CRITICAL TECH ALERT

Uncovering a Mysterious Sealant Failure Trend

First of a Series: Roof Penetration Flashing Incompatibility

Recently, Quality Built began to see a new trend: failure of sealants in contact with cast iron piping. This condition has been observed on roofs where jacks/boots terminations are sealed to the cast iron pipe. The sealant begins to peel away from the pipe substrate and appears to liquefy into a black, sticky ooze. The adhesive bond has deteriorated and has left the pipe termination and roof system vulnerable to water intrusion. This condition has been observed on several projects where differing roof and sealant products have been specified and installed. Each installation has one thing in common: sealant failure. At this point in time, the exact cause of failure is unknown; however, we are in the process of investigating the causation.

When we have determined a cause we will send out another Tech Alert. At that time, we will discuss our findings and make recommendations on how to avoid the condition and how to remedy the condition if it exists on one of your projects. In the meantime, if you have a project or projects which include cast iron pipes penetrating through a flat roof, or are dependent on a sealant joint, we recommend that you have them inspected. Older projects may be exempt from this issue and should be receiving regular maintenance inspections; therefore, you would be most concerned with projects where roofs have been installed within the last two years.

About the Author

Michael Sutton is a Level 4 Field Consultant and Technical Services Technician at Quality Built.

Michael has over 20 years of experience within the construction and building industry, with 12 years specializing in Construction Defect Litigation as Senior Construction Associate, Project Manager and Independent Consultant. Michael is a seasoned expert witness for construction defects, specializing in exterior and interior investigations and analysis for litigation of dispute resolution, contracts performance analysis and claims.

You can reach Michael at: [email protected]