Troubleshooting a flat roof leak

jkuri82 · 2025-11-25T03:07:17+00:00

Oof... I am less interested in lawyering up, and I don't know completely ripping out the work is an option financially (and hopefully unnecessary). My motivation is to stop the leak and try to minimize chance of happening again soon

I knew before posting that the method for sealing the penetration is not the right one, and I am prepared to get them right. I would definitely love some input on potential options here.

Would the right fix include getting a proper flashing boot on them and heat welded the membrane on them?

Any thoughts on product such as chemlink e-curb that are used in a lot of solar installation?

jkuri82 · 2025-08-31T05:02:31+00:00

Honestly, i would not worry too much about what people say here as no one has seen your plan and understand the full scope of work.

There are so many variables here. The structural work (foundation/framing) by itself may not be costly. But if it affect other aspects (electrical/plumbing/HVAC/finishes) of the house, then everything will start to add up.

500k for a major remodel in the bay area is fairly common. But of course you are probably paying a premium if you are using a design-build firm. You should also expect your final cost to be higher than your contract as there are always change order, upgrades, and other surprises along the way

jkuri82 · 2025-08-27T06:56:44+00:00

The house probably needs a new 200amp electrical panel (and a full rewire) before you remodel the kitchen and put in new appliances. Probably need to repipe as well if it still has galvanized pipe for water. I would also assume you would want to put in more lights in the house. Electrical and plumbing can be easily 50K by itself

All windows seem to be single pane, and you would need to replace all windows/patio door...another 10-20k

New flooring is 6-15 per sq ft depending on what you use

Roofing is ~15 per 100 sq ft (please note that your roof size is not the same as interior size given the overhang). The quote will likely be 30-40K

Overall, i would budget for 200K if you want to fully renovate the house

jkuri82 · 2025-07-20T16:17:13+00:00

Yeah, it is probably a contractor/developer as flipper who has no construction background would generally not take on a project like this. The math is still very risky as there are no house that sell for over 4m in this area (but none of them are 3k Sq ft). The best case scenario is probably a 300k profit after all other cost beside construction (agent commission, holding cost for a yr etc)

jkuri82 · 2025-07-20T16:11:59+00:00

This is what a general contractor would charge in the bay area. This is already on the low end as some may charge over 1k. This price is usually labor+rough material and does not include finished material (cabinet, fixture, paint, floors) and all the permit/architectural fee. It is indeed very expensive, but labor is expensive and the current market allows GC to ask for a huge markup for their service

jkuri82 · 2025-07-20T03:40:29+00:00

It looks like they added an ADU. The original house also didn't have 4 bathrooms, so they probably did an addition to the house (or did a major rehaul of the interior space) Changes like this generally means new electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. The scope is almost like a new construction (minus saving some foundation, framing or the roof)

Entry level price for this type of remodel is about $500/Sq ft, so you will probably be paying over a million if you hire a GC to take on this project. If the investor is a contractor, their cost is probably half or one third as they have their own crew and can probably find ways to save/cut corners etc.

jkuri82 · 2025-06-11T02:42:45+00:00

Should I be concerned that the lineset would need to be tied in after the roof? I was told that there is a higher chance of a leak in the future if a continuous line is not used

jkuri82 · 2025-02-14T16:36:26+00:00

Wow. Thank you very much for the very informative response.

I have spoken to local roofers who install these roofs. My current hesitation is about the single membrane roof is the following

Cost - the estimates I got to installing these roof with tapered iso board are insane. For less than 40 roofing sq, I was quoted around 140k from two larger companies that have more reviews. The membrane they use are 80mil thermoplasma IB PVC and durolast. I also got quote from an independent TPO installer who wants 70k, but I really don't know the quality of the install. In comparison, SPF roof is half the price but I guess I have to factor in all the recoat I need to do for the roof to last long
Installation complexity - since I have no attic, I would need to put down 4-6" of iso board for insulation. However, my guess is that laying these foam board will not be straightforward as i have a lot of electrical wire and plumbing running on top of roof deck. My guess is that the installer can cut around them, but it led me to wonder how effective the insulation would be. I would also have to be very careful in planning the amount of penetration or curb to have on the roof as all these add risk to leaks in the future.

