Don’t start the job with a big mistake!
As silicone roof coating professionals know, power washing is typically the first step in any coating job. Power washing a roof before coating helps remove dirt, debris, and grease that could affect the coating’s adhesion. This week’s tip is not that you must power wash, however. It’s to make sure you are power washing properly.
When power washing a roof with seams (such as metal or modified bitumen roofs) it’s important to make sure you are spraying above the seam, not into the seam. For most substrates, we recommend power washing with 2,000 psi. That’s enough pressure to do some serious damage! If not careful, you can actually get water into the building and blow apart the seams of the roof you’re restoring. It goes without saying that doing this can cause major headaches during the actual coating process and require damage repair on your part, adding time and money to the job.
Proper Power Washing
To properly power wash a roof before coating, make sure you identify all the seams first. Typically, the seams of a roof will be in a similar pattern. This makes it easy to overlook a crossover seam or a new pattern. Identifying all seams first will keep you from missing any and blasting through a seam. Once the seams are identified, spray down and away from the opening to ensure proper power washing.
This tip may seem self-explanatory but we’ve all been on job sites with quick turnaround times. During the hustle of these quick jobs, it can be easy to overlook some of the most common aspects of roof restoration. This quick tip can keep you on schedule and out of trouble!
Tune in next week as we look into how staging and gridding a roof can help you estimate a job quickly and efficiently and achieve proper coating coverage.
