got three questions.

1) What the heck are these roofs called? I am ashamed as a librarian that I can't find any information online about them. Are they considered awnings or roofs? Are they aluminum? In my searching I've found similar stand alone items to cover car ports, flat ones that are rippled and look like fiberglass, fabric "sun catcher" ones, and much smaller versions that only cover windows. But for the life of me, I can't find anything like this from a vendor online. FWIW, we're Angie's List members, and I've searched there as well. Is there a specific name for them that if I knew it, would open up a whole new part of the internet?

2) If you have had one of these replaced, what was the rough cost to replace it? I feel like I can't get a good idea from the little information that I've found online to get a rough estimate - most of the awning companies require registering with their website and a salesperson would contact you (and due to my inept searching, even those vendors I've found the small window ones, not porch ones). Basically before I go to a contractor, I need to know if this is a project that is thousands of dollars, or a couple hundred. (Clearly, I have no idea but don't want to register anywhere. I'm not ready for a hard sell.)

3) I have seen similar but smaller ones in our area that have been painted. I think this might be a good temporary band-aid to my issues (especially since we're repainting shutters and doors this year) but my husband is dubious. What advice would you have as to painting a metal roof on a porch, presumably in late spring/early summer in Western PA? Particularly, my husband's issue is that he doesn't think it would support his weight, and the one over our back porch is large enough that we wouldn't be able to reach the middle otherwise.

Thank you for your help. I truly feel like I'm grasping at straws here, and it's frustrating...