Shouting tips from the rooftop

By Dani Sheehan. 

Join guests in the field when you watch this webinar on demand and gain valuable insights to save stress and labor on your next roof restoration project. 

In this unique episode of CoatingsTalk, Heidi J. Ellsworth doesn’t just talk about roofing; she gets up on the roof with John Athanasion and Mike Negrete from APOC to learn real-time, practical advice straight from the field. They shared insights in English and in Spanish that can’t be fully captured in a traditional classroom setting while walking on an active roof restoration project. 

Right out of the hatch they paused to remind old-timers and teach new roofers the importance of safety guidelines. Naturally, you want to invest in a good pair of work boots for the job and have your hard hat and safety vest before you begin. John continued, “The first thing you got to think about is when you get up on the roof, especially when the sun's out, it's going to be very bright. If you're on a TPO or a coated roof, it's very white. You're going to be snow blinded, you should have a good pair of glasses. Naturally, your first step out of the hatch, ladder, whatever, it may be slippery. You should have some kind of granulated surface, walk pad or something.” 

Identifying the type of roofing system you are walking onto is equally important to help you better prepare for the project at hand. John provided an in-depth look at the specific setup of this roof: “This is the metal structure here. They have the metal decking and then they would have a three-inch ISO board on top of that and then they came back with a hot built-up roof on top of that, which would be a granulated cap sheet.” 

Proper testing can then confirm the type of restoration needed and keep you safe during the project. Mike explained, “We also have the moisture testing, or we have cord cutting equipment that you need. And when you do that, try to do it on the highest surface so you can be safe. You can patch that area. So that's the two points that you have to look at before you decide what kind of system you can put down.” 

John reaffirms this point, sharing, “It's very important to do a core test on these things to determine if you have one, two or three layers on them before you actually determine what system you're going to use.” 

Read the transcript, Listen to the podcast or Watch the webinar to follow John and Mike on their examination of this active roof restoration project.