Roof Restoration Process
Why Replace your Membrane, Built-up or Metal Roof?
Restore it for less.
By William Miller
    So you have a building with an older flat, low pitch or metal roof that is starting to leak and needs repair so often it's time to replace it. What should you consider? Either you, or a previous owner paid a lot of money for the roof that is on there. Why throw it away and start over? Restoration is a viable alternative that is usually about 1/3 to 2/3 the cost of a full roof replacement. We can even restore your metal roof to make it look like it's  new again, while stopping or preventing leaks.

     Most roofers that come out to look at your roof  will tell you it's time for a complete new roof. This means tearing off the old roof, which opens your roof up to the elements,  If there is a storm after this process starts, it can be quite costly in interior building damage.  The cost of the tear itself, also comes with a cost. (Usually about $ 1.00 or more per square foot just for the tear off. portion.) 

     There is, however, an alternative in most cases. Restore, don't replace. There are several advantages to this method. 

• Cost effective: Eliminates the tear off costs of most new roofing systems, and you may not have to add as much, or maybe no new insulation. And, you don't have to pay again for the roofing insulation material you are tearing off.
• Eco friendly: You are not creating more wast in landfills and many parts of most roofing systems are not biodegradable.
• Warranties: You can get new warranties on your restored roof, for the same or sometimes even longer periods than you can on a new roof.
• LEED credits: All our roof replacement systems are LEED certified and may even allow for some tax credits.
• Insulation: Want more insulation to save on those heating and air conditioning costs?? One option is to restore your roof with spray polyurethane foam to add the most effective insulation you can buy with restoration, in addition to the current insulation already there.
• Light weight: Our restoration materials will only add about one half a pound per square foot to the roof surface.
• Speed of installation: Faster installation means less disruption to your business or lifestyle. Normally it takes less than half the time to restore as it would for a tear off and new roof installation. Plus, your roof will never be open to the elements in case of that storm during the roofing process. This protects your valuables inside the building, and the building interior during the roofing process from the elements.
• Seamless: Regardless if we use just elastomeric coatings, fiberglass mesh and coatings or spray polyurethane foam and coatings the process is seamless. Membrane and metal roof systems have seams which are the normal cause of leaks in those roofing systems.
• Self Flashing: Other roofing systems require the use of metal flashing materials at roofing edges, around any roof penetrations, (for example pipes, electrical conduits, gas lines or HVAC units), and at junctions between walls and roofing materials. These are areas that often fail or require extra roof maintenance to keep them from leaking at these points. All of our coating and spray polyurethane foam systems form a seamless system that doesn't require additional flashing materials that can cause leaks in the future.
• Add Slope: If the slope of your roof isn’t allowing water to drain off, we can add additional slope with the use of spray polyurethane foam roofing material to assist the drainage, while adding insulation.

The Restoration Process











Over membrane roofing:

    Membrane roofs include EPDM, Hyperlon, PVC, Modified Bitumen and rolled asphaltic roofing. All of these roofs have seams every 3 to 10 foot apart. These seams are either mechanically fastened and use glues to hold them together, or are heat welded to themselves. Either way, these seams eventually start to separate and must be repaired (by adding more seams) or eventual replacement. Seams are also present at any roof penetration. On ballasted systems, the ballast rock must be removed before the restoration process. With today's technology, we use a large vacuum truck to come out and vacuum off the roof before the remainder of the restoration process. The membrane must then be mechanically fastened to the roof surface and then restored.
    The restoration process over membrane roofing systems may be as simple for us as paining your roof.  Our qualified applicators are trained in how to spray install roof coatings that will stretch like rubber with the contraction and expansion of the roof surface. For other situations, fiberglass mesh may be added to just seams, or the entire roof surface to strengthen the process when needed. When additional insulation is required by code or client preference, spray polyurethane foam can be installed before the coating process. With an R-value of almost 7 per inch, you can easily obtain a seamless insulation to save on costs of heating and cooling and will still be less expensive then a full roof replacement. Want to find out what the coast savings will be to restore instead of replace your roof? Give us a chance before you do your full roof replacement.


Over built up roofing:

    Built up roofing, also called tar and gravel roofing, usually requires the addition of spray polyurethane foam or a full fiberglass mesh before a coating material can be installed.  Built up roofing starts to fail with age when the asphalt starts to dry out and cracks will appear in the surface. When the roofing starts to crack, even walking on your built up roof, or snow loads, will cause roof leaks that even if repaired will soon leak again.  
    The Process: First, any loose gravel and dirt must be removed from the roof surface. This is usually done by either vacuum or using a mechanical sweeper and shovels. Then we apply at least 1.5 inches of spray polyurethane foam roofing  or a fiberglass mesh material to add structural integrity, flashing a provide a much smoother surface before the application of the elastomeric coatings. Spray foam also adds an additional R-10.5 to the roof insulation value or this can be increased by adding more spray foam, if required by code or client wishes. See the you tube video (please excuse the commercial if it appears) by clicking here.

Over Metal Roofing












    Metal roof systems can be restored to stop leaks, stop rusting, add insulation or just to improve the looks of your building. Or of course, all of those reasons. If no insulation is needed but the metal is rusting, we remove any rust scale, and then add a rust inhibiting primer. For all metal roofs, we use a fiberglass mesh at all seams and penetration and then apply an elastomeric coating to stop any leaking and make the roof all one color.
    If insulation is wanted for your metal roof, we use spray polyurethane foam roofing material over the roof surface prior to the application of the elastomeric coating material. This is the best insulation money can buy as it adds almost an R-7 per inch and is seamless. Call us at any time to schedule a free roof inspection and learn about the options of extending the life of your metal roof.

About the author.  William Miller has a BBA from Eastern Michigan University.  He was a CPA  and EDP consultant with one of the Big 5 accounting firms.  He then left to go into business for himself.  After losing most of his eyesight in 2001, he went to work for Technical Foam Corp., one of the pioneers in the spray polyurethane foam industries.  Starting as a fill in laborer to help out his friend the vice president, he learned the spray foam and elastomeric coating industry.  He then proved his worth as their office manager, estimator and website design and worked in this capacity until the death of his boss in 2017.  He is currently working as the office manager for Colorado Thermal Coatings, Inc..

Share by: