Replacing roofing and making repairs is the source of a lot of stress among facility managers and building owners—the cost of the projects, the time it will take, how it might affect your operations. While we have no be-all, end-all answer to many of your problems, sprayed polyurethane foam can be a great solution for your roofing needs.
The advantages of high-quality spray foam are countless compared to other roofing systems. A leader in the industry, spray foam roofing can save your business money and valuable downtime. Not only does spray-on roofing outlast every other roofing system on the market, but it will also pay for itself in a matter of years and have little to no effect on your daily operations. Read on for more information on the benefits of spray foam roofing.
What Is Spray Foam Roofing?
Sprayed Polyurethane Foam (SPF) has been used on roofs for about 50 years now, and it has grown in popularity consistently during that time. The spray foam is applied directly to an existing roof deck with little need for tear-off. This is a closed-cell foam made from high-quality materials to be extremely durable. The foam is so strong that it is even capable of holding up a car without flexing. For more information on what spray foam roofing is and how it can benefit your business, visit our blog.
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Learn MoreWhen to Use Spray Foam Roofing?
While spray foam roofing is high-quality and saves time and money and is a great choice for most flat-roof businesses, it isn’t the best option for everyone. Here are some situations when you should consider foam roofing for your building:
- You can’t shut down your business for any period of time
- You want to save money in the long run and become more energy-efficient
- You have a unique, challenging, or rare roof setup (multiple layers, penetrations, etc.)
If any of these or any number of other scenarios apply to you, then it may be time to consider spray foam roofing. It’s the most versatile and beneficial roofing system on the market and can save you plenty, financially and time-wise.
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Contact UsAdvantages of Spray Foam Roofing
Spray foam offers benefits that few other products in the industry can even compete with. Its advantages far outweigh its disadvantages and even the advantages of other roofing systems. Here are just a few reasons why spray foam roofing is a superior roofing system:
R-Value
Spray foam can be applied to almost any surface and is made of better insulation properties. The financial return is immediate, saving you money on your energy bill. Plus, it helps facilitate a more comfortable work environment, keeping the inside of your building cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
High Performance
Installed on almost any surface and made using high-quality materials, spray foam roofing can resist severe weather conditions with little to no need for repairs. It is designed to resist wind uplift and ponding water, all while insulating your building. Its seamless design also prevents leaks and lessens the need for repairs.
Long-Lasting
Once installed, the life cycle of spray foam roofing is 15-20 years, with only routine maintenance in between. Once the spray foam has reached the end of its life cycle, only a reapplication of its protective layer is needed to give the foam another 15-20 years.
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Free Scan?Cost Benefit of Spray Foam Roofing
We know that spray foam is not the most inexpensive roofing system out there, but we like to think of it more as an investment. Invest in a superior product and you’re going to see immediate returns. Here are a couple of ways spray foam roofing pays for itself:
Installation and Repairs
The installation for spray foam roofing is a quick and easy process that requires minimal tear-off, meaning no disruptions to your business. Foam roofing also eliminates the need for a large crew, so you only pay for a handful of workers for a shorter period of time. With no fasteners or seams and quality material, repairs are few and far between. Any repairs that are needed are often hassle-free fixes.
Energy Efficiency
With its long life and little need for repairs, spray foam roofing will cost you less over time than other roofing methods. It is applied directly to your existing roof and you will see its effectiveness in your energy bills immediately. The insulation structure is made to keep your building cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. In fact, a study done by Texas A&M showed that the energy savings alone can pay for the spray foam within five years. That’s a fraction of the long life of this roofing system.
How Spray Roofing Minimizes Downtime
There are plenty of instances where roof tear-off or noise pollution isn’t a problem during certain times of the day or certain seasons. However, many 24-hour businesses can’t shut down their operations or expose their machinery to the elements. The answer to this problem is spray foam, which requires little to no downtime for your operations.
Anytime Installation
Installation of spray foam roofing can take place at almost any time during the year overtop an existing roof with minimal tear-off. However, it is worth noting, that just like anything else, the extreme highs and lows of summer and winter can have an impact on the installers, the equipment, and the product. While precautions can be taken during much of those seasons, it’s best to avoid extreme weather conditions during installation for a better end result. On the other hand of weather, though, spray foam can be installed even when rain is in the forecast, since it can still be worth it to do small sections at a time.
SPF roofing is useful for small projects or incredibly large projects. Including our work on the Miami International Airport, an over 450,000 square foot project. It was important to the Miami-Dade Aviation Department that the construction not disrupt any of the airport’s daily operations which meant that IRC worked around the airport’s busy schedule, working mostly at night – still completing the project within seven months.
No Tear-Off
Little to no tear-off is required when installing, maintaining, or updating spray foam roofing. Without large pieces of the roof missing, there is no exposure to the elements and no disruption to your operations, saving you time and money better used for your business.
