Residential Roofing and Re-roofing Thoughts (Part Three)

Introduction

There are several elements you should know that are important when thinking about getting either a new roof or re-roofing your existing home. In part three of this three-part series, I will discuss Lifetime Tool® & Building Products Roof System Components. Part one describes Roofing Materials and Color Options. Part two provides Tips for Hiring a Roofing Professional. The goal of these articles is to help you develop a trouble-free, low maintenance roof.

Part Three – Lifetime Tool® & Building Products Roof System Components

Photo courtesy of Greater Purpose Construction LLC

Here’s a short intro into our product line, all of which are Made in America. Let’s start with the fact that all roofs have plumbing vent stacks sticking out for the intake of air so that sinks drain and toilets flush. These pipes (usually PVC) have always been the source for the number one roof leak. Why do they all seem to leak? The reason is actually very simple, for years the industry has opted for how cheap and how fast products and materials can be installed, not how long they’re going to last.

It’s almost a guarantee that you’ll get the industry standard pipe flashing on your roof, this is an honest explanation for why pipe flashings are the number one roof leak!

Failed pipe flashings can cause significant damage to your home, who doesn’t know someone that noticed the telltale stain on a ceiling or floor, or maybe this has even happened to you. The drywall and paint repairs are bad enough but what can be even more damaging is when that leak is hidden in a wall cavity, now that can cause untold damage to the wooden structure of your home. Also, these types of repairs can very expensive, and so can be the replacement of the failed pipe flashing.

Ultimate Pipe Flashing® by Lifetime Tool®

Lifetime Tool® addressed the failed pipe flashing problem with two years of design effort, material research and prototyping (more than 30). When the product was completed and thru testing, we named it the “Ultimate Pipe Flashing®” or the (UPF) for short. Each component element was researched and rigorously tested time and time again. We started with premium Silicone, which just like sand, it’s made from Silica. “Silicone is virtually unaffected by weather-rain-snow, humidity, ozone or the suns damaging U/V rays” (Dow Corning). The “boot” is then crimped on to a 24gauge dark bronze Kynar® coated oversized galvanized plate. Its proprietary PVC compression collar keeps the seal around the vent pipe from ever relaxing, unlike the industry go-to standards. The UPF is also available in marine grade stainless steel (316L) as well as one for metal roofs, suitable for many standing seam metal profiles in 5 Kynar® colors and a primer for field/shop coating.

The “UPF” has passed every imaginable test effortlessly, including 110 mph wind driven rain. Another test ASTM E2140 is often displayed for days at trade shows in a duplex test vessel submerged in water with a lower air chamber for observation, our test procedure however increasing the submersion time by days. Additional tests results are on our website, all performed by Farabaugh Testing Laboratories,* an independent lab.

Ultimate Bath/Dryer Vent by Lifetime Tool®

We also make the very best patented Bath/Dryer vent for your roof that will last as long or longer than your roofing material. We laboratory tested ours along with four popular competing products, the Ultimate Bath/Dryer vent easily passed wind driven rain tests to 115 mph. How did the others do? Two of the most installed failed before the test reached 35mph, the other two before 70mph.*

Our SquareLock snow guard line for both double lock standing seam metal and our AP for Architectural panels (to a ½” width) are both the best available in their class. We also manufacture a proprietary line of products for retrofitting Cast Iron and Copper roof pipes to a black ASA Acrylic has exceptional color retention extruded over a PVC core for strength.

If you’d like to learn more about our products, please go to LifetimeTool.com.

*Independent laboratory testing by Farabaugh testing Laboratory

This is part three of a three-part article titled Residential Roofing and Re-roofing Thoughts, which provides tips to help you develop a trouble-free, low maintenance roof.

About the Author

My name is Roger Cline, and my company is Lifetime Tool® & Building Products LLC. We manufacture only premium roof system components for roofing professionals, architects, home and building owners that demand real quality and value.

A little bit about me, I have more than 25 years in technical roofing sheet metal experience, not selling but complex design and installation, primarily double lock standing seam and flat lock, some slate, and shingles. I’ve been in the industry twice that long and have developed many patented roofing products. Several have changed the way things are done and one, how nearly all things globally attach to a standing seam metal roof, especially for solar panels and snow fences.