1. Age and Type of Roof 

The age and type of roof play a big role in deciding whether to re-roof or choose coating. If you have a ballasted system, or a severely rusted and compromised metal roof, or maybe you learn that there are more than two existing roofs installed on your building, you need to look into a tear-off and replacement. However, if you have an existing metal roof without any severe rust or aluminum coating, or if you have an older single-ply with minimum damage, you can benefit greatly from a liquid-applied system. Since there are several types of roofs, this is certainly not an exhaustive list and it's important to get a current assessment from a trained professional.

2. Roof Condition

If your existing roof is in a poor condition with broken or loose seams throughout the building, rusted deck or metal panels, or contains high levels of trapped moisture, a tear-off, and a new roofing system will most likely need to be installed. However, most roofs that we’ve seen over our fourteen years of experience are in a compromised stage. This might look like intermittent moisture trapped in pockets of the roof, some damaged sections, or maybe a few loose seams. With only partial damage, the approach of tearing off the entire roof and starting fresh becomes expensive, unnecessary, and wasteful.

3. Moisture Levels

Most roofing manufacturers in the United States have clear guidelines of what levels of moisture are acceptable on a roof and include best practices for taking care of a failing roof. If you perform a moisture scan (ex. infrared or core sampling), and you find high degrees of moisture on the roof you should not, under any circumstances, install a new roof without addressing this issue first. Failure to remove the moisture will result in severe damage to the existing decking, continuous leaks, minimized insulating factor, and will also cause the new roofing system to fail.

When Coating Makes Sense

There is an existing misconception that implies coatings are a cheap product that don’t provide long-term solutions for a building, but that’s simply not true. What is true is there are many poorly trained installers that don’t know how to properly install commercial roofing systems. We have seen just as many failures in poorly coated systems as we have on poorly installed single-ply systems.

Most roofs with partial damage would benefit from a type of technology on the coating-liquid applied side of the industry. Whether it's a partial or fully reinforced system, liquid applied technologies on average cost 50% less than tear-off and replacements while still offering long-term warranties to match those of single-ply systems. Additionally, there are some tax benefits and local rebates associated with liquid applied systems that can offset some of the original cost of installation. Whether it’s acrylic, silicone, urethane, or hybrid, when properly diagnosed, specified, and installed, a liquid applied system will yield successful results and the same longevity that any single-ply system provides. 

The key is to work with a certified, insured, and highly trained consultant to make sure the correct information is gathered to specify the proper product needed, guaranteeing a successful project execution and longer roof life.

With nearly 15 years of experience, RS Commercial uses surveys, testing, and expert analysis to create tailored long-term roofing solutions that protect assets, improve energy efficiency, and minimize costs. If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to reach out to us.