Installation of Spray Foam Roofing
Much of the cost of traditional roofing systems comes from the cost of labor, not the cost of quality materials. We specialize in a roof system that is efficiently installed, minimizing labor costs and allowing you to focus on quality materials.
Versatility
One of the biggest advantages of spray foam roofing is its ease of installation and its versatility. Spray foam can be applied directly to almost any surface at any time during the year, making it the right choice for most flat-roof businesses, especially those who cannot afford to shut down operations. As long as the equipment can get to the roof, you can have spray-on roofing.
Quality Over Quantity
We are not ashamed to admit that spray foam is not the cheapest option among roofing systems. If it was, you can be sure it would be made from sub-par materials. It is the superiority and the high performance of the product that you are paying for. This means that your roofing will last much longer and require far fewer repairs.
Quick and Easy Process
The method of application of spray foam roofing is a quick process that requires fewer workers than traditional roofing systems. Our experienced installers have hundreds of hours of practice and training, meaning that the installation is an easy process for them, but no quality of work is sacrificed.
Long Life of Spray Foam Roofing
Spray foam roofing offers a significant advantage over other roofing systems when it comes to its longevity. It’s simple design, quality materials, and weather protection allow for spray foam to outlast all other competitors and pay for itself in a fraction of the time. This means much less roof-related stress for you for decades to come.
Life Cycle
Made of superior materials, foam roofing can last up to 15-20 years with only routine maintenance required. A reapplication of the protective coating allows your spray foam roof to last another 20 years after that, too, making this roofing system the longest-lasting on the market.
Severe Weather Protection
Spray foam outperforms all other roofing systems when it comes to severe weather. It is designed safer and sturdier to protect you against the elements. Spray foam roofing is resistant to wind uplift, hail, and ponding water, which is beneficial for the inside and the outside of your building.
In fact, SPF roofing comes with a wind warranty and is even used on buildings like the Louisiana Superdome to withstand hurricane-level winds. While the SPF roof was installed on the Superdome following Katrina, the roof of the nearby Mississippi Coast Coliseum survived the Category V hurricane with little damage and no leaks.
Fewer Repairs
With its high quality and long life, spray foam roofing requires only general upkeep to make sure it is staying up to date. Spray foam does not use fasteners or have seams like other roofing systems, which means fewer leaks and fewer repairs. If a repair is required, it is a quick and easy fix. There is far less stress involved in minor repairs over a 20-year span than there are with the major, business-disrupting repairs of other roofing systems.
Recoating
After its 20-year life cycle is up, the spray foam roofing does not have to be replaced entirely. As long as your roof is maintained properly, the foam underneath the protective coating is still in working order. To make the spray foam last another 15-20 years, only a reapplication of the protective coating is required. Recoating instead of replacing your roofing system cuts down on labor, downtime, and costs.
Going Green
While spray foam roofing is a great way to be energy-conscious in your own business practices, IRC also tries to be safe and environmentally friendly in our work. We’ve accounted for the long life of foam roofing and how it saves you time and money, but it also greatly reduces the amount of construction debris in landfills. Traditional roofing systems require more tear-off and therefore more waste, but with SPF roofing, this is minimized immensely, including a lack of scrap material leftover. Spray foam also uses less energy to install than other roofing systems.
BASF products are also used to reduce waste and cost, recycle materials, and increase the life expectancy and safety of the roof. In a 2015 project with the BASF Corporation, 35 tons of gravel was removed from the roof before the application of foam and recycled to a cement company. In total, they reduced the amount of materials going to landfills by 80 tons. They also used vacuum trucks instead of a fleet of dump trucks to reduce emissions. IRC also implemented several techniques to reduce overspray, contain materials, and ensure the safety of the installers.
Conclusion
There are numerous advantages to using spray foam for your flat-roof business, but it comes down to two things: saving you money and downtime. While the upfront cost of this high-quality product may seem expensive, you will see immediate returns on your investment in your energy bill and with how little it takes to upkeep the spray foam for decades. With minimal tear-off, there is no “getting back” to business as usual. Business as usual never stops. There is no disruption to your operations and no exposing of your machinery to the elements. If that isn’t enough to persuade you, we don’t know what is.
The key to getting a great spray foam roof done? Finding a great contractor. Spray foam roofs often get a bad rap because they “don’t look good.” We argue that it is not the product, but the contractor that causes messy roofs. People make assumptions regarding spray on roofing too often, focusing only on poor jobs, but once you fully understand the advantages of spray foam and discuss what it can do for your business with an expert in the field, those assumptions are proved to be false. The pros of spray foam far outweigh the cons, so if you’re going to invest in a quality product, you also want to invest in quality work by a practiced contractor who is in this business for the long haul. Learn more about IRC and what we can do for you here.
