"On the roof it's peaceful as can be, and there the world below can't bother me" (Up on the Roof, by the Drifters)
Posted by Wade Goldthwait at 10/5/2009 9:26 AM 
Categories: General
Tags: Roof and deck restoration Sani-Tred Fiberglass repair
Categories: General
Tags: Roof and deck restoration Sani-Tred Fiberglass repair
Holy Moly!!! I can't believe it has been 114 days since my last post.
Where did the summer go?
I played golf twice and I think I took maybe 6 little boat rides down the river in our Carolina Skiff.
My most memorable ride is the one I took with my Dad and Maxine our German Shepherd. Dad's bladder cancer treatments came to and end this late spring after a 12 day regime of radiation. It really left him quite weak and he decided that he was through with treating the disease and he just wanted to let nature take its course. He did regain enough strength to agree to take a boat ride so Maxine and I got him down the hill and into the boat and off we went. This was July 6th.
This is a little video of some of the sights that day. It's hard to steer the boat and shoot video at the same time so it's real short.
We had a great day but in the weeks to come his energy decreased and his pain increased so we decided to see if we could get Hospice care for him. In the meantime my brother Marshall and I took turns staying with him as we were nervous that he might fall or leave a stove burner on and burn his house down.
The hospice people did a wonderful job getting his pain under control and he recovered enough so that in September Marshall & I were able to get a few weekends off from his caretaking and get some work done on our various projects. I decided to tackle the main roof of the "Must Be Nice".
The Main Roof / Deck Restoration begins....
The main roof is going to become a primary deck space for us as I am adding a flybridge with a second helm. Even though I beefed up the roof stringers below when I rebuilt the ceiling, the 1/2" plywood with fiberglass decking was not as stiff as I would like it to be and I decided that I would add another layer of plywood right over the existing roof to stiffen it up. The fiberglass guys suggested I use 3/4" Tongue & Groove plywood and then fiberglass over that with a final layer of non-skid gelcoat. His cost just to fiberglass (with no gelcoat) the plywood if I installed it was going to be $2400.00 so I decided to see if I could find an alternative.
I found a company called Sani-tred that offers a marine deck coating that can applied directly to new plywood surface. My thought was that if this lived up to it's claims, I could get a nice long lasting deck treatment in less time and at less cost.
I ordered a sample pack and did some tests and was very impressed with the system. The coating is extremely flexible and completely waterproof so I decided to go with this product.
Here's a picture of the roof with the new 1/2" plywood going down. I snapped chalk lines to mark the location of the stringers and to orient the plywood and then I used the nail gun with coated ring nails to fasten the plywood down. I also used abundant "liquid nails" on the underside of the plywood. I decided to go with 1/2" plywood instead of the 3/4" T&G because the system requires that you rout out a channel where any sheets butt against each other.
This next shot shows the roof / deck with all the plywood down and the 1st Coat of PermaFlex applied.
If you notice, there is a 1/2" gap between the sheets. According to the installation instructions if you fill this gap with the LRB (Liquid Rubber Base) it will allow you to get a smooth transition from sheet to sheet. If you butt the sheets together they recommend you rout out a groove for the LRB so I just chose to leave a gap to save the routing step.
Once the plywood was all applied the next step was to prime the whole surface. It is amazing how this product soaks into the plywood. My understanding is that the more surface penetration of any coating the better the adhesion and waterproofing. This product absolutely works its way into the subsurface of the plywood. It is not just drying on the surface.
The next step was to fill the gaps and nail holes and to fill the edges to blend down to the old deck.
This next picture shows the edge filled so that there is now a wedge of LRB along the perimeter that is probably 1" wide. You can also notice the nail holes are also filled on the top surface.
Here's another picture below of the filled surface. The LRB is similar to Fiberglass Bondo filler in its consistency but it doesn't have the fiberglass smell and when it dries it is flexible. This roof / deck is going to move and flex depending on how many people are up there and how hard we are dancing so having a waterproof coating that is durable and flexible is the ideal combination.
