Does Roof Coating Stop Leaks?
Why roofs need to be waterproofed
Leak is the number one enemy of roofs. The main purpose of roofing is to protect your home from heat, sun, rain, snow, and other forms of an environmental hazard. Roofing system with failed waterproofing and weatherproofing is critical for its overall function. Thus, a roof coating is an essential component to fortify the waterproofing of every roofing system.
Waterproofing is best done by adding roof coats. However, this application is more recommendable for buildings and commercial establishments with flat roofs. The problem in these kinds of structure is that they use earth sheltering, which results in high humidity. Moulds are tantamount to grow, damaging roof membranes and degrading the quality of the roof itself.
Since the roof is exposed to the weather, waterproofing is necessary, and roofers do this by applying roof coating. This is to keep the voids on the roof sealed to avoid water seepage. Commonly, roof coats are more applicable for flat roofing systems. Since flat roofs make use of concrete, roof coats are best applied to prevent moisture from building up and to let water vapour dissipate and leave concrete dry.
Roof coating explained
Roof coating is a roof membrane applied on the roof surface to protect and extend the life or roof and its assemblies. When having a new structure, a roof coating is applied to prevent the roof from weather and environment damage. Water, wind, and UV are harmful to the roof and cause its rapid ageing. Existing roofs with a single-ply membrane, bitumen, BUR (tar and gravel membranes), EPDM, spray polyurethane, and metal can have roof coating applied.
A flat roof without coating. 
Uncoated roofs get rusted easily.
Benefits of roof coating
Roof coatings are extremely elastic and thicker than paint. Their elastomeric properties are a result of correct curing and produce a thick film yet durable enough to seal even small seams and cracks. Roof coatings, like paint, come in different types to conform with different roof materials.
Money Saver
Low-pitched roofs or flat roofs highly benefit from roof coatings. Roof coating or waterproofing is done by professional roofers is a cost-effective way in ensuring your roof gets an extended life. Band-aid solution for frequent and small cracks calling for roof repairs are an expensive move, which nevertheless leads to roof replacement. Better think of whether the money you spend on repairs could get you a good roof or placing it somewhere else more sensible, such as putting up a savings account.
Energy Saver
The quality of roof coatings provides extra protection from moisture, keeping the interior of the structure dry, thus saving more on energy. Also, the properties contained in roof coatings make the roof reflective against harmful rays and extreme heat, diverting heat away, making your building use less energy. This is in connection to having an eco-friendly roof. With reflective coating, cooling costs on buildings will be reduced by minimising the use of air conditioning, especially in warmer climates. Being so, premature roof replacement can be prevented.
Roof coating essentially contributes to the community or city by reducing the heat due to the urban heat island effect. In an urban area, buildings are ubiquitous structures, formally being a source of heat with their exhaust, ventilation, and air conditioning units all working together at once, contributing a large amount of heat around the city. Effective and reflective roof coatings mitigate smog and carbon footprint emanating from extreme heat, reducing the number of roofing waste.
Better performance stops leaks
Roof coating is a technique used in a roofing system to add life to the roof, reduce roof repairs, and fix leaks. The manner of applying coats on a roof is simple to understand but should be done by experienced roofers, because they have better skills and understanding of the engineering of the roofing structure. With roofers who have been handling various projects on roof repair, expect that your roof will double its integrity against any kind of occurring damage.
Roof coatings do not last for a lifetime, as the coating wears away through time. Inquire about the type of coating applied on your roof with your roofing contractor so that you will have a heads up when to re-coat. Issues on recurring leaks, damaged membrane, or poor insulation performance could be addressed easily when you have a hired contractor. Expect that in an efficient roof coating, even leaks not seen by the naked eye should be fixed.
We are free to talk
If you have further queries on roof coatings, this is the best time to ask our staff. While roof coating is an effective method in stopping the leaks, we could not deny that there could be underlying problems on the roof in case the coat fails. In fact, roof coatings come in different types to conform to different roofs. For different types of roof coatings, it is an intriguing and interesting topic to discuss next. For the meantime, feel free to talk to our team here at Roofers Birmingham, so that we can figure out what your building needs.