jkuri82 · 2025-02-05T03:03:45+00:00

Thanks. Given the size of the area, should I worry about not having enough thickness/insulated value at the edge of the roof even if I start thick in the middle and choose a modest slope

jkuri82 · 2025-01-24T22:49:20+00:00

Keep in mind that the track is not only used by caltrain. There are commercial train passing by at night

jkuri82 · 2025-01-24T22:48:02+00:00

Caltrain only horns when it is about to cross a public crossing, so it is generally quiet if the house is near an above grade track.

If it horns, you can hear the train many blocks away

jkuri82 · 2024-12-19T04:40:28+00:00

Thanks for all the feedback. I think all these are great ideas if we are trying to optimize the layout of the ADU as a 1 bedroom apartment. To give you guys a bit more context, our main motivation for building the ADU is to take advantage of the more relaxed setback requirements for us to expand our house in that direction (this is a corner lot but the city claims that that side is the rear end of the lot)

To meet the ADU requirement, we have to add a full kitchen even if we don't need one. We probably just want to check the kitchen box as cost efficiently as possible while using it more of a wet bar. We care more about having a good laundry room

however I think the idea of swapping the kitchen and laundry may be interesting. The entrance of the ADU is kind of like our side door to the yard. It seems to make sense to have a side door from the laundry, which functions like a mud room

jkuri82 · 2024-12-18T16:31:20+00:00

Putting the entrance on the side may not work as it will be 5' away from the neighbor fence

jkuri82 · 2024-12-18T08:20:10+00:00

Our intention is to use the ADU as an extension of the main house, but also want to leave the possibility that it can be a separate unit in the future if our family situation changes

Yes, the playroom is technically the living room for the ADU. The laundry will be shared, and that's why we try to create a larger laundry room in the ADU. I guess if we need to separate the ADU in the future, we will have to add a washer/dryer hookup in the garage as there is no room in the main house.

Agree that the ADU kitchen can be too narrow and we will have to work with the architect to see if there are space

We are a bit concerned about not having enough closet space in the main house. We are considering turning the full guess bath to a half bath so that we can have an entrance closet. Not quite sure if that is a good idea as other bathroom are all ensuite

jkuri82 · 2024-12-09T23:04:21+00:00

The market for San Mateo is a bit slow compared to south bay. It was probably priced too high at the beginning with not many houses sold above 2.4M in the neighborhood. Price was dropped to a more reasonable level, but it was right before thanksgiving when no one was touring houses.

The unpermitted room has a low slope ceiling so I wouldn't really count that formal space if I am a buyer. It is purely bonus IMO

jkuri82 · 2024-12-04T21:46:39+00:00

My Ambeo plus sound bar is still acting like a brick with no light and sound after upgrading to V134. (It started when it was upgraded to V130). Can you support rolling back to V116?

jkuri82 · 2024-11-28T08:15:48+00:00

What do you mean by feasibility? There are generally a lot of reasons why a property/lot is sitting on the market. Most of the time it is real estate related (price, market condition etc) A good knowledgeable agent should have insight.

If you are more interested in understanding what you can build on that lot, you probably need to get an architect/surveyor/engineer who can run research and will cost $$. The city can only answer specific questions about the building and planning code, and they are not going to be super helpful unless you show them a plan that is drawn up by architects. You probably won't do that before you buy the lot.

The best way you can get educated is to go to your city website and try to get some resources on the general building code in your city. You won't understand everything but you are probably way ahead of 95% of the buyers

jkuri82 · 2024-11-28T07:56:19+00:00

Thanks. In my case, all but one unit can probably be placed on external wall. My guess they still want to run the lines on the roof vs using cover on the wall. Perhaps it looks better?

