Good point on testing scraps first... learned that the hard way myself. Ever had a membrane weld fine one day, then the next day—same settings, same weather—it just wouldn't bond properly? Drives me nuts sometimes figuring out what's off.
Had exactly that happen last month—same membrane batch, same machine settings, even checked the nozzle and rollers twice. Welded perfect one day, next morning it just wouldn't grab properly. Took me half the day to realize my extension cord was longer than usual, dropping voltage just enough to mess things up. Sometimes it's the little things that drive you crazy...
"Sometimes it's the little things that drive you crazy..."
Man, isn't that the truth? Had a similar issue once inspecting a remodel—kept getting weird voltage drops on my tester. Turned out someone had plugged in a space heater on the same circuit downstairs. Took forever to figure out. Glad you caught it though, bet you'll never overlook extension cords again...
"Glad you caught it though, bet you'll never overlook extension cords again..."
Haha, yep, those sneaky extension cords will get ya every time. Reminds me of a roof inspection I did last summer—kept seeing weird bubbling on the TPO seams. Turns out the crew had their welder set way too hot, practically cooking the membrane. Usually around 1000°F is plenty; anything hotter and you're asking for trouble. Little details, big headaches...
Yeah, I learned the hard way that hotter definitely isn't always better. When we had our roof done last year, I noticed the crew kept adjusting their welder settings constantly. I asked them about it, and they said even weather conditions—like wind or humidity—can mess with how hot you need to set it. Didn't realize how sensitive TPO was until then. Makes sense though, since you're basically melting plastic sheets together.
Now I'm wondering, is there a quick way to tell if the seams were welded at the right temp without waiting for bubbling or other issues to show up later? Seems like it'd save a lot of headaches down the road...
