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Gerry Wagoner Posted: Nov 29, 2009 02:24 PM	Spraying roofs properly. We recently quoted a project at 80k +/-. 1.5" Foam and polyurea topcoat over a metal roof. Another "contractor" came along and offered a bid for about 40k for essentially the same system. Whoa..?? We went on to other projects. 4-Weeks ago I received an email from the owner of the building. Could I "please come down here and take over this project", because he had fired Mr. low-ball. My foreman & I drove to the building to see for ourselves, because we were told that the foam "didn't look very good". I was not prepared for what we found. It was the ugliest foam roof that I have seen in 26-years (and I HAVE SEEN some doozies). Findings: 1) Foam was .5" - 1.2" in depth (supposed to be 1.5". 2) There were off-ratio bursts all over the roof. Never do that. Stop. Fix or replace the equipment and spray on ratio. Iso-rich foam occasionally cracked as we walked over it. That'll make a nice roof... 3) The lowballer had foamed in the 4x4's under and AC unit. Made them part of the roof. Big No-no. 4) The low baller sprayed between the roof ribs as if they were studs on much of the area !! Words fail me... 5) The sloppy foam had created hundreds of small ponds on a roof that had previously drained well. 6) Removal of the foam will be costly. 7) Low-baller had left the roof foam sunburn for 3-weeks with no coating. 8) Lowballer sprayed the HVAC condensate lines into the roof, and in two cases left bare metal roof under the hump. That will leak where it crosses a lap. Summary - the whole roof looked like it had been sprayed with a cold off-ratio froth-pak. We completed the roof properly, and left the crap foam on the roof for now (almost 90 squares). We are putting together a flyer with pictures that illustrate what John Ruskin said in the 18th century. "It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything because the thing that you bought is incapable of doing what you bought it to do." One lowballer can do this industry more damage than Firestone ever could. regards, oG
Melvin Chandler Posted: Dec 09, 2009 09:58 PM	We see it every day. Metal, Shingles, EPDM, TPO, PVC. Then the money is tight after they've paid some goof to screw it up.
Gerry Wagoner Posted: Dec 16, 2009 04:58 PM	True. Just keep doing quality work - it will pay off. oG

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Comments

Gerry Wagoner

Posted: Nov 29, 2009 02:24 PM

Spraying roofs properly.

We recently quoted a project at 80k +/-. 1.5" Foam and polyurea topcoat over a metal roof. Another "contractor" came along and offered a bid for about 40k for essentially the same system. Whoa..?? We went on to other projects.

4-Weeks ago I received an email from the owner of the building. Could I "please come down here and take over this project", because he had fired Mr. low-ball.

My foreman & I drove to the building to see for ourselves, because we were told that the foam "didn't look very good". I was not prepared for what we found. It was the ugliest foam roof that I have seen in 26-years (and I HAVE SEEN some doozies).

Findings:
1) Foam was .5" - 1.2" in depth (supposed to be 1.5".
2) There were off-ratio bursts all over the roof. Never do that. Stop. Fix or replace the equipment and spray on ratio. Iso-rich foam occasionally cracked as we walked over it. That'll make a nice roof...

3) The lowballer had foamed in the 4x4's under and AC unit. Made them part of the roof. Big No-no.
4) The low baller sprayed between the roof ribs as if they were studs on much of the area !! Words fail me...
5) The sloppy foam had created hundreds of small ponds on a roof that had previously drained well.
6) Removal of the foam will be costly.
7) Low-baller had left the roof foam sunburn for 3-weeks with no coating.
8) Lowballer sprayed the HVAC condensate lines into the roof, and in two cases left bare metal roof under the hump. That will leak where it crosses a lap.
Summary - the whole roof looked like it had been sprayed with a cold off-ratio froth-pak.

We completed the roof properly, and left the crap foam on the roof for now (almost 90 squares).

We are putting together a flyer with pictures that illustrate what John Ruskin said in the 18th century. "It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything because the thing that you bought is incapable of doing what you bought it to do."

One lowballer can do this industry more damage than Firestone ever could.

regards,

oG

Melvin Chandler

Posted: Dec 09, 2009 09:58 PM

We see it every day. Metal, Shingles, EPDM, TPO, PVC. Then the money is tight after they've paid some goof to screw it up.

Gerry Wagoner

Posted: Dec 16, 2009 04:58 PM

True. Just keep doing quality work - it will pay off.

oG

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