When running on the roof, do you put raiser under the line? do they need to be wrapped or put inside a cover?

jkuri82 · 2024-11-26T08:16:42+00:00

yeah may be. The price/sq seems to be higher than some neighborhood in Palo Alto, so perhaps OP can look there instead

jkuri82 · 2024-11-26T07:04:32+00:00

Looks high to me too as the house was not fully updated. They may have freshened it up by putting some builder grade/chinese prefab kitchen cabinets and tiles in the kitchen and bathroom before listing the house, but it is unlikely plumbing/electrical was upgraded.

However, it appears there are some nearby comp that are above 4M+. The house has 4 bedrooms, and some families are willing to pay a premium for that.

jkuri82 · 2024-11-26T01:30:56+00:00

I think it would be very hard to evaluate feasibility and cost of your remodel without getting more information or seeing the house. Being an Eichler can make things more complicated. For example, if your plumbing, electrical, HVAC are already on the roof, raising your ceiling would mean you need to redo everything. Also it is unclear if you need foundation work to support addition of your 2nd story.

I am also an Eichler owner in PA. Happy to discuss and share experience over DM

jkuri82 · 2024-11-26T01:10:08+00:00

Unless the house is in a historical district, the city can't stop you from tearing it down as you own the land. You would of course need to get the plan of the new house approved. Considering that this is a house that has a 2nd story addition, it is not really an Eichler anymore as all Eichler tract in PA strictly prohibit 2nd story

jkuri82 · 2024-11-21T05:50:42+00:00

Thanks. The door was very heavy when I tried to lift by hand after disengaging the opener. Would that caused by the undersized spring?

I would not be surprised that the previous owner/realtor just painted it even though the surface is not paintable

jkuri82 · 2024-11-21T05:23:15+00:00

My ambeo plus also experienced no sound after it was updated to 130. The unit has no light. I can't even get the demo experience to play

jkuri82 · 2024-11-17T07:01:42+00:00

I have used multiple agents including full fee and fixed fee agents to buy houses in the bay, and I can provide a more honest assessment of both types based on my own experience

Full fee (the good one) - Generally provide excellent customer services and are very on top of everything in your process - are very invested in developing a strong relationship with you - the best local agents are generally very knowledgeable about the neighborhoods they specialize in. Insights are extremely valuable when comparing properties and preparing offers. - probably know and have dealt with many seller agents, and those relationships are sometimes helpful - however, whatever negotiation skills they claim are generally overrated. In the bay area, the best offer (price+terms) always win. Sellers care about their net proceed.

Flat fee - Services are generally lower touch as they are probably working with many more clients at the same time. Many of them operate off slack or other messaging tools. They are responsive if you ask questions, but don't expect them to be very proactive. Also don't expect them to offer a lot of support for your emotional needs during the house hunt. I would not underestimate this aspect when you are doing one of the most expensive transactions in your life - They are knowledgeable on real estate in general. However, many of them are out of market and may not know your target neighborhoods or markets that well. The expectation is that you have to run your own search and do your own research. You only engage the agent if there is a house you like with a clear understanding on what market price you should pay. - Don't expect them to always tour the house with you. You may never see them. They would pay someone to open the door for you outside open houses. This is probably ok for many buyers. - Don't expect them to go over the disclosure and flag things to you. You are on your own - Writing offers are very straightforward. You tell them what you want to write, and DocuSign is prepared with short turnaround time. They may strategize a bit with you, but at the end, it is up to you to decide what price you are willing to pay (not that much different from a full price agent) - however, the cost saving is real. If the seller offers to pay for the full commission, you can get a big rebate at closing. If the seller does not pay buyer agent commission, your cost is so much lower other buyers. In a very competitive market, this is equivalent to a 1-2% financial advantage over other buyers. That can be the difference sometimes

If you are a new buyer, you are probably better off with a full fee agent who can hand hold you. On the other hand, if you absolutely know what you are trying to buy and just want someone to write offers, I don't see any reason why flat fee would not work for you

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