K-man,

Interestingly, when I was doing some research prior to restoring the United
Church on the Green Steeple in New Haven, I read Building Committee minutes
from many churches in our area.  Most of the restorations were done because
of fires started by painters.  Does anyone else have any empirical
information to share on this subject?   Also, could not find any
evidence/data to support the notion that buildings with lightning protection
are safer than those without.  http://www.lightning.org/?page=home

Best,

Leland

 

From: The listserv where the buildings do the talking
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gabriel
Orgrease
Sent: Thursday, June 05, 2008 7:09 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [BP] A firefighter surveys damage Monday from the weekend blaze
at Univer...

 

Leland Torrence wrote: 

K-man,

I think a cold applied SBS is an excellent compromise.  Doing torch downs on
large flat roofs with new insulation panels or fiber board is a different
deal than historic buildings with lots of flat to low slope to steep roof
detailing.

Best,

LT

LT,

I am not in disagreement with you. I think there is something to say to a
difference of magnitude of exaggeration of human tendencies in the NYC
environment in relation to almost anywhere else. There is also a particular
way in which the roofing industry works, in and of itself, and that process
is not set up to separate out or even recognize historic structures. There
is then a very large resource of flat roofs of various sizes in the NYC
environment... a somewhat more varied mix of sizes of flat roofs than say in
Westchester or Long Island. A workforce builds up that specializes in
torch-down roof systems. The manufacturers/suppliers of these systems put a
lot of energy into their service and marketing. The huge resource of
capacity lowers the overall cost for a roof with a 20-30 year durability. In
the mean time cold applied catches up, slowly. The cold applied systems have
not been as durable as the torch-down, least ways the manufacturers less
willing to give comparable warranties, and there is not the large
semi-skilled workforce trained to apply them properly. There are certainly
alternatives but the costs of alternatives can be prohibitive in the minds
of property owners. Keep in mind that the manufacturers of roofing systems
are more interested in commanding market share and profits than they are in
historic structures. Then there is always the element that if one knows how
to use a system then one wants to use it for everything. Once you have a
crew of say 6 mechanics that can blow away a torch-down without having to
chase them... but they can't figure out a fully adhered EPDM... or that
really kool fluid applied stuff STINKS and the mechanics and the building
tenants complain that you are giving them cancer... well, once you get a
crew with a system that works the tendency is to try to get a return on the
investment (tendency? more like intense pressure to get a return before the
system explodes). In the midst of this a whole lot of historic buildings get
torch-down... it can be as simple as a church with a slate roof that has a
small 5' x 8' flat roofed alcove... and that one area can be enough to burn
the church down. I know because I know who did it and it wasn't me.

Like I said previously,  don't want to play with torch-down roofs any more.
Been there, done that, bored, can't handle losing any more sleep than I
already have to deal with. But I have access to mechanics who are excellent
and conscientious and have never burned down an historic building and who
beg me to find them torch-down work... they are a bit frustrated with me
that I turn them a deaf ear and smile a lot. I tell them, no, here, learn
this.

][<en

-- 
Orgrease-Crankbait <http://orgrease-crankbait.blogspot.com/>  Video, audio,
writings, words, spoken word, dialogs, graphic collage and the art of
fiction in language and literature.

 

-- To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html 


--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://listserv.icors.org/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>