Tar Pitch Roof

Roofing tar will also protect your roof from wind and from snow and water which can collect on a flat roof.

Tar pitch roof.

Roofing tar is a good choice for a flat roof as this kind of material is highly resistant to the ultraviolet rays from the sun. A waterproofing material used since the beginning of time coal tar pitch is a superior and sustainable raw material that is ideal for use within a roofing membrane system. Construction definition coal tar pitch roofing. History of coal tar roof systems.

Coal tar pitch is produced by distilling or heat treating coal tar which is a by product of the production of coke or coal gas. Application tools such as melting kettles mops and mop carts needed to be dedicated to either pitch or asphalt. Coal tar pitch was a by product of processing coal to make coke which in turn was used in making carbon steel and electrodes for the aluminum industry. Built up roofs or burs also called a tar and gravel roof is a well established and popular style of flat roof that is made up of alternating layers of roofing felt or fiberglass and asphalt that is applied with heat which combine to make a long lasting sturdy roofing system.

It is the only roofing material permitted by the international building code to be applied to slopes below 1 4 in 12. It is solid for all practical purposes at room temperature. It is used as a base for coatings and paint in roofing and paving and as a binder in asphalt products. Pros and cons of roofing tar.

Historically coal tar pitch was used as a component on the first sealed roads has served as a heating element and was used to manufacture paints synthetic dyes and photographic materials. It is typically limited to applications on dead level or flat roofs with slopes of 1 4 in 12 or less. Coal tar pitch is a thick black liquid that remains after the distillation of coal tar. New coal tar pitch roof installations however are extremely rare.

Over a fairly short period of time the tar on your roof is going to begin to dry and crack. The code allows its use on roofs with slopes as low as 1 8 in 12. Built up roofing in which coal tar pitch forms the waterproofing component of the roof membrane. These cracks will now open up your roof to the same leak you had originally only now you have an additional problem.

Both coal tar and coal tar pitch contain many chemical compounds including carcinogens such as benzene.