LESLIE: Paul in Alaska is on the line with a roofing question. What can we do for you?
PAUL: I have a 45-year-old, built-up roof and it was the age of the house. And it needs to be replaced. And so I’m looking at one of three options: the EPDM, which is the .06-inch rubber, if we can have – I guess have recovery board under it. And then there’s two torch-down options: one is APP and one is SBS. Now, I’m told the SBS – there’s one contractor that actually offers that and he says that it’s less susceptible to cracking, so it lasts longer. And we have about 100-degree swing in temperatures here in Anchorage: between about 80-above to maybe minus-20. But the SBS can be torch-down, cold or MOP. And of course, the APP, I guess, is just basically torch-down but …
TOM: OK. Well, first things first. In terms of the flat roof, torch-down roofs or the EPDM roofs, I think, would be my choice in those environments. And what really makes the difference with these flat-roof installations is simply the workmanship, because there’s just no tolerance for errors. If you’re putting in a sloped roof – and you can be a little sloppy with your assembly of the roofing shingles, for example, and they’re pretty forgiving and usually don’t leak. The flat roof? If you get it wrong, you’re going to have a mess on your hands.
So, I would make sure that the contractor is very experienced with flat-roof installation and then let them work with the product that they’re going to be willing to back up.
PAUL: Thank you very much.
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