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Answer: All low slope roofs should be inspected at least twice per year and after any major storm. Look at the perimeters to determine if there is any loose metal or fasteners, the roof should not have loose membrane or fasteners that form tents. Pay particular attention to flashings around penetrations. Make sure they are tight and undamaged. Remove debris and ensure that all drains should be open. Note any changes from the past inspection, and if questions arise, consult the contractor that installed the roof or a Registered Roof Consultant. For more information on roofing maintenance you can purchase the SPRI/NRCA document Manual of Roof Inspection, Maintenance, and Emergency Repair for Existing Single Ply Roofing Systems from the National Roofing Contractors Association at www.nrca.net. Answer: Sheet membranes come in black and white and a large variety of standard or custom colors on request. You can find more detail on availability of colors by going to www.spri.org, clicking on "Our Members" and then clicking on a Member's web site. Answer: Most SPRI Members provide a variety of materials utilized for and in waterproof deck systems. You can get more information by going to www.spri.org, clicking on "Our Members" and following the links to the members of SPRI that supply membranes. Answer: Sheet membranes are rated in pounds per square foot of uplift resistance. Factory Mutual is one of the more widely recognized agencies that measure uplift pressure. Factory Mutual uplift pressures are reported from 60 pounds per square foot to 999 pounds per square foot uplift resistance (FM 1-60 to FM 1-999). You can get more detail on a specific products uplift resistance s by going to www.spri.org, clicking on "Our Members" and then click on a member's web site. Answer: Exposure categories or wind zones are described in the SPRI publication Wind Load Design Guide for Low Sloped Flexible Membrane Systems under G Building Location. This document is available for purchase from SPRI. A publication form is available at www.spri.org. The more detailed exposure category information is available from ASCE 7-98 which is produced by The American Society of Civil Engineers, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive, Reston VA 20191-4400. The information is also available in the International Building Codes and many other Code documents. "Simple" descriptions have been prepared for exposure categories as follows are: Answer: The re-use or re-cover of building products, including insulation, is typically an economic choice. Recent technology advances and product developments will not be present in previously installed products. The owner/owner's representative must compare these product "enhancements" to the economic advantages of re-using or re-covering the existing products. Individual manufacturers should be consulted regarding specific criteria for re-use and re-cover of existing building products. Insulation looses very little R-value after the first five years; therefore, older dry insulation is likely to maintain a significant portion of its original R-value. SPRI research has shown that damp insulation can dry to the interior of buildings if there are no barriers between the insulation and the building. (Typically, wet roofs on metal decks with no vapor barrier will dry, whereas insulation over concrete decks has no opportunity to dry to the interior.) Before re-covering over existing insulation, it is advisable to make core cuts to determine the characteristics of the existing system, primarily to determine if there is a vapor barrier in the system that would prevent drying. It is advisable to conduct moisture surveys to determine if wet insulation exists and where it is located. Most roofs will not be entirely wet. The wet insulation can be removed from areas where the system will not be able to dry, and be replaced with new insulation. Again, consult the individual manufacturer regarding specific criteria for reuse and re-cover of existing building products. Answer: SPRI offers generic guide specifications for installation of membranes on its CD-ROM, Flexible Membrane Roofing: A Professionals Guide to Specifications, which can be purchased from SPRI. A publication order form is available on our web site www.spri.org. Many of the SPRI membrane manufacturer members also have guide specifications for their products available on-line. You can connect with the manufacturers at www.spri.org and going to "Our Members" section. Click on the links to the manufacturers. Answer: There are several ways to find a contractor in your area. The first is the yellow pages of your telephone directory. You can check out the contractor with the Better Business Bureau. Many manufacturers have lists of contractors by area of the country. You can find the SPRI Member manufacturers lists by going to www.spri.org, clicking on "Our Members" and following the links to their web sites. You can also contact the National Roofing Contractors Association at www.nrca.net. Clicking on "Find a Contractor" will provide a list of contractors in your area that participate in the national organization. Answer: Due to the variety of conditions and circumstances that exist, no guarantee of length of life of any roofing product can be made. However, SPRI has represented successful sheet membrane manufacturer's for over 20 years. Quality roof membranes, properly installed and maintained are still performing today. Answer: Most suppliers of Modified Bitumen sheet membrane recommend the use of a mechanically attached base sheet over a wood deck. Consult the membrane supplier by going to www.spri.org and clicking on "Our Members" and following the links to the individual suppliers of modified bitumen membranes. Answer: ES-1 requires that fascia and copings be tested to RE-2 and RE-3 respectively. In both tests the load is applied to the metal that provides the surface to the wind. Therefore, these systems need to be tested as a complete assembly. Answer: Section 6.0 of the ES-1 standard states, "Edge details may be selected from manufacturers who certify certain minimum performance to meet design requirements, based upon testing. Other designs may be used, provided they are tested and certified by an independent testing laboratory to meet the wind and pullout resistance design standards in the ES-1 definition." It is the opinion of SPRI that a critical element in meeting a design standard is a fabricator's manufacturing capabilities. Therefore, ANSI/SPRI ES-1 testing should be performed on systems as manufactured by a given fabricator. Answer: All sizes and gauges do not need to be tested. The generally accepted position of those doing ES-1 testing is that a product has an equal resistance to that of a tested product if it is (all 5 must be met): Answer: It is SPRI’s opinion that because SPF is not a ballasted or mechanically attached system there is no need for a RE-1 test to be performed on edges used with SPF. However tests RE-2 and RE-3 are to determine the edge metal’s resistance to the calculated wind load regardless of the roof system. Therefore it is SPRI’s opinion that in order to meet ES-1 all perimeter edge metal for low slope roofs need to be tested according to either RE-2 or RE-3. |
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