ROOF-REPAIR SAFETY TIPS

Working on a roof can be dangerous. Keep these safety precautions in mind before tackling a roof repair:

• Roof repairs should be done on a sunny day when the roof is completely dry. A wet roof is slippery and very dangerous.
• Adequate safety measures must be taken for any roof repairs. Always use safety ropes.
• On steep roofs, use a ladder framework to provide secure anchoring.
• Rubber-soled shoes provide the best traction when working on a roof.
• The location of power lines should be kept in mind when working on a roof.­

How to deal with piled-up snow?

• Check on your channels.  It’s slippery on your roof right now, so trying to get up there and sweep off snow or warm up the ice is a bad idea.
• Remove as much ice and snow as you can from window wells.
• Remove any outdoor flower or window boxes. The snow piled in these can melt and cause moisture interruption.
• Help your neighbours by removing any leaves and debris from pipes.  This simple action will help prevent flooding on your street.
• Move any snow that has piled up against your home.

Early Signs of a Roof Leak

• A yearly roof check-up is great, but problems can occur at any time. Early signs of trouble include:
• Dark areas on ceilings.
• Peeling paint on the underside of roof overhangs.
• Damp spots alongside fireplaces.
• Water stains on pipes venting the water heater or furnace.

Green Roof Benefits

• With green roofs, water is stored by the substrate and then taken up by the plants from where it is returned to the atmosphere through transpiration and evaporation.
• In summer, depending on the plants and depth of growing medium, green roofs retain 70-90% of the precipitation that falls on them; in winter they retain between 25-40%. For example, a grass roof with a 4-20 cm (1.6 - 7.9 inches) layer of growing medium can hold 10-15 cm (3.9 - 5.9 inches) of water.
• Green roofs not only retain rainwater, but also moderate the temperature of the water and act as natural filters for any of the water that happens to run off.
• Green roofs reduce the amount of storm water runoff and also delay the time at which runoff occurs, resulting in decreased stress on sewer systems at peak flow periods.

Roofers Lingo

Algae Discoloration: A type of roof discoloration caused by algae, also called fungus growth.

Blisters: Bubbles that may appear on the surface of asphalt roofing after installation.

Asphalt Shingle: a shingle manufactured by coating a reinforcing material (felt or fibrous glass mat) with asphalt and having mineral granules on the side exposed to the weather.

Caulk: To fill a joint in order to prevent leaks.

Counter Flashing: That portion of the flashing attached to a vertical surface to prevent water from migrating behind the base flashing.

Deck or Decking: The structural “skin” of a roof over which roofing in applied. Most new homes have decking made of plywood.

Flashing: Pieces of metal or roll roofing used to prevent seepage of water into a building around any intersection or projection in a roof such as vent pipes, chimneys, adjoining walls, dormers and valleys.

Gable Roof: A type of roof containing sloping planes of the same pitch on each side of the ridge. A gable roof typically contains a gable at each end.

Granules: Ceramic-coated colored crushed rock that is applied to the exposed surface of asphalt roofing products.

Gutter: The trough that channels water from the eaves to the downspouts.

Overhang: That portion of the roof structure that extends beyond the exterior walls of a building.

Parapet: A low protective wall that extends above the roofline or balcony for support.

What do you mean by a “green roof“?

Depending on your budget, different materials can be used in your roofing project which is considered “green”.

Green roofing doesn’t mean that your roof has green things growing on it.  In fact, unless your roof is built to support plants, no plants should grow on your roof as they deteriorate the materials.

Green roofing means that a roof has been created using environmentally friendly materials or in an environmentally friendly way.  For example, metal roofing is often considered “green”.  Using recycled materials is often considered “green”.  There are many ways to go green and some of these ways include tax benefits.  This is something to consider if you are getting your roof re-done.

ThermaCote - is a sprayable ceramic coating that will provide true protection from the thermal exchange of temperature from solar roof loads, industrial manufacturing equipment, or commercial HVAC systems and even residential roofs.  ThermaCote® provides superior solar reflectance (90+% of all UV rays), eliminates thermal bridging between structural building components, eliminates the expansion and contraction of dis-similar building materials, and most importantly reduces the thermal BTU gain that costs you money.

Additionally, ThermaCote is a GREEN product that is water based, stops rust, seals surfaces and can be applied to most surfaces without primers or additional chemical preparation.

Metal Roof and its Advantages!!

Metal roofing is a great option for “greening up” your home.  Metal roofs reflect heat from the sun – keeping your home cooler when it’s hot – like right now.  During the winter, a metal roof sheds snow and ice.  The build-up of snow and ice could be dangerous on a normal roof, but with a metal roof, this is just one less thing to worry about.

Additionally, a metal roof can generally be installed over the existing asphalt shingle roof, so you won’t be adding to the landfills.

