Is this a mechanically seamed standing seam? Can you send me photos? todd@asktoddmiller.com I assume the ceilings are in and completed? Are you seeing a build up of ice on the eaves of the buildings?
Todd Miller
2014-02-07 15:03:58.000000
Thanks. I look forward to seeing the photos. They should be helpful.
Todd Miller
2014-02-08 06:38:59.000000
I have a 100 year old building that I put a metal roof on. We initially called out a metal roofing contractor because we need to have a metal roof put on the gabled roof at the front of our building. This as required for historic reasons since metal was put up there originally. He convinced us that a metal roof on the main portion of the roof would be ideal and we had him install it.
The primary roof is a 80'x40' area with low slope (I don't know the exact slope, but it's not flat, but the slope isn't huge). The roofing system that was installed was a folded standing seam metal roof. The underlayment was a synthetic roofing paper I bought from a local roofing supply company. This wall all placed on top of brand new OSB decking (I don't remember the thickness off the top of my head). The entire roof is enclosed in a parapet wall. There is a diverter at the low point that directs water into the two scuppers/downspouts.
Through the summer and fall, this roof worked like a champ. There were a couple of minor leaks at first, but these were tracked down quickly and fixed. After a couple of very heavy rains here, we decided we were happy with the roof....Then winter came.
We've had quite a bit of water come in the building now. We had the roofer come out and look at it. The first time he came out, he said it may have been ice damming, so he soldered the primary seam in the valley shut. For a little while, this seemed to work. Then we started seeing water again. This time, the roofer asked permission to tear out drywall and insulation to look for the problem. After three days of tearing up the corner rooms on both floors of my building, he finally came to me and said 'Condensation'.
He believes the insulation we used is inappropriate. We used open cell foam insulation sprayed on the underside of our decking and on the outer walls of the attic. He said this insulation was allowing heat to get to the roof and cause condensation.
My insulation guy on the other hand insists that everything is fine with the product he used and the way he used it. He feels the problem is/was/continues to be ice damming. He points out that the water only appears in the corner rooms right under the scuppers. He said if it was condensation, we would see leaks throughout the entire area.
I'm at my wits end. I have 6 condos that are close to completion, but I can't show them to anybody until after I get this water problem taken care of and everything cleaned back up again.
If anybody can shed any light on what to look for or even what questions to ask, I would appreciate it a lot!
Christopher Congdon
2014-02-07 14:53:04.000000
I'm not sure what constitutes a mechanically folded standing seam....but I can tell you the guys putting the roof on laid out long rolls of flat metal on the roof and used hand tools to bend up the edges and then fold the seams over a couple of times.
The ceilings are in and completed.
There aren't eaves really. There is a perimeter parapet wall around the main roof. The scuppers do keep filling up with ice. When I get home tonight, I should have some photos from this past summer that I can send you.