Roof coatings are engineered to restore existing commercial roof systems. Building owners and facility managers choose this option because it minimizes disruptive tear-offs, creates a seamless membrane, lowers energy costs, and provides new roof warranties. This is a much simpler and cheaper alternative to a full roof removal and replacement. Existing commercial roofs can be restored through a roof coating, which causes no interruptions building operations, ensuring that business can continue as usual while the roof is being restored.
Is your TPO roof a roof coating candidate? Answer these 6 questions to find out.
What is the best roof coating for your flat roof?
A professional roofing contractor is not going to use a cheap roof coating from your local box store. They are going to use premium commercial-grade protective coatings that are specifically engineered to go over most common flat or low-slope roofing systems.
Under the right conditions, roof coatings can be applied to the following commercial roofing systems:
- Asphalt (Built-Up Roofs)
- Mod-Bit Roofs (Modified Bitumen)
- Concrete
- Single-Ply Membrane Roofs
- Metal Roofs
- Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) Roofs
The best roof coatings are:
Silicone Roof Coatings - A silicone roof coatings isa great option to hit the “reset button” on the life of your existing roof while preventing costly tear-offs. It can be used over a wide variety of roofing systems and can be applied in temperatures lower than other roof coatings allow.
Read More About Silicone Roof Coatings
Acrylic Roof Coatings - A premium grade 100% acrylic elastomeric roof coating is a fluid-applied commercial roof coating which can be sprayed directly onto most existing roof substrates. It offers high tensile strength and combines abrasion and hail resistance.
Top 5 Benefits of Commercial Roof Coatings:
- Energy Savings - Studies show that installing a light-colored roof coating on a large commercial or industrial facility can reduce air conditioning costs by 10% to 30% on hot summer days.
- Saving the Environment - Light-colored roof coatings will reflect more heat than dark ones and lower the impact a roof has on a phenomenon known as the “Urban Heat Island Effect.” A 2014 white paper demonstrated the result of having light colored roofs. Major cities like Washington, D.C., and New York City reduced their temperatures by more than 3 degrees. Plus, coatings can extend the life of your existing roof and save the landfills. According to CalRecyle.ca.gov, re-roofing jobs account for 11 million tons (and growing) of landfill scrap every year.
- Save Money - It’s already been said, but restoring your roof with a roof coating reduces a building’s energy expenses and saves unnecessary costs associated with a full roof replacement.
- Less Interruptions to Facility Operations - More often than not, roof coating contractors require less man-power than re-roofing crews and these crews work out of trailers or small box trucks. Not much space around the building is needed, ensuring minimal disturbances to facility operations. typically, the roofing contractor will only need ladder access, unless hard access requires a lift. Lift access can still be set up out of sight, again, minimizing interruptions to the building operations.
- Seamless - Spray applied roof coatings are applied as a liquid and dry naturally over an 8 to 24 hour period, depending on the weather conditions. The result is a fully adhered monolithic roofing system that will not have seams which can prematurely fail; causing leaks and wreaking havoc on the building below it.
Roof Coating Warning:
The most important thing to remember when dealing with coating restorations is roof coating is not “magic in a bucket.” - If it were, it would be much more expensive and we’d be rich! - Not every roof or roofing membrane is a candidate for a roof coating restoration. There are very specific and necessary steps that must be taken prior to the coating application to ensure a roof is watertight. There are some instances where the existing roofing membrane is too far gone and unable to receive coating. On these occasions re-roofing will be the most cost-effective solution for a property owner. The success of a roof coating restoration is directly tied to the knowledge and experience of the contractor performing the work.
Download Our Latest Publication: Denver, Colorado Flat Roof Restoration
