BUR - "Built up
Roofs"
How Does Our
Process Work?
* Flash
all penetrations, pitch pockets and mechanical curbs
* Properly
seal the drains
* Duct
work & mechanical equipment flashed properly
* Flash
metal cap and coping stones
* Flash
parapets correctly
* Properly
clean roof - remove ballast & apply mechanical fasteners as needed
* Re-roof
with seamless membrane system custom made on your roof
* Supply
up to a 15-year true labor and material warrantee
View Completed Projects
(coming soon)
History of Built-Up Roofs
Coal tar
built-up roofs were invented in Pittsburgh during the 1850's. The roofs
originally used felts made from paper, rag, hessian and other commonly
available fibers that were then saturated with coal tar. Coal tar, at
that time, was a by-product produced during the conversion of coal into
coke for steel production and the extraction of coal gas from coal for
street lighting. Coal tar and rag felts continued in use until the
1930's, when refined asphalt arrived as a by-product from the refining
of crude oil into gasoline. Rare, naturally occurring asphalt had been
used since Babylonian times for waterproofing such famous historical
structures as the Hanging Gardens in Babylon, the Pharohs' Tombs in
ancient Egypt, and Moses' basket of reeds on the Nile. Widely available
asphalt and rag felts gained in popularity over coal tar during the
1940's, 50's and 60's, a time in which gasoline consumption leaped and
U.S. population growth fueled numerous building booms.
The
asphalt industry was changed forever in 1973 when, in response to the
oil crisis in the Middle East, refineries were required to extract more
petroleum from crude oil. This resulted in inferior petroleum products,
and asphalt exhibited a loss in stability and flexibility. By the end of
the 1980's, rag felts had been replaced with fiberglass felts, and most
coal tar was eliminated by environmental regulations covering hot kettle
fumes. Safety regulations for hot asphalt and the incorporation of
synthetic rubber and other polymers into asphalt further changed the
nature of what is commonly referred to as a "tar roof" or a
"tar and gravel roof."
