Coal Tar Pitch Roofing

The traditional coal tar built up roof is one of the most reliable and longest lasting low slope commercial flat roofing systems available.

Coal tar pitch roofing.

Coal tar pitch membranes using coal tar saturated organic felts is one of the oldest systems listed in table 2. Poisonous gases are produced in fire reasons for citation. Coal tar pitch is a black or dark brown amorphous residue produced by the distillation or heat treatment of coal tar. It is used as a base for coatings and paint in roofing and paving and as a binder in asphalt products.

Coal tar is considered the product of choice for roofs which have ponding water due to its superior ability to withstand extended exposure to water. Coal tar pitch is a dark brown to black thick liquid with a strong odor that remains after the distillation of coal tar. The unprecedented and time tested performance of coal tar pitch coupled with the redundancy of up to 5 plies of organic or fiberglass reinforcements makes a coal tar built up roofing assembly the system of choice where long term performance and low maintenance costs are important. 2 9 coal tar pitch built up roofing.

New coal tar pitch roof installations however are extremely rare. Because of the different properties of asphalt and coal tar pitch roofers were careful not to mix the two materials on the same project. It is used as a base for coatings and paint in roofing and paving and as a binder in asphalt products. Bituminous roofing hits the market back in the pre world war ii years there were two bituminous substances bitumens that dominated the roofing industry.

It is a solid at room temperature and exhibits a. Coal tar pitch volatiles ctpvs are composed of various chemical vapors that become airborne during the heating of coal tar pitch. These systems perform very well historically but are limited to very low slope applications and must be gravel surfaced because of the low viscosity of coal tar pitch at normal rooftop temperatures. 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.

Both coal tar and coal tar pitch contain many chemical compounds including carcinogens such as benzene. Application tools such as melting kettles mops and mop carts needed to be dedicated to either pitch or asphalt. It is solid for all practical purposes at room temperature. 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.

Coal tar pitch is a thick black liquid that remains after the distillation of coal tar.