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Spray Foam Roof

INTERESTED IN A SPRAY FOAM ROOF ON YOUR BUILDING?

We hear from many building owners today that are interested in having a spray foam roof installed on their building, but they’re not quite sold on the system yet. Spray foam roofing is still a relatively new concept, so building owners often want to learn a little bit more before they move forward with installing one on their building.

In this post we will look at all the basics of a spray foam roof and describe the process and product very clearly. Hopefully, we can help anyone on the fence regarding spray foam roofs make the best choice for their building.

 

Spray Foam Roof Installation

The first thing you need to know about spray foam roof installation is that it is the easiest complete roofing system to install on the planet. It is an extremely simple process. It does take practice and you have to hone your skills to be a great installer, but it is still a very easy process. It is a 4 step process from start to finish. The 4 steps are: surface prep, deck prep, foam application, and coating application. You can read more about each of these steps here.

Spray Foam Roof Benefits

In some cases, a spray foam roof costs more than other traditional roofing systems. Why does it cost so much more? Is it worth the additional cost? Check out some of the benefits and you can decide for yourself.

Easy Installation

As we mentioned above, spray foam roofs are very easy to install. They take practice, but once you are a competent installer you can spray foam very quickly and efficiently.

No Leaks

Spray foam is a monolithic system which means it has no seams. It is also self-adhered, which means it has no fasteners. These are two of the most common causes of leaks in commercial roofs, so removing them removes a large percentage of leaks.

Insulation

Spray foam offers the highest R-value of any roofing system available, which simply means it is the best insulator of any system. If you want to keep your building cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and save money at the same time, a spray foam roof is for you.

Versatility

Spray foam roofs can be installed in almost any situation, over any roof. They are very versatile because they are spray-applied, so complications that would be difficult for other roofing systems are nothing for a spray foam roof.

As you can see, a spray foam roof can provide many benefits for your building, and we didn’t even mention all of them. Click here if you’d like to read more about what a new spray foam roof can do for you.

Maintaining a Spray Foam Roof

One benefit that we intentionally left out of the above “benefits” section was the benefit of extremely simple maintenance. Once a spray foam roof is installed on your building, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to maintain and keep in great shape.

Every roof should be inspected at least two times per year: once in the spring and once in the fall. For spray foam roofs, that is usually enough. While you are up there, you may notice a few issues that need repair, and they can generally be fixed with only three tools: a rag, a razor knife, and a tube of caulk.

In most cases, all you have to do is wipe off the roof with the rag, cut out the offending area of the roof and fill it in with the tube of caulk. Once the caulk cures, you’ve got a seamless roofing system once again. If the roof has been damaged and the area is too large to fix with caulk, then you may need to contact a professional to repair it. However, almost all repairs can be performed by in-house personnel. Maintaining a spray foam roof is one of the easiest jobs on the planet, because it just works.

Extending the Life of a Spray Foam Roof

Spray foam roofs have a long expected life at installation, usually around 20 years. One of the great things about foam, though, is that this life can be extended further through a process that we call a “recoat”.

A spray foam roof can be recoated at any time, but we recommend doing it before your warranty expires, that way you are never “out in the cold” without a warranty on your roof. At the time of the recoat, the roof must be inspected to make sure there are no leaks and no areas of wet foam. Once the roof has been inspected and any problems have been addressed, the roof needs to be cleaned and then a new protective coating will be applied. The coating can be acrylic or silicone; it should be the same as the original coating on the roof.

Once the new coating has been applied, the roof’s warranty period can be extended up to 20 more years. This means you are getting a roofing system with a 40 year warranty, and generally 40 years of leak-free protection, with only one initial install, and one major repair, which is the recoat itself.

Perhaps the best part about this is that there is no known limit as to how many times you can recoat a spray foam roof. As long as the roof is properly inspected and repaired each time it is recoated, and as long as it is maintained throughout the years, there are no real threats that can cause the foam to deteriorate. Could a spray foam roof last forever? Maybe.

Spray Foam Roof Life

As we touched on above, most spray foam roofs have an expected life of around 20 years. Sometimes a building owner will elect to install a thinner coating over the foam and they can get a warranty for as short as 5 years. The key to making sure a spray foam roof lives a good, long life is applying the foam at the proper thickness, and applying the protective coating at the proper thickness. As long as the foam is thick enough, it won’t sag or grow weak, and as long as the coating is thick enough, it will protect the foam from the UV rays emitted by the sun. The system works together perfectly to protect your building.

Conclusion

As you can see from this post, spray foam roofs offer many benefits and advantages over other roofing systems. They are easy to install, easy to maintain once installed, they rarely leaks, they’re extremely versatile, and they have a long life that can be easily extended by applying more coating. These roofs can be more expensive than other systems in some situations, but that is because they almost always out-perform all other systems. Give us a call if you’d like more info about getting a spray foam roof on your building.

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