Nothing lasts forever. At some point a building owner or property manager will have to confront the issue of fixing a failing roof.

When a roof starts to fail, most people immediately think their only option is to fix the problem by tearing off the roof completely and replacing it with a conventional roofing system.  A roof tear off and replacement can be extremely costly and is one of the biggest capital expenditures that building owners and property manager’s face.

Multiple studies have been conducted on complete roof replacements, with the costs ranging from $3.50 to in excess of $6.50 per square foot. If we take the average dimensions of a 10,000 square foot roof that replacement could range from $35,000 to $65,000.

Unless you own a machine that prints money, those figures are pretty scary. Up until recently many people were not familiar with liquid applied roof coatings. These coatings can provide building owners and property managers another solution to deal with failing/leaking roofs.

The main types of liquid applied roof coatings are silicone’s and acrylics. Each of these coatings provides its own unique benefits, but for the purpose of this article we will be focusing on liquid applied coatings in a general sense.

Cost Savings

A major benefit of liquid applied coatings is their cost savings. Compared to other roofing methods liquid applied coatings on average can reduce the cost of a roof retrofit  up to one half when compared to traditional methods. Referring back to the example above, a 10,000 square foot roof coating installation would range from $1.75 and up per square foot with acrylic coatings to $2.50 per square foot with silicone coatings based on the system.  The total retrofit cost savings based on these figures would range between $17,500 to $25,000, a significant savings.

Provides a Seamless Membrane

The more penetrations or seams in your roof system, the greater the potential for water to infiltrate your structure. Liquid applied roof coatings are sprayed or rolled onto a roof’s surface, are self-flashing and provide a seamless monolithic membrane. Unlike other roofing methods, liquid applied coating systems do not require additional materials to flash around penetrations in the roof. Liquid coatings can be applied around any hard to reach area.

Time & Labor

Unlike traditional roof systems, liquid applied coatings do not require the roof to be torn off. Instead the coatings are applied directly over the existing roof substrate. This eliminates the removal of old materials from the job-site, excess waste deposited in landfills and fee’s associated with the old roof’s disposal.

Exposure & Convenience

Traditional methods of roof replacement require the roof to be taken off before the new one can be installed. Because liquid applied coatings can be installed over the existing roof system, building owners to do not have to worry about exposing the inside of their building to the elements. Tenants of the building can also remain in the structure while the coating process takes place. There is no need to close down during the re-roofing process or move expensive equipment into storage facilities.

Energy Savings

Many liquid applied roof coatings are CRRC (Cool Roof Rating Council) rated. A cool roof is designed to absorb less heat and reflect more sunlight than traditional roofs. A CRRC rated roof provides many benefits to a building such as reduced energy bills, improved indoor comfort and decreased roof temperatures that can lead to early aging and failure.

Cool roofs also benefit the environment and the surrounding areas that they are built in. Local air temperatures can be reduced limiting the effect of urban heat islands.

Sustainable & Renewable

Liquid applied coating systems are sustainable and can be re-coated multiple times offering your building another 5 to 10 years of protection. Less materials are used in liquid applied coatings meaning when the project is done, materials headed for the landfill are reduced.

Conclusion

Liquid applied coatings provide multiple benefits to building owners. If you would like to learn how VFI’s products can benefit you give our technical experts a call at 1-800-307-9218.