Government Roof Coatings
Roof coatings that add years to sound government roofs.
What government roof coatings involves
A silicone or acrylic coating over a cleaned and repaired roof surface, applied at the thickness the system calls for.
A coating only works on a roof that is still sound underneath. We check that first.
What matters on government roof coatings
Coating extends, it does not rescue
A coating over a sound, dry low-slope roof buys real years. The same coating over a roof with wet insulation underneath seals the water in and hides a problem that keeps growing.
Thickness is the specification
Coatings are specified by applied thickness, not by number of coats. Spread thin to cover more square footage, the product will not perform to anything like its stated life.
When a coating makes sense
A coating is a way to extend a roof that is still sound, not a fix for one that is wet underneath. We check for saturated insulation and failed seams before we recommend it.
When it does fit, a coating can push back a replacement on a large public building by years, which helps a budget that has to plan ahead.
How the system goes together
Bringing an old metal roof back
A metal roof with sound panels and a tired finish is usually a candidate for restoration rather than replacement. Every exposed screw gets pulled and replaced one size up with a fresh washer, the seams and penetrations get reinforced, and then a coating system goes over the whole assembly to seal the thousands of small fastener points at once.
It only works on sound steel
Where the panel has rusted through, or where water has been getting into the insulation below for years, there is nothing for a coating to hold onto and we will say so.
Flashing is where roofs leak
Very few roofs fail in the field of the shingles. They fail at the transitions, at a wall, a chimney, a skylight curb, a pipe boot, a valley. Good flashing is metal shaped so water has nowhere to go but out. Bad flashing is sealant spread over a gap and a hope that nobody looks for four years. When we pull a roof apart, the flashing is what tells us whether the last crew was in a hurry.
Step flashing is one piece per course
There is no shortcut version of that detail that works.
What we check
- Field condition and granule loss
- Valleys, ridges and every transition
- Penetrations and their flashing
- Gutter and fascia condition
How we approach it
Look first
We get on the roof and read what is actually happening before quoting anything.
Say what we find
Photographs and a plain explanation, including when the answer is that you do not need us yet.
Built in sequence
Crews we hire and run, working the right detail in the right order.
Leave it clean
Magnet over the yard, container gone, walked with you.
Cold nights pull condensation into the attic
A lot of what people call a roof leak up here is not a leak. Warm moist air from the house rises into an attic, hits a deck that is well below freezing, and condenses on the underside of the sheathing. In the morning it drips. Homeowners see a wet spot and think shingles, when the problem is that the attic is not moving air.
Frost on nail points
We look for rust rings and frost on the nail shanks. That pattern tells you it is condensation before a single shingle comes off.
Two seasons of roof weather
Roofs here really only get two conditions and both are hard. There is the cold half, where everything is about snow load, ice at the eave and condensation under the deck. Then there is the hot dry half, where ultraviolet and surface heat cook the asphalt and the only water that arrives comes fast and sideways. Systems that do fine in a mild climate get worn from both ends up here.
Building for both
The details that handle winter and the details that handle summer are different details, and a roof has to carry both sets.
Where roofs go wrong
The shortcut we see most
Coating spread thin to cover more square footage. The stated service life assumes a specified thickness, and spread thin it will not come close.
What good looks like instead
Substrate prepared, seams reinforced, product applied at the specified rate and checked as it goes on.
Signs worth a look
- Coating chalking or wearing thin at traffic paths
- Seams telegraphing through the coating
- Ponding where the coating has discoloured
- Blisters forming under the surface
What to expect
When coating is the right answer
On a low-slope roof that is sound, dry and draining, a coating adds real service life for a fraction of a replacement. Those three conditions are not optional.
Surface preparation
Most coating failures are preparation failures. The surface has to be clean and dry, seams reinforced, and any ponding addressed before product goes down.
What it will not do
A coating will not dry out wet insulation, correct a drainage problem or bridge a failing seam on its own. If those are present we say so rather than coat over them.
Related work
Government covers more than one job, and they are not interchangeable. These are the others in the same family, each on its own page.
Questions we get asked
Not the question you had? Call the shop and ask a person. We would rather talk it through than have you guess from a website.
(801) 382-8898Will a coating fix my leaking flat roof?
Only if the roof is sound and dry underneath. A coating extends a good roof. It seals a wet one in.
How long does a roof coating last?
It depends on the product, the thickness applied and the exposure. Applied at the specified thickness over prepared substrate, it buys real years.
Do you work through the winter?
Yes, with judgment. Shingles need to seal, and in genuine cold that takes longer or needs hand sealing. Emergency work happens whenever it has to. Full replacements get scheduled around the weather rather than forced into it.
How do I know when a roof is getting close?
Granules collecting in the gutters, tabs lifting or curling at the edges, shingles that look bare in patches, and daylight or staining in the attic. Any of those is worth a look.
How long does a roof replacement take?
Most houses in this valley are a one to two day job once the crew is on site. Steeper pitches, multiple layers to strip and complicated roofs with a lot of valleys take longer, and we tell you which yours is before we start.
What happens if you find bad decking?
We show you. The decking is only visible during a tear-off, so that is when soft sheathing gets found and replaced. We photograph it rather than just add it to a list.
Ask about government roof coatings
Call (801) 382-8898 or send a note. We will look at the roof and tell you straight what it needs.