Metal roofing is considered a green roofing material, which means it contains a significant portion of recycled metal materials.

Advantages of a Metal Roof:

•  Properly installed, a metal roof should last as long as the house
• Metal roofing is affordable considering the fact that a Metal roof is permanent.
• Doesn't deteriorate, crack, split, break, burn or blow off
• Engineered for strength
• Special coating process resists dirt
• Lightweight: less than 1/3 the weight of asphalt
• Environmentally correct – made from up to 50% recycled material and is 100% recyclable
• Energy efficient: Metal reflects radiant heat from the sun, minimizing midday heat gain.
• Many styles, colors and finishes to choose from
• Increases your home’s value

Why Your Roof Is Leaking

• Windowpanes Can Be a Problem:

Although built in windowpanes can really add dazzle to a home and let in natural light, when not built properly they can cause a lot of problems. If they are too old or haven’t been updated recently, they can easily let water into the home.

• Flashing is Most Common

Flashing is the most common reason that roofing will get leaks. Sometimes flashing is poorly installed which makes it highly susceptible to leaks. If it’s not the installation, it could be a bad quality product or perhaps affected by high winds or weather damage.

• Age of your roof

Think about how long you’ve had your roof for. How many years has it been? How good of a job did the last contractors do? Roofs that were built fifty years ago were made with much different materials and were much less durable than what is used today.

• Check Your Closures and Shingles

Material such as roof fasteners can easily become damaged or pulled up after a heavy storm or high winds occur. When the fasteners get pulled up, water is easily able to get into the underside of the roof itself and cause other problems.

• Workmanship

Many roof leaks are caused by poor workmanship and less-than-professional contractors. To avoid the entire issue, never hire someone without first checking that they have successfully completed roofing projects similar to yours in the past and that their previous customers were satisfied.

How to choose roof coating

Choosing to use a roof coating system over a tear-off and new roof installation is cost effective. Labor fees are minimal because several steps are eliminated allowing for a much shorter production time and landfill fees are avoided altogether. The ThermaCote roof restoration or roof maintenance systems are non-intrusive, creating minimal disruption to the building occupants during construction. This allows your business to remain open, conducting sales and business as usual. There is no need for a costly and timely roof tear-off/new roof install when you can achieve the same results with greater benefits. Less time, less cost, and a seamless membrane to solve your roofs particular issues are all gained while keeping your business operations in motion, allowing you to make money during the install. There is no easier, better choice than to restore your failing Hypalon roof with one of our roof coating systems!

Types of Roof Coatings!

Roofs are expensive to maintain and even more expensive to replace. As part of an aggressive maintenance program, roof coverings applied to a roof system in relatively good condition can extend the system’s service life for many years, delaying replacement.

Coatings provide a renewable surface that protects the underlying membrane from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light and heat, slowing the roof’s aging process. Highly reflective white coatings also significantly reduce the membrane’s temperature, which leads to improved long-term performance of the system. This lower temperature also reduces the building’s heat load, resulting in lower cooling costs for the building.

Reflective coatings can reflect 60-85 percent of solar energy. But managers should be aware that solar reflectance changes as a coating ages. A high-quality reflective coating can quickly pay for itself in energy savings. White roofs have a tendency to collect dirt, and the amount of dirt typically depends on the roof’s slope, weather conditions, rainfall, and surrounding elements.

What is Roof Coating?

A roof coat­ing is an added layer of pro­tec­tion posi­tioned on a com­pleted roof. Car­ry­ing out as a way of enhanc­ing the roof’s capa­bil­ity to con­tinue unharmed from rain, hail, wind and sun­light, roof coat­ing is fre­quently in the form of a thin mem­brane that seals the mate­ri­als used to make the roof, suc­cess­fully estab­lish a bar­rier among the ele­ments and the actual roof. When applied appro­pri­ately, a roof coat­ing can add value to the life of just about any type of roof.

What are the types of roof coating?

The major­ity of the pop­u­la­tion is well aware about the essen­tial fact that roofs are rea­son­ably exclu­sive part of their house and need appro­pri­ate care. Though, their main­te­nance is fairly costly as they have a propen­sity to spend huge money even for a lit­tle kind of repair work, that’s why peo­ple have a first choice to pro­tect them cor­rectly. They are avail­able in dif­fer­ent vari­eties that range from reflec­tive to water­proof and so on: 

Waterproof coating

As the name says– this type of spe­cific coat­ing pro­vides a layer of water-​resistant and makes the roof water­tight. If there is any escape found on the top, then a water­proof layer helps to mend that leak and make the roof flaw­less. 

Asphalt coating

This is the type, which helps the roof to aban­don water and repel the effects of being exposed to weather con­di­tions. It also helps to ward off the effects of atmos­phere. 

