When Are Roof Replacements Necessary?
As a company specializing in silicone roofing systems, it’s no secret that we prefer restoration over replacement as often as possible. That being said, we’re also a company founded upon honest principles, so we thought it would benefit everyone to start this series off talking about when roof replacements are actually necessary.
It should go without saying that you should always have a professional inspect your roof before making any major decisions about its future. With that in mind, here are a couple things you could look for on your commercial roof to help in this decision:
Major Holes, Damage, or Rust
Obviously, you can’t coat what is not there. If your roof has major holes, cracks, or separations it will be impossible to coat. Sometimes roofs are in such poor condition to start, that no roof coating would be able to help. If the roof is not structurally sound, it’s typically best to get a replacement.
If you’re roof is a single ply roof, you will want to bypass a silicone restoration if you can see the scrim on the substrate. With this much deterioration of the single ply, the silicone will not adhere appropriately and will not be a good fit. Replacing these sections is what you’ll want to do.
Poor Adhesion
Another reason you may want to choose a roof replacement is if the substrate has poor adhesion. Luckily, we can make this determination pretty easily. By reaching out to your Regional Manager, you can schedule a free adhesion test. This test will tell you whether or not our silicone will adhere to your roof. Your regional manager can actually come to your roof and show you, first-hand, whether or not our silicone will adhere. Due to our silicone’s strong performance, we almost always get great results from these tests. In the rare case that the roof has weathered so much that adhesion is poor, a replacement may be the right solution for you. To schedule a free adhesion test, click here!
Final Analysis
In our experience, the great majority of commercial roofs are candidates for a roof restoration. There are, however, cases where a restoration just isn’t feasible, like the examples laid out above. Luckily, even with many cases of extreme wear and tear, you can just replace a small section of the roof where the majority of the damage lies and coat over that and the remaining section. We will discuss a combination method in 2 weeks. These instances are when you’ll want to lean heavily on the advice of a trained professional.
Please join us next week as we discuss when a roof restoration is the right fix for your roof. If you’re wondering whether or not your roof is in good enough shape for a renovation, you can find your Regional Manager here.
