If the roof on your commercial building is starting to show signs of deterioration, you might think that a costly tear off and replacement is your only option. Before you make that major investment, it’s worth investigating into having a roof coating applied. A roof coating is a viable alternative to extend your current roof’s useful life span.
Commercial Roof Coating Basics
Coatings are fluid-applied materials that form a new surface layer to effectively seal and rejuvenate the existing roof system. Although there are different coating types on the market, acrylic, and silicone are two of the most frequently recommended commercial roof coatings for our St. Louis climate. These restorative coatings can be applied to most roofing materials including TPO, EPDM, PVC, metal, built-up roof (BUR), and modified bitumen.
Although the exact application process varies depending on your type of roof, it typically consists of three steps:
- A roof inspection is performed so that any needed maintenance and repairs can be identified and addressed, such as seam separations, tears or punctures, bubbling and cracking, flashing damage around the perimeter and penetrations, loose or missing fasteners, deficiencies in the drainage system, or insulation and decking deterioration.
- The entire roof is pressure washed to remove loose debris, algae, or mold and accumulated grime to ensure good coating adhesion.
- Once the roof surface is completely dry, your installer sprays or rolls on one or more layers of the coating according to the manufacturer’s recommended application method.
Reasons Why Applying a Roof Coating Makes Good Sense
- Adaptability: Because the coating is applied in liquid form, it conforms to the various roof elements to create a seamless, fully-adhered and flexible barrier that shields the underlying components from deterioration due to UV exposure, rain, snow, hail, expansion/contraction, and wear and tear.
- Cost and time savings: A complete replacement is a labor-intensive, disruptive, and expensive undertaking. In comparison, applying a coating creates much less mess, takes less time and costs up to 50 percent less than installing a new roof.
- Lasting protection: Having a roof coating applied by a certified installer not only protects your building’s roof, structural components and interior against leaks, but it also adds years to the service life of the existing roof system and provides you with warranty coverage of up to 15 years.
To learn about your options for having a commercial roof coating applied on your St. Louis property, contact us at Jewett Roofing today.
