National Coatings Blog

Flat Roof Repair is Likely when Proper Roof Maintenance is Overlooked

Posted by Nicole Gale on Tue, Jul 07, 2015 @ 11:00 AM

Proper roof maintenance is recommended at least twice a year. The rooftop is often unseen, making it easy to forget or avoid. However, if you conduct a roof inspection beginning of spring and end of fall each year, you can prevent several issues that lead to roof failure, requiring you to conduct some sort of flat roof repair work. **If your roof system is under a manufacturer’s warranty at present, these bi-annual inspections are required as part of the obligation between the parties named on the face of the warranty document and must be documented in writing with verifiable dates, times and photographic confirmation of damage and repairs of same. The repairs must be made by the manufacturer’s approved contractor in good standing with the manufacturer. Otherwise you risk voiding the entire warranty. Unfortunately this is known as a “walkaway clause” in the roofing industry. **

We have compiled 6 common roofing issues that could occur to your rooftop this year. When these issues are handled and dealt with, major repair is typically not necessary. On the other hand, when they are avoided and overlooked, a costly and timely flat roof repair project could be waiting for you when that first rainstorm passes through.

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1. Ponded Water: This roof has a large area of ponded water, which can cause the surface to delaminate, blister, peel, and compromise adhesion of the roofing system to the building’s substrate.  You will need to address this issue if it has begun to occur, and fix it immediately. The AcryShield SPF Roofing System can eliminate drainage issues by adding custom slope to your roof in areas where ponded water typically occurs.

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2. Impacted or Clogged Drainage: At this point, a plumber is recommended to unclog the drain and the ponded water area needs to be inspected to make sure no further damage has occurred. (See Ponded Water above more information.)

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3. Large Blister: Blisters can occur because of several reasons, including: adhesion issues, ponded water, aging membrane and more. They need to be fixed immediately as water penetration is very likely. Contact one of our Roofing Professionals with zero obligation to determine your next steps to restoring your current roof.

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4. Debris from Overhanging Trees: This is a simple, yet common oversight that needs to be addressed.  Branches can cause abrasion to the surface of the roof and should be trimmed away.  Ensure the rooftop is clean and free from any leaves, broken branches etc… which if ignored can create clogged drains and ponding water.

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5. Mastic Cracking at Pipe Jack: Water penetration is likely to occur when seals are failing and not functioning as designed. All areas on the roof around joints and flashings need to be inspected to ensure seals are properly working – have good flexibility (not brittle), adhesion, and water resistance.

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6. Plant Growth: Weeds, trees, and plants can grow out of the smallest cracks in the sidewalk and along roads. Your roof is no different. You want to remove any form of plant growth immediately as this can cause many different issues (improper drainage, damage from roots, inadequate adhesion, ponded water, etc…) to your roofing membrane that would require a flat roof repair project to be crucial.
**DO NOT SIMPLY PULL plant growth from the roof surface as the roots usually have penetrated the surface of the assembly and by removing incorrectly can cause severe damage that can increase the otherwise inexpensive repair. Have a roofing professional do this removal. **

Contact National Coatings if your roof is experiencing any or all of these situations. We can provide you with a cost savings solution that will allow you to restore and maintain your current roof, avoiding a costly and timely roof tear-off. For more information, download our Free Systems Brochure.

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Tags: Roof Maintenance, Roof Coating, Flat Roof Materials

What Flat Roof Materials Do I Need to Coat and Preserve my TPO Roof?

Posted by Nicole Gale on Thu, Jun 18, 2015 @ 11:30 AM

The AcryShield Roof Management (ARM) System is ideal for preserving your TPO roof, while avoiding a roof replacement. The ARM System for TPO was designed to eliminate any priming or etching rinse stages; therefore, saving the contractor time and the building owner money.

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When preserving a TPO roof, you will need these 3 flat roof materials:

  1. AcryShield A502 Base Coat – The A502 was specifically formulated for tenaciously adhering directly to TPO. This roof coating allows you to eliminate priming the entire roof substrate before installation begins.
  2. Customized Local Reinforcement – High-tensile strength polyester reinforcing fabrics add superior strength and long term durability to localized areas on the roof that need extra care.
  3. AcryShield Top Coat – The AcryShield top coat you choose can range from our standard elastomeric coating, which provides longevity and brightness with superior dirt pick-up resistance and protection against biological attach, such as algae; to our high performance top coats, that specialize in extra foot traffic and physical abuse protection, ultra high reflectance or fast setting coatings to resist early wash-off associated with light rain and heavy dew. Most these coatings also exceed all ASTM D6083 requirements and also offer excellent tensile strength, elongation and wet adhesion. Contact us for more information 800-423-9557.