White covering

White coat­ings are favoured as they are reflec­tive in nature and tend to steady decrease in the house tem­per­a­ture. In that way, they are bring­ing down the cool­ing cost that may have oth­er­wise occurred. Even though lots of peo­ple stay away from white col­oured cov­er­ing as they are prone to dust but it is sim­ple to power wash the unclean areas. A sec­ond layer of white paint prob­a­bly will help you to pre­serve the pol­ish of the cov­er­ing for extended time.

What are the Benefits of Reflective Coverings for Rooftops?

1.       Protection for Your Existing Roof

Reflective coatings for roofs create a protective barrier between the roof substrate and the Sun.  White reflective coatings shield the roof from the chemical breakdown caused by the Sun’s damaging ultra-violet (UV) rays and help minimalize corrosion caused by the weather.  Reflecting the UV rays away from the roof, also allows the roof system’s temperature to remain lower, slowing the substrate’s rate of aging – prolonging the life span of your present roof.

2.       Benefits Are Renewable and Maintainable

Re-applying reflective coatings for roofs every 10 to 20 years provides continuous benefits while allowing you to avoid a costly-tear off indefinitely. 

3.       Financially Favorable

Protecting an existing roof system with reflective coatings can be financially beneficial to building owners

4.       Energy Savings and Environmentally-Friendly

Reflective coatings for roofs also provide energy savings by reflecting the heat from the sun away from the building, allowing little to be absorbed into the building, increasing the efficiency of your HVAC unit because the inside air temperature stays lower.  

What are roof coatings?

A roof coating is a monolithic, fully adhered, fluid applied roofing membrane. It has elastic properties that allows it to stretch and return to their original shape without damage.

Typical roof coating dry film thickness vary from paint film thickness to more than 40 dry mils. This means a roof coating actually becomes the top layer of a composite roof membrane and underlying system. As such, the roof coating is the topmost layer of protection for the membrane, receiving the impact of sunlight (both infrared and ultraviolet (UV), rain, hail and physical damage.

Benefits

Roof coatings are seamless and when installed correctly, can solve roof leaks on almost any type of roof substrate.

There are exceptions: "professionals do not recommend using cool coatings over existing shingles. This technique can cause moisture problems and water damage because the coating can inhibit normal shingle drying after rain or dew accumulation, allowing water to condense and collect under the shingles." 

Field-applied reflective roof coatings can extend the useful life of nearly every roof substrate keeping a roof surface cool and providing a level of protection from the sun and weather.

However, coating asphalt shingles and built-up composition roofs requires more caution. The National Roofing Contractors Association’s director of technical services has stated "The roofing industry is aware of a number of issues that could have negative consequences for field application of coatings over asphalt shingle roof systems. Anyone considering this type of application should be aware of the concerns so they can weigh them against the benefits claimed in coating product promotional materials." 

Roof coatings can add 25 years to the service life of a roof and reduce the amount of discarded roofing materials that end up in landfills. The infrared image on the right shows "175°F" on the uncoated (black) section of the modified bitumen roof. The coated (white) section is "79°F". Field studies have shown that cool roof coatings can lower rooftop temperatures and reduce air conditioning bills.

The Necessity of Cool Coatings for Concrete

A discovery fundamental to the building construction issue is concrete. It is an ancient Roman creation that was a revolution to construction which when reinforced with steel enabled towers and expressways to come into being. Did you know that concrete stores hotness from the sun and it heats up our air significantly due to its universal use? Did you know that it deteriorates slowly to probable failure at some point in its life span? Unless it is coated, it will eventually fail and need reparation or replacement due to water deterioration to the strengthening rebar. As it is now, due to the scale and widespread nature of its use, concrete is a major contributor to the “Urban Heat Island Effect” since unpainted concrete acts as a thermal heat sink in all sun exposed locations and “re-radiates” the thermally accumulated sun’s radiation into the atmosphere after the sun goes down. The overheated air in cities and suburbs catalyzes more air pollution by chemical reactions which occur as the atmospheric temperatures increase. Massive carbon pollution further occurs from generation of the electricity at fuel-burning utility plants supplying the energy to run air conditioners inside millions of such buildings into the night.

Roof Coatings Protect Roofs from UV Rays!

While there are several reasons why a roof can start leaking, many people do not realize that the UV rays from the sun are the most damaging to your roofs surface. Dark roofs absorb a great amount of the sun’s heat- UV rays, causing the roof to become a brittle, less elastic substrate. When your roof becomes brittle, the membrane may lose thickness and become less defensive against leaks. A similar situation occurs when the roof loses the capability to expand and contract with fluctuating temperatures - cracks occur and seams split, leading to roof failure and more leaks. It is important to use one of the AcrylicRoof Coatings to protect your roof against these common side effects from the sun.

How Do I Know if the Roof Coating Coverage is Correct?

