THE ROOFERS WHO CALL YOU BACK
Commercial roof coating and restoration in St. Louis
A roof coating restores a membrane that is still attached and dry. It is not a new roof, and it is the wrong product when the insulation is wet or the deck has failed.
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When a coating works, and when it does not
A coating is a liquid membrane rolled or sprayed over a roof that still has a future. The sheet or cap is attached. The insulation under it is dry. The leaks are at seams, flashings and small cracks that a reinforced coating can bridge. In that case a restoration can extend the roof without a tear-off, and it can be the honest cheaper scope. We install roof coatings for that job.
A coating does not work on a wet roof. It also does not work as a bandage over a blistered, loose membrane, a deck you can push a foot through, or a flashing that has pulled off the wall and was never going to be a coating detail. Those roofs need repair of the detail or a replacement. Coating them traps water and spends the restoration money twice.
The decision is a moisture survey, not a brochure. If we cannot say the roof is dry, we do not sell the coating.
- A candidate: attached membrane, dry insulation, leaks at seams and small cracks
- Not a candidate: wet insulation, a failed deck, a loose sheet, or flashings that have left the wall
- Flat roofing
- Commercial roof replacement, when a coating is the wrong product
Silicone and acrylic
Acrylic coatings are water-based. They reflect heat well and they need dry weather to cure. Standing water is hard on them. They suit a roof that drains, where the goal is a reflective restoration over a sound membrane.
Silicone coatings handle ponding better. Water can stand on a cured silicone coating without washing it away the way it can wash an acrylic. Silicone attracts dirt and it is slippery when wet, so a roof people walk needs that said out loud. It is also particular about what it will stick to. A roof that already has an unknown coating may need a test patch before anyone promises adhesion.
We do not pick silicone or acrylic from the truck. The drainage, the existing surface and whether people walk the roof decide it, and the scope names the product. Neither one is a structural repair. A hole still needs a patch. A coating goes over a roof that has been made sound first.
- Acrylic where the roof drains and a reflective restoration is the goal
- Silicone where water stands, with the dirt and the footing said in the scope
- Repairs to seams and flashings finished before the coating goes down
Core cuts and a moisture survey
Before a coating, we look for water under the membrane. A core cut is a small opening through the roof so the insulation can be seen and felt. One dry cut in a corner does not survey a roof. The cuts go where the roof ponds and where it has leaked.
Wet board comes out, or the coating is cancelled. Coating over wet insulation seals the water in. The deck rusts or rots on a delay, and the restoration is blamed for a failure it covered up. A survey that finds a limited wet area can turn into a repair of that area and a coating of the rest. A survey that finds widespread moisture turns into a replacement. We would rather change the proposal than coat a wet roof.
Warranty
A coating we install is covered by our written labor and workmanship warranty on the terms of that job. A restoration is not a full replacement, and the certificate says what was coated. We do not restate a manufacturer's coating warranty on this page.
Coating or replacement
This page does not list prices. A coating is usually the smaller project when the roof qualifies, because the old membrane stays and the dumpsters stay away. It is the expensive project when it does not qualify, because it has to be torn off later along with the wet insulation it covered. The comparison that matters is not a number on a web page. It is two written scopes: restoration of a dry roof, or replacement of a wet one.
A building owner comparing bids should ask whether anyone cut the roof. A coating bid with no moisture survey is a guess. Our bid says what the cuts found.
- No price on this page. Two written scopes, after the roof is opened up enough to know
- Commercial roofing
- Flat roof repair, when the leak is local
Questions about coatings
- Is a coating a new roof?
- No. It restores a membrane that is still attached and dry. A new roof is a replacement, tear-off or recover, on its own page.
- How do you know the insulation is dry?
- Core cuts. Wet insulation is removed or the coating is not sold.
- Silicone or acrylic?
- Acrylic on a roof that drains and needs a reflective coat. Silicone where water stands. The scope names which one, after we see the surface it has to stick to.
- Can you coat a roof that ponds?
- Silicone can tolerate ponding better than acrylic. Ponding is still a drainage problem. A coating does not create slope. If the water is damaging the building, the bid may be tapered insulation and a new membrane instead.
- What if part of the roof is wet and part is dry?
- The wet area is repaired or replaced. The dry field can still be a coating. One scope should not pretend the whole roof is the same.
- Do you publish a coating price?
- No. The number is the written scope after the moisture survey. A coating over a wet roof is not a savings.
- Will you state the manufacturer's coating warranty?
- Not here. We state our workmanship warranty for the work we did. The certificate says it was a coating, not a full replacement.
- Do I get photos from the inspection?
- Yes. We photograph what we find and go through it with you, so you see what we saw.
Why building owners work with us
- GAF Certified
- BBB Accredited, rated A+
- We pull the permit on every job that requires one.
- Our office reads every request and calls you back.
- Inspections documented with photos of what we found.
Where we do this work
- Jefferson County
- St. Louis City
- St. Louis County
- St. Charles County