EPDM or Torch Down??

Mike H Said: JSC,

As I used it, in its context, I meant that most men simply dont have the total package of personal character, love and committment to build a business, maintain a marriage, raise a family, successfully holding it all together, and manage to pass it on to children that had the same exceptional characteristics that enabled him to pull it all off.

But it could be applied to anyone, anywhere. Not just a business owner/founder.

---That is well said. The bigger the company the more the requirements. My oldest son worked for me for 7 years. I thought he might take my company. One day he says, "Dad, I am quitting and going into the computer field. I am tired of roofing." I always told him, "Stay in school or you'll end up a roofer like me." (oddly I have a master's degree but I like to roof...) Today he works for the federal gov't as a computer tech and he loves his job. Roofing isn't for everyone. One of my former roofers is an architect who just got his masters degree from Yale. I expected it as he always did emaculate work. Lanny Lanny>>>

Vaa......... I notice when you post and people disagree you start quoting others and trying to send people to www.look here to help my point.com I mentioned "new" to u because you quoted "seam splice". Any real roofing company probably will use atleast 50% less black glue. And in fact 100 % less black glue on seams. That lead me to believe you being a torchaholic had not used the TAPE. If you had you would not be saying you could flash a pipe or curb on a torch roof as fast as a rubber roof. Really dont c y ur gettin so upset and making negative remarks toward people. Gettin a little defensive i c. Maybe sit back and read other posts and u can learn a NEW thing or two.>>>

...for pete's sake............enough already.............>>>

All I can say: Any employee that has passed thru my business on their way to something better, I am glad you stopped for a while and I hoped I helped. OTOH, I can count who've gone on to better things on 1 hand. In my opinon.

I am the Best @ hiring the WORST :S

I agree w/ MikeH, I think. I don't know that there is an easy dollar to be made in roofing. Regardless of your position>>>

Thanks for the reply, Mike. I had to read the original post two or three times to halfway get your meaning right, and was still left with those questions. :)>>>

One thing that I know for sure..... If I was recently appointed a top poobah by some organization who's major financial input came from a roofing system that involved a system made with cocao leave and KY jelly, then I better had never be caught publicly promoting anything but the cocoa/ky system. If I want to move up in that same organization...I most likely would have to devote my career to the well doings of cocaoKY.

As we all know, and have read in here lately..sometimes the ease of maintenance in the epdm re-roofing projects is best served when working in the loose laid systems....which I believe, when fully ballasted, are a fine system. When you start gluing .040 to moist recovery board using an army of unskilled laborers whose sole goal is to put down as much as possible in a day, then the drying times, application consistency issues, and applications of all the fixins, there should be no question about what caused these systems to fail....

If you adhere the best products to the best substrates using the best adhesives under ideal weather conditions, most likely you will have a long lasting roof. But go into the hurry-up offense of winter install when your work time is reduced to 10am to 2 pm....and temps go from 23 degrees to - 15, in an hour, and then go up to 110 in the summer, then your going to have a real mess. Cut corners on application products, mixed with inexperienced installation people and techniques, then your doomed to failure. If you operate on a "hope the roof outlasts the warranty" attitude, then I don't know how you can sleep at night, but if you use quality products, proven techniques, and experienced mechanics, then you can rest easy. To have a legacy of high production/ low service calls/ and superior results is a goal we should all strive for. To take a legacy for excellence in T&G roofing and hope to carry it into a new product/ service line without total dedication to the new line isn't to your best interest. We mostly all agree that T&G roofing is and was the best ever, but with the introduction of numerous alternative systems, and the follow up maintenance that ends up on our shoulders as an industry in general, we still have to understand, and deal with it.

So maybe the original question here should be...what would be your second choice as the better roofing system to install for speed, quality, and profit, if T&G roofing was not an option. >>>

As good as many of them were/are, I wouldn't want a BUR on my own building today. We sold the tankers around 25 years ago and never looked back. The kettle is lucky to get used once a year. When I consider that our first Fibertite roof in 1981, and every single one since, is still on that building and aside from the careless hvac contractor and occassional cold weld, they've never had a problem. No re-stripped seams, no shrinkage, no bridged wall flashings, no splits, ............... honestly no problems at all, my first or second choice in a roof wouldn't be a BUR or EPDM unless it was given to me for free.>>>