What roof coating involves
Surface prepared, seams reinforced, then a coating applied at the specified thickness.
A coating extends a roof that is sound. It does not fix one that is wet underneath.
What matters on roof coating
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.
How the system goes together
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.
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.
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.
Freeze and thaw works on everything
A February day here can swing forty degrees between sunrise and mid afternoon. Water gets into a nail hole, a lap, a crack in the flashing sealant. It freezes overnight and expands. It thaws and goes deeper. Multiply that by a hundred cycles a winter and small openings become real ones. It is slow, and it is the reason a roof that was fine three winters ago is leaking now.
Sealant is a maintenance item
Anything relying on caulk has a clock on it. Flashings that rely on metal geometry instead of sealant last a great deal longer.
A slide onto a walkway
A loaded slope above a front door or a side path is a safety matter before it is a roofing one. Snow releases in one piece, and a hundred pounds landing on a step is how people get hurt. It also tears at the gutter on the way past and bends the hangers out of the fascia.
Fixing it means changing the geometry
Retention hardware, or a small roof over the entry to break the fall, or moving the path. Something has to change, because the slope will keep doing what slopes do.
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
Coatings 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.
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.
What makes a Utah roof different?
Snow load, ice at the eaves, canyon wind and high-altitude sun, all on the same roof. A crew that learned roofing somewhere mild has to learn it again up here.
Will you tell me if I do not need a new roof?
Yes. Plenty of what we look at turns out to be a repair, and we say so. A roof with years left in it gets left alone, and you get the photographs either way.
Ask about roof coating
Call (801) 382-8898 or send a note. We will look at the roof and tell you straight what it needs.