Elastomeric roof coatings
A coating is a liquid-applied membrane that cures into a seamless, reflective skin over the roof you already have. On the right roof it buys years for a fraction of a replacement. On the wrong one it hides the problem until it is bigger.
Which roofs it works on
- Foam (SPF): a foam roof depends on its coating. The foam insulates and sheds water; the coating protects the foam from the sun. Recoating on schedule is how a foam roof keeps going. See foam & flat roofing.
- Modified bitumen and built-up roofs: a coating over an aged but sound membrane seals the surface and turns a dark roof reflective.
- Metal: sealing seams and fasteners and slowing rust on an older panel roof.
- Some single-ply: depending on the membrane and its condition.
Tile and shingle roofs are not candidates. Their protection is the underlayment beneath them, and no coating reaches it.
How a coating job runs
Check underneath
Moisture trapped under the surface has to be found first, because a coating seals it in. On a big flat roof that is what a thermal inspection is for.
Repair
Wet or failed areas are cut out and replaced, seams and flashings repaired, and penetrations resealed.
Clean & prime
The surface is cleaned and primed where the system calls for it. A coating only bonds to what it is put on.
Coat
Applied to the thickness the system specifies, with extra attention at drains, seams and the parapet walls where water sits longest.
When a coating is the wrong answer
A coating is not a repair for a roof that is wet inside, structurally failing, or past the point where the membrane underneath can hold it. Coating over saturated insulation traps the water and speeds up the rot below. If the inspection says the roof needs replacing instead, that's what we'll tell you, even though the coating is the smaller number.
Acrylic or silicone
The two common chemistries behave differently. Acrylic is widely used, reflective and paintable, and it does best on roofs that drain well. Silicone holds up better where water ponds, but later recoats generally have to be silicone too. Which one fits depends on how your roof drains and what's on it now.
Questions we get asked
How long does a coating last?
It depends on the system, the thickness applied and how the roof drains. We'll give you the expected service life of the specific system in your quote, not a generic number here.
Will a white coating make the house cooler?
A reflective surface keeps the roof deck cooler in direct sun than a dark one does. How much of that you feel inside depends on the insulation underneath.
Can you coat over a roof that is leaking?
Not until the leak is found and the wet material is replaced. Coating over it is how a leak becomes a deck replacement.
Free inspection
Find out what you're actually dealing with.
No charge, no pressure, and no obligation to use us. You get photos, a written condition report, and a straight answer about how much life is left up there.
- Call or text
- (602) 783-4870
- Email
- [email protected]
- License
- ROC #368084
- Hours
- 8am to 5pm, seven days a week