Finding the right roof coating
In the last 15 years, there has been a huge shift away from older, traditional roofing systems that were made from oil — such as pitch and gravel, cap sheet roofing, BRAI, etc. These are heavy, expensive and crack easily in the hot Hawaiian sun.
Every 10 years or so, these systems need to be torn off and hauled to the dump at great expense. Wouldn’t it be better if you never had to tear off your old asphalt roof, but could simply coat it?
Enter the Cool Roof Revolution. You leave your existing hot roof in place and simply coat over it with a waterproof, reflective coating using either silicone or water-based acrylics. These are highly reflective, lightweight and never have to be torn off. You simply recoat them with a topcoat using a fraction of your original material when they start to wear off.
How often is that? Good question. The leading manufacturers, such as Gaco, NXT and Apoc have been around for many years, and all give material warranties of 50 years — now that’s confidence.
Most roof coatings fall into two different categories: silicones and acrylics. Generally, on a flat roof, 90 percent of homeowners now choose a silicone coating, because it can withstand unlimited ponding water without bubbling up, and doesn’t chalk off or “sacrifice” like acrylics do.
It is also much easier to apply, so you save on labor cost. That’s because you don’t need to reinforce the entire roof by embedding a polyester roof fabric like you would with an acrylic coating. You only need to apply the CRS ROOF TAPE over the loose seams and drip edge before rolling on your coating.
So why even bother with acrylics on a flat roof anymore? Usually it’s when a customer has a flat roof that doesn’t have ponding water and wants a special color. The silicones presently are stocked in white, tan and grey. Other colors like red, green or brown can be special ordered.
Acrylics are also less expensive and typically will have a material warranty of 7 to 12 years. Experience has shown that after 12 to 15 years, you may want to clean off the roof and put on a new top coat — using just a fraction of the original material.
The right acrylics are also excellent as a primer/base coat before you apply your silicone top coat. They block asphalt bleed thru and keep your dry, thirsty roof from soaking up too much of your valuable silicone.
When customers do want to coat their Monier concrete tiles or want custom colors, the company refers them to its NXT COOL ZONE Acrylic, which has been tested in the brutal Australian sun for more than 40 years. The special nanotechnology creates a coating that reflects the sun’s UV rays and cools down your home, even with dark colors.
The company offers a 12 year material warranty, with an expectation that in most cases you don’t have to recoat for about 15 to 20 years. This is the best seller for sloped roofs, such as Monier tile or asphalt shingles, where the customer may want a darker color to blend into the neighborhood and still be cool.
Don’t know your square feet? No worries, view the simple video on the company’s website, or call Leakmaster at 591-100 and have the expert staff walk you through it. That way you can get an idea of pricing in the privacy of your home.
When you want an exact price in writing, just contact Leakmaster again, and its skilled professionals will visit your jobsite in person for a firm bid. You may also visit the company showroom at 575 Cooke Street in Kakaako to see the systems up close.
LEAKMASTER ROOFING
contact // 591-1900
address // 575 Cooke St.
web // www.leakmaster.com