This is an important question because many roofing provisions and warranty policies require a specific number of dry coat thicknesses to be applied on the structure. To ensure your roofcoating exposure is correct, you will need a wet mil gauge and the volume solids of the roof coating you are using.

What do you mean by wet mil gauge? A wet mil gauge is a tool that is used to define the thickness of the wet coating after it has been applied to the roof surface. It is simply a gauge with points that is pressed into the elastomeric roof varnishes immediately after it has been applied on the roof. The device is then withdrawn vertically with coating stuck to some of the points. You want to note the deepest points having coating on it and the next deepest points that do not have coating on it. The true wet film thickness is somewhere between the two readings. Once you have determined your wet mil thickness, you then need to know the percent solids by volume in the coating. The wet film thickness is then multiplied by the percent of volume items to give you your dry film width.

Although it is a relatively simple procedure to figure out the actual dry film wideness of your roofing structure, there are three important factors to consider having the proper roof coating coverage for your building or house. First, is the measurement of the wet film thickness immediately after the application of the roof varnishes to ensure the coating does not evaporate or dry, as this would give you wrong measurements. Second, is the wind loss factor when applying roof coatings. A 20 mph winds may result into a loss of 20- 30% of the coating essential. Last, is the need for extra material that could be from 3- 10% of the overall amount of coating required for the structure to account for thickness variations in the applications as well as for the miscellaneous coating remains in the lines and in the vessels.

Achieving the proper roof coating coverage is a very significant step in applying a roof coating process to any building. 

Long lasting Paints for Roofs!

In Australia, there was a huge demand for long-lasting, effectual, cool coatings for metal and tile roofs that could be economically field-applied to houses in the vast Australian continent. We chose acrylic energy saving coatings which are bit expensive but are really very effective. This coating is also comes in liquid format which is very useful while application. A benefit of this coating is that they add 12 to 15-year lifespans to your roof which is cost-savings benefits with twice the lifespan of standard paints. They cooled the buildings dramatically by reflecting away the majority of the sun’s radiation and by releasing a very high percentage of the heat that did find its way into the underlying substrate materials. This is called thermal emissivity.

Other benefits were that these reflective paints required no special processes to apply, while being largely more environmentally friendly and lower in odour. This coating is IR reflective, low toxic in nature, with low Volatile Organic Compounds unlike the liquid, organic-based standard paint tint systems. 

Acrylic Roof Membrane Saves Energy Costs!

Did you know that a dark coloured roof absorbs so much heat that flows not only into the space below it but also back into the atmosphere thereby causing an urban warming or heat island effect. On the other hand, a white rooftop replicates sun’s rays and thereby absorbs much less heat, requires less energy from air conditioning.

Lowered Air Conditioning and Cooling Costs

Acrylic coatings can save as much as 20% or more in energy costs. A reflective roof membrane has the ability to replicate the sun’s UV and infrared rays, allowing the roof temperature to increase only by 12 F. With a lower temperature rise of the cooler roof is a reduced heat transferred to the insides of the building. This relates to a significant decrease in electrical energy demand for air conditioning. After the Acrylic Coatings was applied we definitely noticed a variance in house temperature. It's not a large difference but it is between 15-20 degrees cooler inside the storeroom and rooms. 

Restore your roof for longer period!

Roof painting is a process that restores your roof from extreme temperatures. We should apply roof coating or painting early enough to prevent from structural damage.  The process removes moss and lichen from your tiles and clean drainage by using power washing techniques, which are common in cleaning the pavements on busy High Streets.

The high pressure flow efficiently removes any moss and lichens built up without damaging the tiles.  We will also clean up sewers to make sure the finished job looks as decent as new. 

Cracked tiles and loose filling are replaced to make sure that all tiles, including the important ridge, stylish and bonnet tiles protected are in good condition and are waterproof.  We can then think about applying the protective coating applied to roof. This coating is high performance thermal barrier that uses ceramic technology to prevent the transfer of heat or cold, which comes in a liquid sealant form endowing it with a host of additional useful properties. This coating is easily applied to a number of different surfaces. This roof coating is a breathable Vapour Barrier, as well as an Air and Water Barrier. They helps seal the envelope of any structure making existing insulation in any home or business perform closer to its R-value. This roof painting allows entrapped moisture to escape or be released without damage to the coating or substrate surfaces.

High Performance Roof Coatings

A high performance reflective roof coating has high quality UV blocking materials in order to protect your roof from the leading causes of roof degradation - sun damage from UV and Infrared rays. Not only does the high reflectivity lower air temperature inside the building but also by replicating a majority of the harmful UV heats away from the exterior of the roof, the roof is protected from cracking, splitting, weathering and ultimately from leaking. ThermaCote Coatings has several highly reflective roof coatings that can be applied over almost any roofing surface. Click here to learn more about the ThermaCote product line, which was engineered to lower the energy costs, and produce green energy coating : http://thermacote.com/