Roof Coatings are Fundamental Maintenance Tools

For industrial and commercial facilities, roof coatings are often a fundamental part of maintaining the roofing material. Here are six reasons why facility managers should consider adding roof coating:

• Extend the life of the roof.
• Reflect harmful ultraviolet radiation away from roof membrane.
• Maintain watertight conditions.
• Extend longevity when repairs are needed.
• Reflect heat and reduce cooling load by using reflective coatings.
• Improve appearance from street or above.
• Increase fire resistance by using UL coatings.

NOTE: Ponding water reduces the life of a coating, so proper drainage is important.

Types of Coatings

Facility managers may be overwhelmed by the number of coating choices. But the easy way it to figure out what the goal of the coating is, and that will help narrow down the choices. Here are the options to choose from:

• Bituminous Coating — used with asphalt or tar built-up roofing, and for metal roof restoration.
• Emulsion Coating — used on asphalt built-up roofing or modified bitumen roofing and increase fire resistance.
• Aluminum Coating — used to reflect ultraviolet rays and reduce roof temperatures and cooling loads.
• Emulsion-Aluminum Coating — provide fire resistance and sealing.
• Asphalt Cutback Coating — used as a restoration tool to penetrate or re-saturate weather or aging built-up roofing.
• Re-Saturate Coating — again used to penetrate, rejuvenate and weatherproof existing built-up roofing.
• Modified Asphalt Coating — most commonly used with metal and sprayed-in-place polyurethane foam to reduce impact damage.
• Latex/Acrylic Coating — reduce impact damage and comply with increasingly stringent solvent emission regulations.
• Hypalon Coating — generally used to restore single-ply roofing surfaces and offer good waterproofing, resistance to chemicals, UV, radiation and fire.
• Neoprene Coating — reduce impact damage, but also add enhanced resistance to chemical fallout, ponding water, heat, ultraviolet radiation and roof traffic.

Selecting the Right Coating

Facility managers should become familiar with all the coating options, their advantages and disadvantages, in order to meet the goal (whether that is durability, longevity, heat resistance, etc.). The easy way to do this is to consult your roofing professional and have the expert help you choose the perfect coating for your roof.