I did find that the LRB mixture shrinks more than I thought it would so when I do the lower decks I will apply more product so that the cured mixture will be more even with the top of the plywood. I applied a second coating of the LRB on the gaps between the plywood you see above because as you can see in the picture above, the mixture shrunk and there is a bit of a hollow at the gaps.
The next step is to apply another coat of PermaFlex and spread the rubber granules in the wet coating to give us a comfortable non-skid surface. Having done this type of a paint treatment before using Silica Sand instead of rubber granules, I knew that the challenge is to keep a wet edge of product ahead of area that you cover with the granules. I decided to buy a new 1 gallon paint can and drill a bunch of holes is the top so that when the can was turned over a controlled flow of granules would come out. It took some experimentation but I finally ended up with 3/8" diameter holes so that I could get a decent flow. I then gaff taped the can to a stick holder made of 1" x 2" pine. The overall length of the holder was probably 5'.
The next picture below shows my Roller Bucket and Paint Roller and the Granule dispenser at the rear of the roof and as you look forward you see the wet white PermaFlex coating and then ahead of that is the area of roof that already has the granules spread. The roof is roughly 240 square feet and I bought 50 lbs of granules. I wish I had bought another 10 - 15 lbs because I did have to lighten up at the end of the roof as I was running out.
Below is a picture of the roof with all the granules spread.
Once the coating dries you can sweep and vacuum the granules that are not embedded in the PermaFlex.
I used a combination of broom, vacuum and leaf blower to get the loose granules up.
We had some wet weather come in so it was a few days before I had a chance to put on the final coats. Even though the temps were in the low to mid sixties I was assured that I would be able to apply both coats in one day by a company spokesperson.
The final steps are to apply a coating of the LRB at a rate of 60 sq ft per gallon and once that has dried tack free apply the PermaFlex top coating at the rate of 240 sq ft per gallon.
I had to mask around the perimeter of the roof so by the time I started applying the LRB flood coat it was probably 10AM and the temp was probably 65 degrees. It took me over an hour and a half to get the whole roof coated so I grabbed some lunch and made a quick run to town for a couple of roller covers and when I got back the roof had set up enough so that I could start applying the topcoat.
I finished the topcoat around 4 PM and at 9:30 PM that night we got a downpour like you read about and it rained hard for a couple of hours. I didn't have the courage to go out in the rain to look at the roof so I tried to sleep and when I got up the next day I went out to the boat and this is what I found.
It was beautiful !!!
I can't get over it. The way that rain came down I was sure I was going to have a puddle of PermaFlex on the ground but it must have cured enough by the time it rained to hold its own. I think I will put one more coat of the PermaFlex on next spring as I noticed a couple of thin spots and it will fill in the non-skid texture a little more so it won't be quite as pronounced. Since the granules are rubber the feel of the deck with bare feet is really comfortable.
How the coating holds up over the winter and in the coming years will be the true test of this system but from everything I have seen thus far, I am a big big fan of Sani-tred.
The cost of the roof system coatings and granules with shipping was $1400.00. So in terms of cost I am way ahead of the game. In the future if I need to repair or recoat an area the coating bonds to itself.
The product website says the following.
"When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof, it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me
Let me tell you now
When I come home feelin' tired and beat
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet (up on the roof)
I get away from the hustling crowd
And all that rat-race noise down in the street (up on the roof)
On the roof, the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let's go up on the roof (up on the roof)"
Hang to the riggins my friends.
Wado
Where did the summer go?
I played golf twice and I think I took maybe 6 little boat rides down the river in our Carolina Skiff.
My most memorable ride is the one I took with my Dad and Maxine our German Shepherd. Dad's bladder cancer treatments came to and end this late spring after a 12 day regime of radiation. It really left him quite weak and he decided that he was through with treating the disease and he just wanted to let nature take its course. He did regain enough strength to agree to take a boat ride so Maxine and I got him down the hill and into the boat and off we went. This was July 6th.
