National Coatings Blog

With all the options on the market for flat roof materials, why should I choose a roof coating system for my building?

Excellent question! Roof coating systems have 4 primary benefits that other flat roof materials cannot offer:

1.    Spray Applied – Custom Tailored to YOUR Roof’s EXACT Needs
A roof coating system is applied by spraying the coating directly over the existing aged or failing membrane. This allows the coating to spread to those hard to reach areas, go around and under pipes, fully covering the surrounding surface areas of skylights, gutters, HVAC systems and other equipment placed on your roof. Other flat roof materials, such as single-plies, require you to cut around and patch these areas with a roof sealer. Not only does this add additional cost in labor, but these cut out and patched areas do not provide the same waterproofing protection as a single, fully adhered, monolithic membrane. A roof coating system covers the full surface of a roof field, leaving no unprotected areas to insure full waterproofing. Roof coatings provide excellent protection and coverage no matter what particular characteristics your roof possesses.

2.    Seamless
A seamless roof membrane is an ideal membrane because there are no holes, seams or patched areas that could create a possibility of leakage to occur. AcryShield roof coatings are packed full of ingredients that allow them to expand and contract with the changes in weather temperature. The seamless membrane moves together and pulls at an even rate across the roof field when temperatures rise and fall. Single-ply membranes such as TPO, EPDM and Hypalon have seams that are welded together and puncture holes where the single-ply is rolled out onto the roof and adhered to the existing membrane. These seams and holes carry the majority of the extra stress and pressure when the weather changes and are often the first areas to being tearing, causing leaks and premature roof failure.

3.    High Reflectivity – Added Protection to Prolong Roof Life
Roof coatings come in a range of colors but when looking for a highly reflective coating, you want to choose a bright white one that is full of UV blocking pigments. These pigments are necessary to provide protection for your roof from the leading cause of roof degradation – the sun. The sun’s UV rays break down the surface of a roof, resulting in a brittle roof membrane that easily cracks and tears, causing early roof failure and leaks. This is preventable with a highly reflective roof coating, such as the AcryShield A590. National Coatings has multiple coatings that are listed on the Cool Roof Rating Council for having high reflectivity and solar reflectance. While roof coatings provide excellent reflectivity, it is important to note, proper roof maintenance is key when wanting to extend your roof life indefinitely. The AcryShield Roof Maintenance (ARM) System, provides exceptional waterproofing protection and coverage to your roof. When applied every 10 years, the ARM System allows you to restore your roof to new, while never needing to do a costly tear-off.

4.    Non-Disruptive Application
Lastly, a roof coating system is an excellent choice for a company that cannot be disrupted from their normal, daily work environment. When a National Coatings roof coating system is applied to your roof, there are no noises from drilling, nailing or seam welding and due to the ultra low VOC content in the coatings; there are no harmful or strong odors. This is why hospitals, hotels, malls, and many other fortune 500 customers have chosen to use National Coatings products.

For additional information on roof coating systems, check out our full product brochure!

Benefits of Roof Coating Membranes vs 
Single-Plies/Installing a Second Roof to Your Existing Roof

Building codes usually allow you to add a second roof to your building if the first roof is failing. Anything after the second roof, you typically need to choose between a roof tear-off/new installation or a roof coating membrane system. A roof coating membrane system is the superior choice for several reasons over a tear-off/new roof but what if your building currently has only one roof, what is the better option, apply a new single-ply membrane to the existing roof or apply a roof coating membrane system to the existing roof? The answer once again is apply a roof coating membrane system. Let us explain.

Roof coating membranes are typically spray applied. This allows them to create a monolithic and seamless membrane which is custom tailored to fit your roofs exact needs. If your roof needs additional slope to eliminate drainage issues, roof coating membrane systems (particularly the AcryShield SPF Roofing System) allow you to build in that slope to redirect the water towards a drain. If your roof experiences a lot of ponded water issues, AcryShield coatings are ideal because they are formulated for resistance to ponded water and protection against biological attach, such as algae and mold. If your roof has skylights, pipes, or equipment on the roof (as most do), roof coatings are sprayed directly on the areas where those items meet the roof, creating a seamless, watertight seal in those areas. 

Single-Plies are not spray applied; therefore, they cannot be custom installed and tailored to meet the particular issues each individual roof has. Single-plies are prefabricated sheets of material that are brought up on the roof and cut and trimmed to fit the size and shape of the roof. It cannot bend, mold and form fit like a liquid coating is able to. A single-ply can not wrap itself around items on a roof like the coating can - it needs to be cut, shaped and placed on the pipe or foot of equipment and then seam-welded, nailed or drilled. Then it needs to be filled/puttied with a sealer so leaks do not occur. The sealant does not have the same adhesion capabilities to the single-ply as a coating has to itself. This makes the single-ply more likely to tear away from the sealant and leak in the future. 

A coating is similar to a paint in that when it is sprayed, it fills small cracks and voids in the roof to create a solid, smooth surface. The coating then dries and hardens together to become a monolithic membrane. Our coatings contain high solids and premium ingredients making them high performing and flexible so they can move with the expansion and contraction of the roof. 

Single-Plies may be installed to the roof deck or substrate using mechanical fasteners, seam welding, adhesives and nailing. They are not 100% adhered to the existing roof membrane like a coating is because they are basically placed on top of the roof membrane or deck and fastened to it. They do not have the ability to be as watertight as a coating system does because they do not fill all the cracks and voids. Single-Plies have the ability to stretch a little but often times become brittle and crack over time due to plasticizer migration. This causes the single-ply to become less flexible leading to potential leaks when the roof experiences movement.  

The important differences of a liquid applied system (roof coating membrane) versus a prefabricated system (single-plies) lead us to believe there is no better choice when faced with restoring your roof other than a roof coating membrane system. The ability to custom install your roof to fit your buildings' exact needs are unparalleled. If you are looking for a watertight solution with excellent adhesion to your existing roof membrane, choose from one our AcryShield Roof Managment Systems (ARM), AcryShield SPF Roofing Systems, or AcryPly Roofing Systems.