Florida Roofing
Looking forward to the Tile Roof Institute Fall Forum Lisa and I visited Florida to learn more about tile roof installation techniques and challenges faced by roofing contractors in Florida. The wind speeds and rain volumes challenging Florida contractors are the most extreme in the country and necessitate that Florida roofing contractors are on the cutting edge of technology and innovation.
During the 2 weeks prior to our visit central Florida received over 20" of rain. To put that in perspective Seattle, rainy, rain capital of the country Seattle, averages 39" of rain per year. Seattle's wettest 4 months from November 1st to the end of February average just over 20" of precipitation. In two weeks central Florida's roofing handled the same volume of water a Seattle roof faces over the entire winter.
The cloud above the Hyatt is not smoke but a virtual water balloon ready to break. The wall of rain is moving in from the right side of the picture.
John Campbell from
Roof Component Solutions (RCS) planned a day for us to tour his supply house, visit several jobsites and then end the day with a
roofing contractors association meeting
Metal, Vents and Foam
RCS specializes in tile. They stock accessories many suppliers consider special order. They have every type of flashing including aluminum for coastal installations, integrated vents for all profiles and supplies for adhesive foam installations.
RCS delivers all tiles and stocks products for mechanically attached and foam installations. In addition to the niche tile product marketing specialization, John Campbell readily shares his years of experience to help his customers take their tile business to the next level.
This job in Orlando has ribbed valley flashing, hip and ridge metal "nailer" and MLT Tile Seal self adhering underlayment. The ridge metal has perforations along the top allowing trim tile to be attached with foam (no fasteners needed) that penetrate the perforation and locks the tile in place. The Trim Lock metal ridge system is mechanically fastened to the deck every 6".
System 4 in the FRSA manual addresses adhesive applications. In a System 4 B application the underlayment is sealed and a single flashing is integrated into the underlayment. A
sight that will drive "non-Florida" roofers crazy, this J vent and other penetrations allow water to run under the tile on
a sealed underlayment system all the way to the gutter. Intentionally allowing water onto the underlayment goes against all of my experience but the installers assure me the sealed underlayment and flashing system, done properly, is a good installation.
In the first video clip, the applicator from Kirkey Roofing applies foam to the previous row of tile. The nose of the next row will be adhered to the previous row. In the second clip, the installer comes back squirting the foam paddie that will connect the upper corner of the tile to the sealed underlayment which is thoroughly adhered to the deck. In the third clip, the tile are set into the foam.
Of course if the tile are attached to the underlayment, and the underlayment is attached to the framing, the framing has to stay attached to the home. The truss plate and ties are an indication of the forces systems in Florida must be ready to handle.
The Tile Roof Institute (TRI) Moderate Climate Manual and the FRSA/TRI will be updated in the coming months. In November 2009 there will be an Installer Certification Training in Orlando, Florida. The updates and changes will be included in this training.
Thank you to the FRSA, Kirkey Roofing and especially John Campbell for their help and hospitality during our visit. We look forward to returning in November. If you would like to attend the training at the Fall Forum send me a note at
JensenRoofing@msn.com or John Campbell at
John@roofcomponentsolutions.com or visit the Tile Roof Institute at
www.tileroofing.org .