Yeah, I hear you on the fire risk—I've been on jobs where even with all the right precautions, you just get nervous lighting up a torch that close to wood siding or old fascia. I’ve seen a few close calls, nothing catastrophic, but enough to make you double-check everything before firing up. The self-adhered stuff is definitely safer in that way, but I get what you mean about not knowing how it’ll hold up long-term, especially with our freeze-thaw cycles.
Have you looked at cold-applied systems at all? Some of my clients have gone that route and liked it, though it can be a bit pricier and messier to install. I’m curious if anyone here’s had luck with those in a climate like ours—sometimes it feels like every product has its own set of trade-offs. What’s your roof pitch like? I’ve noticed some of these membranes behave pretty differently on low-slope versus dead-flat.
sometimes it feels like every product has its own set of trade-offs.
That’s exactly how I feel. I went with a cold-applied system last fall (low-slope, not totally flat), and honestly, the mess was real. But I felt way less stressed about fire. Durability’s still a question mark for me, especially with our wild winters. So far, no leaks though.
Trade-offs is right... I’ve got a couple buildings with torch-down and every time someone mentions fire risk, my blood pressure goes up a notch. But then I remember the time we tried a cold-applied on one of the smaller roofs—sticky mess everywhere, and the crew looked like they’d wrestled a tar monster by the end. Still, I’ll take sticky over crispy any day. Winters here are brutal too, so I’m always crossing my fingers come spring thaw. No leaks yet, but I keep a mop handy just in case...