Need Help? Contact a Roofing  Professional  Zero ObligationInstalling an ARM System to lengthen the life of your existing TPO roof is non-disruptive to the work environment and provides ease of application with only 3 installation steps. Depending on the top coat chosen for your project, you can get a roofing system with ZERO VOC’s, otherwise, all the ARM Systems for TPO contain ultra low VOC’s which means there are no harmful or strong odors. Installation is spray applied, creating a monolithic roofing membrane, which is custom tailored to your roofs particular needs and there is no disruptive drilling, nailing or seam welding involved. Your building is able to remain open for business as usual!

When choosing an AcryShield Roof Management System, you are selecting flat roof materials that will protect and extend the lifespan of your aged, leaking TPO roof. You get superior durability and performance with our AcryShield base and top coats with an added benefit of gaining a highly reflective roof substrate which allows you to lower energy usage and consumption – saving you money. The ARM System also lowers roof maintenance costs and increases weatherproofing benefits that allow you to lower the total life-cycle costs of your building.

For more information on extending the lifespan of your existing TPO roof, download our FREE Single-Ply Roofing Brochure! Or contact one of our Roofing Professionals; we are here to help you!

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SINGLE-PLY RESTORATION SYSTEMS Offering DIRECT Adhesion to most Single-Ply Substrates - Eliminating Costly & Timely Installation Steps

Tags: Flat Roof Materials, TPO Roof Coating, TPO Roof, Restore TPO, roof restoration system

What are “Flat Roofing Systems”?

Posted by Nicole Gale on Tue, Nov 25, 2014 @ 12:30 PM
021There are two types of roofs: low slope, (which is often referred to as a “flat roof”) and steep slope roofing. Low-slope roofs are less than or equal to 3:12 or 14 degrees in slope and steep slope exceeds 3:12 or more than 14 degrees in slope.

Flat roofing systems that can be installed on a low-slope rooftop include: 

  • Asphalt Membranes – Including Built-Up (BUR), Mod Bit and Cap Sheet
  • Metal Systems
  • Roof Coatings
  • Single-Ply Membranes – Including EPDM, Hypalon, PVC and TPO
  • Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) Systems 

Like all roof materials, these flat roofing systems provide weatherproofing, reinforcement and surface protection. Low-sloped roofs have an asphalt, metal, single-ply or SPF roofing system initially installed on top of it. A roof coating system is often added on top one of those systems for an increased roof lifespan, energy savings, protection, maintenance and/or restoration.  

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT: What's The Difference  Between "Cool Roof"  Versus A "Normal" Roof? Roof coatings can be added during the construction phase to increase reflectivity, provide additional protection and decrease energy consumption. Coating an asphalt roof covers the black surface of the roof and creates a white rooftop, which allows the building to remain a cooler temperature without the extra use of air conditioning. (Check out our graphic showing how a “Cool Roof” saves a substantial amount of money versus a “Normal” aka black roof.) Coatings are also added during the construction phase onto SPF systems to protect the foam from the sun’s harmful UV rays. The UV rays would cause premature degradation to the foam, if the foam wasn’t covered and protected by the coating. This is a necessary step to applying a spray polyurethane foam system to any rooftop. 

Roof coatings are also applied onto these flat roofing systems when initial signs of degradation and failures occur. The coating systems are able to restore and renew these flat roofs to new without a costly tear-off, without business closures or disruptions and for a very competitive cost. The roof coatings extend the lifespan of the roof up to 20 years and can be re-coated every 10 or so years to restore your existing roof indefinitely. This can save you thousands of dollars by avoiding a traditional roof replacement. Read our article: Life Cycle Cost Analysis Using Roof Coatings for a detailed cost analyses.

If you are interested in more information on roof coatings for flat roofing systems, download our Free Product and Application Brochure, or our Considering Coatings – a Free Guide to Roof Coatings.

Commercial Roofing Contractors

For information on coating a specific substrate:

Tags: Flat Roof Materials, low slope roof