What can I do when logged in?

You can submit new articles, so we can make unique versions of them and distribute them for you.
If you want to simply publish the same article on 800 websites, you can tell us to do that.
You can see the archive and current status of all your article distributions.
You can order any number of high-quality articles - just let us know your keywords.
You can browse the archive of all the articles we have written for you.
You can order our Complete Service (10 high-quality articles plus 10 article distributions).
You can purchase more credits for our services and check your affiliate earnings.
Much more ...

SpinDistribute.com Article Directory

The following article was published in our article directory on June 6, 2012.
Learn more about SpinDistribute Article Distribution System.

Pipe Flashing - From the Old to the New Ways

Article Category: Business

Author Name: Jason R Flynn

Roofs are meant to keep water and the weather in general out of commercial and residential buildings. Unfortunately, holes have to be pierced through the roof to allow essential roof penetrations such as vents and pipes meant to allow such necessities as electricity, water, gas, communication cables, etc. into the house. Naturally, every time a hole is punched through the roof, the integrity of the roof is compromised. Its function of sealing and protecting the interior of the building from the outside weather is put to the test. Pipe flashing is often applied to seal any gap created by plumbing pipes through the roof. They function to seal other and the elements from penetrating the house interiors. More often than not, improperly installed and poorly sealed roof penetrations are the main sources of leaks and heat loss! They allow moisture vapors to invade the attic where it condenses into liquid water due to the cooler temperature and subsequently saturates the insulation. Most of the time too, the situation is not perceived until it is too late and the damage is widespread.

Throughout the whole history of the roofing industry, roofers make do with whatever materials, resources, technology, methods and applications which are available at the time. Using various materials from wood, straw, and mud to tiles, shingles, and to today's highly sophisticated synthetic materials; roofers reflected the technological advancement and creativity of their various eras through the roofs they have built. However, roofing styles have remained largely dependent on the availability of materials in each region. For example, wood and metal are the more prevalent roofing materials used in the southern parts of the United States, while tiles are more widely used in the Southwest and wood coverings are mostly utilized in the Midwest.

Installing perfect fitting pipe flashing to seal roof penetrations has always been a challenge to builders and contractors. It has in fact become the source of their headache. (There are statistics showing that majority of the construction-related litigation cases involved leaking roofs.) Unlike in the early days where you'd only usually see chimneys protruding from roofs, today you will see several roof penetrations on a single roof which are there out of necessity. This has given roofers the nightmarish and tough job of keeping the weather out of the interior of the buildings in the presence of so many holes that have been punched through the roof.

Rolled lead was the first material used to seal roof joints and as pipe flashing in South Australia during the early days when it was still a colony of Britain. They came in rolled strips and were brought in from Britain where they have been used as flashing for roof joints as well as for pipe flashing. Today, you will still find plenty of castles in Europe with lead in their windows, in their roofs, and in their plumbing works just as you will find the same in old buildings in Australia. Lead in great supply at that time and its malleability and non corrosive properties make it a perfect material for sealing joints to prevent water from seeping in. Lead was popularly used for roof and pipe flashing almost anywhere and it soon became the standard in the industry for quite a long while. It was only in the 20th century that people became aware the poisonous effects of lead. From then on its use was limited.

Zinc flashing was also used as an alternative to lead to seal roof joints. It however failed to gain the same prominence as lead and its use was rather limited. Galvanized iron came into use as a roofing material in the1850's. It provided a cheaper alternative to lead and Zinc flashings and immediately gained acceptance and was widely used almost everywhere around the globe. Up to today galvanized iron is still used to seal roof penetrations. After the Second World War, galvanized steel came into the scene to replaced iron. Together with its derivative products Colourbond and ZincAlume, they soon became the preferred materials to seal roof joints as well as for flashing areas where roof and vertical structures such as walls, chimneys and vents meet.

Breakthroughs in research and technology in the 20th century saw the entry of asbestos and fiber cement which gave birth to molded flashings and cappings for use to seal roof penetrations and joints. Silicone sealants and other synthetic rubber products also came into use and quickly revolutionized the standards in the industry for efficiency and ease of application.

Keywords: pipe boot, pipe flashing, vent flashing

Learn more about SpinDistribute Article Distribution System. We also offer Professional Article Writing to everyone who's looking for high quality web content.

SpinDistribute.com Network

Each article you submit at SpinDistribute.com is sent through our innovative Article Distribution System to our network of more than 1840 publishers - about 55% of them are high-quality article directories, 30% of them are niche blogs and 15% of them are other content-rich websites.

To achieve the best possible success we only publish your article to most related websites. This means your article will show up on approximately 640 - 880 most related websites which will give you great SEO results.

We also offer a separate Professional Article Writing Service to everyone who's looking for high quality web content and well researched unique articles.