This is a little video of some of the sights that day. It's hard to steer the boat and shoot video at the same time so it's real short.
We had a great day but in the weeks to come his energy decreased and his pain increased so we decided to see if we could get Hospice care for him. In the meantime my brother Marshall and I took turns staying with him as we were nervous that he might fall or leave a stove burner on and burn his house down.
The hospice people did a wonderful job getting his pain under control and he recovered enough so that in September Marshall & I were able to get a few weekends off from his caretaking and get some work done on our various projects. I decided to tackle the main roof of the "Must Be Nice".
The Main Roof / Deck Restoration begins....
The main roof is going to become a primary deck space for us as I am adding a flybridge with a second helm. Even though I beefed up the roof stringers below when I rebuilt the ceiling, the 1/2" plywood with fiberglass decking was not as stiff as I would like it to be and I decided that I would add another layer of plywood right over the existing roof to stiffen it up. The fiberglass guys suggested I use 3/4" Tongue & Groove plywood and then fiberglass over that with a final layer of non-skid gelcoat. His cost just to fiberglass (with no gelcoat) the plywood if I installed it was going to be $2400.00 so I decided to see if I could find an alternative.
I found a company called Sani-tred that offers a marine deck coating that can applied directly to new plywood surface. My thought was that if this lived up to it's claims, I could get a nice long lasting deck treatment in less time and at less cost.
I ordered a sample pack and did some tests and was very impressed with the system. The coating is extremely flexible and completely waterproof so I decided to go with this product.
Here's a picture of the roof with the new 1/2" plywood going down. I snapped chalk lines to mark the location of the stringers and to orient the plywood and then I used the nail gun with coated ring nails to fasten the plywood down. I also used abundant "liquid nails" on the underside of the plywood. I decided to go with 1/2" plywood instead of the 3/4" T&G because the system requires that you rout out a channel where any sheets butt against each other.
This next shot shows the roof / deck with all the plywood down and the 1st Coat of PermaFlex applied.
If you notice, there is a 1/2" gap between the sheets. According to the installation instructions if you fill this gap with the LRB (Liquid Rubber Base) it will allow you to get a smooth transition from sheet to sheet. If you butt the sheets together they recommend you rout out a groove for the LRB so I just chose to leave a gap to save the routing step.
Once the plywood was all applied the next step was to prime the whole surface. It is amazing how this product soaks into the plywood. My understanding is that the more surface penetration of any coating the better the adhesion and waterproofing. This product absolutely works its way into the subsurface of the plywood. It is not just drying on the surface.
The next step was to fill the gaps and nail holes and to fill the edges to blend down to the old deck.
This next picture shows the edge filled so that there is now a wedge of LRB along the perimeter that is probably 1" wide. You can also notice the nail holes are also filled on the top surface.
Here's another picture below of the filled surface. The LRB is similar to Fiberglass Bondo filler in its consistency but it doesn't have the fiberglass smell and when it dries it is flexible. This roof / deck is going to move and flex depending on how many people are up there and how hard we are dancing so having a waterproof coating that is durable and flexible is the ideal combination.
I did find that the LRB mixture shrinks more than I thought it would so when I do the lower decks I will apply more product so that the cured mixture will be more even with the top of the plywood. I applied a second coating of the LRB on the gaps between the plywood you see above because as you can see in the picture above, the mixture shrunk and there is a bit of a hollow at the gaps.
The next step is to apply another coat of PermaFlex and spread the rubber granules in the wet coating to give us a comfortable non-skid surface. Having done this type of a paint treatment before using Silica Sand instead of rubber granules, I knew that the challenge is to keep a wet edge of product ahead of area that you cover with the granules. I decided to buy a new 1 gallon paint can and drill a bunch of holes is the top so that when the can was turned over a controlled flow of granules would come out. It took some experimentation but I finally ended up with 3/8" diameter holes so that I could get a decent flow. I then gaff taped the can to a stick holder made of 1" x 2" pine. The overall length of the holder was probably 5'.
