So I was working on the Heart2Home project today, and pretty much tired of doing my official duties as volunteer coordinator. While parking my hiney on a chair is something I often do exceptionally well, today I was in the mood for something else.
What? Me Work?
The projects going on at the time were an addition for Presley's new room (more info about this room at www.heart2homefoundation.org), relocating the power to the home, and stripping off the tar & gravel roof. So I got up on the ladder and went after it. We peeled the roof off like an orange.
Now, I've never been a big fan of tar and gravel because it's one of the most uninspectable roofing types that there is. The whole thing can look great, but if a small area is not covered by the gravel, or somehow becomes exposed, you get cracking. Then you get leaking.
It Happened
The whole roof deck was a mine field of places you couldn't step. Soft deck here, very soft there. Scrambled eggs over there. Stripping off the tar was more than an adventure, because you had to pay lots of attention to where your feet where, and where you put them next. Finally a buddy of mine did it. He went through. No injuries gratefully - except a sizeable assault to his pride.
The Moral of the Story
But here's what I'm getting to. Tar and Gravel? Not Good. This roof had rotted for many years because water was getting in from everywhere. As I do inspections in the future, I plan to relate this story often. The surface may look OK, but there may be minute cracks. Even if they have been covered, there may have been minute cracks, and leaks, and rot, in the past.
Save Yourself from This Terror
If you can avoid tar and gravel on your sloped roof, by all means - do so. It would save me from having to deliver bad news to whoever wants to buy your home.
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