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Blew my mind that a 1920s book on home repair said to use ROAD TAR for roof leaks

I grabbed this beat up old 'Household Mechanics' manual from a bin at a library sale in Toledo for 50 cents. Turns out they recommended mixing road tar with sand and patching flat roofs with it. Drove me crazy thinking about how many people probably ruined their roofs following that advice back then. Anyone else run into old books giving straight up dangerous tips?

2 comments

2 Comments

jenkins.alice5d ago

Grab a can of modern roof patch instead, tar based stuff will just crack and leak again in a couple years anyway.

david_adams2d ago

Yeah, @jenkins.alice makes a good point about the tar stuff, but I wonder if the type of roof you have matters more than what patch you pick. I've seen people get great results with the modern stuff on flat roofs, but on a steep shingle situation the tar might hold up different.