The next picture below shows my Roller Bucket and Paint Roller and the Granule dispenser at the rear of the roof and as you look forward you see the wet white PermaFlex coating and then ahead of that is the area of roof that already has the granules spread. The roof is roughly 240 square feet and I bought 50 lbs of granules. I wish I had bought another 10 - 15 lbs because I did have to lighten up at the end of the roof as I was running out.
Below is a picture of the roof with all the granules spread.
Once the coating dries you can sweep and vacuum the granules that are not embedded in the PermaFlex.
I used a combination of broom, vacuum and leaf blower to get the loose granules up.
We had some wet weather come in so it was a few days before I had a chance to put on the final coats. Even though the temps were in the low to mid sixties I was assured that I would be able to apply both coats in one day by a company spokesperson.
The final steps are to apply a coating of the LRB at a rate of 60 sq ft per gallon and once that has dried tack free apply the PermaFlex top coating at the rate of 240 sq ft per gallon.
I had to mask around the perimeter of the roof so by the time I started applying the LRB flood coat it was probably 10AM and the temp was probably 65 degrees. It took me over an hour and a half to get the whole roof coated so I grabbed some lunch and made a quick run to town for a couple of roller covers and when I got back the roof had set up enough so that I could start applying the topcoat.
I finished the topcoat around 4 PM and at 9:30 PM that night we got a downpour like you read about and it rained hard for a couple of hours. I didn't have the courage to go out in the rain to look at the roof so I tried to sleep and when I got up the next day I went out to the boat and this is what I found.
It was beautiful !!!
I can't get over it. The way that rain came down I was sure I was going to have a puddle of PermaFlex on the ground but it must have cured enough by the time it rained to hold its own. I think I will put one more coat of the PermaFlex on next spring as I noticed a couple of thin spots and it will fill in the non-skid texture a little more so it won't be quite as pronounced. Since the granules are rubber the feel of the deck with bare feet is really comfortable.
How the coating holds up over the winter and in the coming years will be the true test of this system but from everything I have seen thus far, I am a big big fan of Sani-tred.
The cost of the roof system coatings and granules with shipping was $1400.00. So in terms of cost I am way ahead of the game. In the future if I need to repair or recoat an area the coating bonds to itself.
The product website says the following.
- Molecularly bonds/welds to itself, new-to-old, at any stage of curing or age with proper surface preparation.
- Permanent Elongation® - PermaFlex will never become harder orbrittle with age and will maintain its flexibility indefinitely.
- ElongationMemory® - When PermaFlex is drastically stretched and released italways returns to the original shape and size preventing distortion ofthe original shape and size
- Extremely durable with 2,030 psi tensile strength.
- Incredible strength Shore Hardness of A 85.
- Amazing 590% elongation.
"When this old world starts getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space
On the roof, it's peaceful as can be
And there the world below can't bother me
Let me tell you now
When I come home feelin' tired and beat
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet (up on the roof)
I get away from the hustling crowd
And all that rat-race noise down in the street (up on the roof)
On the roof, the only place I know
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let's go up on the roof (up on the roof)"
Hang to the riggins my friends.
Wado
Wado
I just watched your little video down the river with your Dad and Maxine. Aren't you lucky to have that little bit of footage- and Goldy looks so relaxed and peaceful. I haven't been on that water and it looks so beautiful.
You have had a tough summer and I am sure you missed working on the boat - but you will be able to get a lot done next year - after the procedure today - you will be back to normal soon. Keeping my fingers crossed and saying a prayer for you. I love this story you are telling and the journey you are taking us all on.
Get well and have a Merry Christmas. Love, Jody - the sister wife
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