Dan White, Technical Project Manager, APOC and John Walker, Field Systems Coordinator, APOC
Today’s professional roofing contractors have options
when a customer calls about a leak. Before considering
a full tear-off and replacement, it’s important to
investigate whether a restoration job would be more
beneficial for everyone.
Commercial roofing repair can come with significant
time and resources spent, so it’s important to
ensure that you’re making the right choices for your
next project. It can benefit your customer and your
business.
What to do when a roof requires more than just
a few simple repairs? Today’s building owners are
typically presented with a few choices before a full
tear-off and replacement are required, depending
on the comprehensive state of the roofing system.
As a contractor, it’s your responsibility to guide them
toward the right choice.
How to make the right choice? The first step is to
perform an analysis on the state of the roof, determining
the condition of the structural deck, insulation
and the membrane. You can perform nondestructive
and visual testing to assess the state of the roof.
Remember, any roof that is more than 20 percent
saturated is deemed a full tear-off per many building
codes and standards.
If you’re under that threshold, however, you have
some options. In situations where applicable, roof restoration,
a process by which the existing roof system
is brought back to its original performance, can be
the most advantageous method. Here are the top five
reasons why:
First, because roof restoration aims to bring the original roof back up to a high-quality standard, it is the least-invasive option for the building owner. A good roof restoration process involves removing any debris and cleaning the roof to prepare for the rest of the project. Next, depending on the condition of the roof, a primer is applied to ensure good adhesion for patching, stain blocking and rust inhibition. Then, patching is performed to make sure all parts of the roof system are watertight. Finally, protective coatings can be applied to ensure long-lasting performance.
All of this is done without any invasive procedures or removing significant portions of the existing roof, meaning business can generally go on as usual within the structure – a significant benefit for the building owner. It also means that you’re not filling landfills with old material, a characteristic inherent to re-roofing projects.
Another option building owners may explore before a full re-roof is the recover. Recovering generally involves leaving the existing
membrane and insulation in place and installing a new layer of insulation board and membrane over it. The cost is generally comparable to a restoration project and is attractive versus a full removal and replacement for that reason.
However, recover projects inherently come with a few risks that a restoration project can avoid. First, any of the existing insulation
may be saturated and, if left on the deck and covered over by the new system, the deck will continue to deteriorate, regardless of
the new materials intended to fix the problem. Second, recovering essentially adds significant extra weight to the overall system. In some instances, this extra weight can lead to issues during periods of heavy rain or flooding.
Another downside to recovered roofs is that they are virtually non-maintainable. Think of it this way: recovering is essentially laying down a new roof system on top of a poorly performing one. The trouble is the system will continue to perform poorly. If any leaks do occur in the future, finding them beneath the new system is next to impossible for the average contractor. If any leaks occur to the new system, they are more difficult to detect, given that water will accumulate between the new cover and the old system before any water reaches the building’s interior. By the time this happens, the entire system will likely require a full tear-off.
Restoration, in contrast, leaves the existing system intact, allowing for easier maintenance and inspection throughout its life. Following good maintenance practices can help dramatically reduce the likelihood of failure and has been consistently proven to extend roof lifetimes.
Bituminous roofs have been around for decades and they are ideal candidates for repair and replacement. Their very nature makes them ideal for repair because original waterproofing solutions are easily bonded with new, high-performance repair mastics and coating materials. Meanwhile, standardized repair procedures have been perfected and following established best practices can return an original roof back to peak performance.
This all means that a restoration project can be undertaken with the purchase of a few high-performance products, a far more cost-effective solution than replacing the roof entirely. Full restorations on average range between $400 to $700 per square while tear-off and replacement can start at $1,000 per square and go up from there depending on region and project complexity.
Finally, roof restoration can be completed in far less time than it takes to replace an existing roof. For contractors, time is money. If you can successfully bring an existing roof back up to its original performance level with sound restoration methods, you can move onto your next job more quickly. This is beneficial for the building owner too.
In order to seize all the benefits of a restoration project, it’s important to work with the right supplier of high-performance coatings and mastics. Modern formulations can deliver outstanding performance that building owners can trust and can help a contractor ensure a job well-done. The right supplier may also be able to help you ensure best practices are followed on your next job, leading to more satisfied customers.
your next job, leading to more satisfied customers. As this issue went to press, Dan White passed away following a hard-fought battle with COVID-19. We remember and thank Dan for his contributions to our publication and the roofing industry over the years.
Dan White was a long-time technical expert for APOC, a brand within the ICP BSG family. Over the course of his 35-plus year roofing career, he worked in contracting, consulting and as a manufacturing rep. He held two patents and was the former chairperson for the Roof Coatings Manufacturer’s Association (RCMA) and served as the liaison between the RCMA and the
National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) to revise the NRCA coating manual. Dan was a veteran in the industry, known for his wealth of knowledge and ability to help customers across the country overcome challenges.
John Walker has earned respect by doing, but he is well credentialed too. At Joliet Junior College, John earned certifications in roof repair, boiler maintenance and basic building electrical systems. He has been a casino maintenance supervisor and owned and operated a residential home maintenance and remodeling company. John served as an independent sales rep for a national coatings company, then as a site supervisor for roofing contractors overseeing the installation of more than one million square feet of cool roof coatings. John has been a member of the APOC Technical Team for over 10 years. If you’re interested in learning
more about roof restoration, contact the APOC team today to hear from the experts or visit www.apoc.com. APOC is an ICP Building Solutions Group company.
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