Roof Coating Materials- Types and Benefits

Roofs are perhaps the most important part of a house and often the most neglected one. Besides all, the most important role that it plays is of providing protection to the building and its residents. But at the same time it is the most neglected area of the house because as heard often “out of sight-out of mind”, the roof is also generally out of sight. One would not want to go over the roof and examine it for no reason. That’s why, until and unless it starts leaking, no one pays any attention to the roof or its maintenance.

There is a long list of materials which are commonly used in roof construction; it includes metals, plastics, rubbers, fibers, glass, wood, rocks, ceramics etc. But building just a roof is not enough, its proper finishing and maintenance is something which is of foremost importance. That is why; it’s the need of time that the roofing contractors must also be familiar with the concept of roof coatings.

Roof coating is a monolithic and fully adhered fluid applied over the roofs. If applied properly, it helps to extend the life of the roof, ultimately saving the cost of re roofing. It has many outstanding features which makes it an important component of roof construction and finishing. When applied over the roof, it acts as a top layer over the underlying roofing system. Its high elasticity allows it to expand and contract back to its original position. But being the top most layer asks for tolerating a lot of environmental effects like UV and infrared, temperature extremities like rain, hail and the physical damage caused due to these factors. Therefore the roof coatings are specially manufactured keeping in view all these factors so that maximal protection is delivered to the roof from these roof weakening causes.

There are many benefits that roof coatings deliver. The most important benefit is the roof leaks repair feature. If the roof is leaking but not deteriorated to the extent of replacement, then the roofing cost is significantly reduced by use of roof coatings. Also some roof coatings are reflective in nature. They reflect heat and extensively reduce the summertime cooling costs. The elasticity feature does not introduce cracking on temperature extremities. Coatings also can serve cosmetic purposes. In some cases such as beneath a highway overpass, or next to high-rise structures where roofs are quite visible, coatings serve the purpose of improving roof aesthetics.

There are many types of roof coatings available in the market. Some of them include polymer-modified acrylic elastomers and polyureas, asphalt cutbacks and emulsions, silicones, SPF and high-performance urethanes. Also if broadly categorized, white roof coatings, tinted roof coatings, elastomeric, aluminum and metal roof coatings are some of the most commonly employed roof coatings. All these differ in their features and the roof coating should be chosen very carefully keeping in view your requirements for the coating and the roof surface on which the coating is to be applied.

White roof coatings are made opaque and reflective by adding transparent polymeric materials, such as acrylic, and a white pigment, such as titantium dioxide. When tints are added to white coatings, we get the colored coatings. The tinting process greatly reduces the solar reflectance.

Elastomeric roof coatings are very versatile and can be applied on a large variety of roofs such as single-ply, metal, asphalt, polyurethane foam or concrete roofs (CSPE, EPDM, TPO, PVC). An elastomeric roof coating creates a uniform, seamless surface that remains flexible even at low temperatures. It is also elastic and reflective in nature. They can both be employed in construction phase or the maintenance phase.

The importance of roof coatings can definitely not be ignored. Consequently the awareness of different type roof coatings among the roofing contractors and the building residents is very necessary. Therefore get yourself well aware of what type of coating you need and the type of roof you have so that you are able to apply the roof coating which is best for your roof.

Author has done a lot of research work on different roof coating materials and have written many articles on roofing materials like epdm coatings and Liquid Roof. In addition, the author is well aware about the problem of roof leaks and has recommended a lot of solutions about Roof Leak Repair through his articles.