Flat Roof Restoration





Colorado Thermal Coatings, Inc.
Your First Choice for Roof Restoration
Using Elastomeric Coatings and Spray Polyurethane Foam

 
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 Flat Roof Restoration
 
  Conventional flat roofing comes in several forms.  It is normally a built-up, (often called tar and gravel), or some type of membrane roofing,
(modified bitumen, EPDM, Hyperlon or PVC are the most common).  Membrane roofs can be ballasted, (gravel or larger rock on top), or must be either glued or mechanically fastened with screws and plates.  Unless your roof is extremely old, there will be some type of board stock insulation underneath the roofing product.

 
Reasons to restore instead of replace.

  1.  Save costly tear offs:  (Usually at least $ 1.00/ square foot.  
  2.  Add reflective properties:  All our coating products are "Energy Star"  rated as cool roofs which can save money on both heating and cooling costs.
  3. Eco Friendly:  No plastics or asphalt material need to be taken to dump.
  4. Seamless:  There are no seams to cause leaks or failure as in membrane roofing.  This is the major area of failure in membrane roofing.
  5. Self flashing:  No additional flashing material is required with our systems.  The systems form a seamless barrier against the elements, which is the second most common area of leaking in a membrane system.
  6. Light weight:  Does not add significant weight to the roof with or without additional insulation.  On tar and gravel roofs, and ballasted systems, the new roofing material is usually lighter than the gravel or ballast that is removed.
  7. Sustainable:  With the restoration process we use are out of warranty and start to fail, they can easily be renewed and a new warranty given.  Making them basically "Forever Roofs" which will never need to be torn off if proper maintenance is performed.
  8.  Highly wind and hail resistant:  Most conventional roofers will tell you these systems will not hold up in hail storms.  In fact the opposite is true.  Our suppliers have UL ratings of being highly hail resistant.  And leaks don't spread over wide areas as they do in conventional roofing due to their seamless application.  Also, the repairs to these restoration systems are much less costly to repair after a severe weather event.
  9. Slope is needed to assist drainage:  With the addition of spray polyurethane foam over the entire roof or if slope is only needed around penetrations it is an easy process.
  10. Warranties:  Warranties for many restoration systems can even be for longer periods than on conventional roofing products.
    These systems also are the  best on roofs with many roof penetrations or roofs of unusual shape.


Restoring Built Up Roofing (tar and gravel)

   Tar and gravel roofs will eventually start to crack and blister, causing leaks, as the oil in the asphaltic compounds  are no longer flexible.  Once a second layer of tar is added over the top, the roof must be either torn off and replaced, or you can use one of the restoration systems that we can recommend for you.  If there is sufficient insulation below the roofing material, or below the roof deck, this can be done with only, removing the loose gravel then adding elastomeric coatings with a fiberglass mesh system.  Denver city and county, and Boulder city and county, now require an R-30 insulation value for combined roof ceiling.  Although the restoration process without more insulation can be done as roof maintenance item, which doesn't require a city/county permit, you may decide to add more insulation to your building to save on energy costs.  Poorly insulated buildings can usually recover the cost of a spray polyurethane foam roofing system in around 5 years or even less with the energy savings of a seamless spray foam roofing/insulation system.

 The Restoration process for Built up roofing:
  1.   First all loose gravel, dirt, dust and debris is removed from the roof surface.  This is done with either a large vacuum truck or the old fashioned way with shovels and wheel barrows.
  2.  All penetrations are sealed with either mesh and coatings or spray foam roofing material.  Slope can be added to the uphill sides with metal or spray foam roofing.
  3. Any blistered or damaged existing roofing is removed and filled in with spray foam roofing material to match the depth of existing roofing.
  4.  Either a fiberglass mesh or spray polyurethane foam roofing is added to the roof surface to fill in any  cracks and give the restoration coatings a secure surface for coating application.
  5.  The entire roof surface is the coated with an elastomeric coating material that is seamless, reflective and water tight.
Old Tar and gravel roof
Restoration with Spray Polyurethane Foam roofing and granules
See the video of a Spray polyurethane foam roof over an old built up roofing system.  It's a youtube video so please excuse the commercial if it shows up.  Just click the image at right side.

Restoration of Membrane roofing systems

   There are many different membranes that can be put on a roof.  These can be ballasted (with gravel or larger rocks), adhered with glue or mechanically fastened which still require glue or heat welding at seams and around penetrations.  These roofing systems also require metal or other flashing material around all penetrations and along any vertical wall surfaces.  Every seam, and flashing give the roof a possible point to start leaking as the adhesives dry out and start to fail, or the metal flashing warps or starts to come loose.  Our restoration systems are both seamless and self flashing eliminating these problem areas in addition to their other benefits. 

The restoration Process

  1.   If the roof is ballasted, the rock must be removed from the roof surface. This is done with large vacuum trucks or with old fashioned shovels and wheel barrows. Then the roof is thoroughly cleaned to remove dirt, dust, debris and moisture remaining.
  2.  Depending on the type of membrane, a primer may be used to allow for better adhesion of the other products.
  3.   If only a coating system is needed, Seams and penetrations  may need to be treated  with a fiberglass mesh and coating, or with spray polyurethane foam roofing material to add structural integrity.  
  4.  If slope or insulation is required, spray polyurethane foam roofing material is applied to the entire roof surface.  
  5.  If a full fiberglass mesh system is required, where extra protection of the older roof surface is more unstable, then the mesh is added   in the first coat of the elastomeric coating for added elasticity and structural integrity.
  6. Finally the elastomeric coating is added to make the roof seamless, reflective and watertight.
Restoration project of a modified bitumen membrane roof with spray foam around penetrations and a full mesh system start to finish.
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