Elastomeric Vs Silicone Roof Coating

Silicone Roof Coating

It goes without saying how important it is to have your roof coated with a trustable system. In this article, we will be pontificating about silicone roofing systems and how they can protract the lifespan of your roof, so read the paper until the end.

You may wonder what silicone roof coating must be. A silicone roof coating is a silicone skin that could be either rolled or could use a sprayer to spray it onto the installed roof.

These coating systems are used in order to mend cracks, blisters, and seams caused by rain or hammering. This, however, doesn’t help you with insulation as you may think, but it does act as a shield, protecting the roof from unexampled events and elements.

Silicone Roof Coating Problems

There are many issues in favor of silicone roof coating over traditional roof coating systems, and we will list them all below. Silicone Roof Coating Problems are as follows.

1. The first and foremost problem that follows with such a coating is that not every roofing material out there goes along with silicone coating. Before you decide on the best roof coating, be sure to consider the circumstances.

This is because there are roof materials that just won’t fall in with silicone roofing, and such a repellant trait could lead to more expenses. It is better to give it thorough consideration to avoid driving up installation costs.

2. Such coatings aren’t that good for heavy foot traffic, as might be expected of it. Silicone roof coatings could only stand roofs that don’t observe much foot traffic. Failing to comply with this could lead to tons of problems that we are going to discuss in the following paragraph.

• Silicone becomes greasier and slippery when it comes to even slight contact with water. This may end well with folks living on your roof.
• Frequent foot traffic could severely wear out silicone before it even reaches the end stage.
• Foot traffic may not cause that many problems unless you have visitors or guests over on your roof, so it is important to take these things into consideration.

3. Another problem that you will be faced with is the functioning of silicone roofs that are limited to flat roofs. These won’t go that well on pitched roofs, and if you are planning on getting these installed on your pitched roofs, it won’t work.

And it’s few far, and few between that commercial roofs are flat, so if there’s a pitched commercial roof, silicone will not be able to hold it up.

4. Usually, these types of roof coatings present themselves with shorter warranties, while others in the same category last up to 25 years. When contrasted with these coatings, a silicone roof coating may call for frequent swapping every ten years.

Some manufacturers, however, may offer you 15-year warranties on your silicone roof coatings. Though in such cases, you would be required to pay slightly more than you usually would.

5. Silicone roof coatings are extremely assailable to tearing for the reason that they are not as durable as others. It is often advised not to go for such types of coatings in areas where hail, foot traffic, and abrasion are widespread.

Hail could break open the coating, and the substrate would be exposed to all sorts of damage. In cases of tear, the entire coating needs to be repeated or done again.

Such tears can occur in quite a few ways, notably hailstones, heavy and strong tools coming in contact with the surface, pest infestations, debris that fall from trees, and many others. Make certain that your roof is far from any of the aforementioned harms.

6. Another major problem in getting such coatings installed is that these would cost you quite a lot compared to other materials. As the pricing structure mentions, silicone roof coating requires you to splash out $2 to $3.50 per square foot.

When compared to acrylic roof coating that only sets you back by fifty cents or a dollar at most, these prove to be immoderate.

Not only that, but these also need to be cleaned more often as they are exposed to all sorts of rifts and tears, and once they have been torn apart, you would have to take them off and apply another coating.

And to replace it with other materials, be ready to hire some professionals to get the entire surface taken down.

7. A lot of roof materials just will not perform well once you go over it with a silicone roof coating. This is mainly because silicone coats are difficult to work with and could end in a complete mess if not taken care of properly.

Contractors are required to go under special training to carefully coat silicone across their roofs, which incontrovertibly shoots up the cost of installation.

And if, by any chance, you end up handing it over to an inexperienced contractor, you are all the more in for some costly trouble. Improperly coated silicone roofs can lead to tons of problems, and there’s no way one could reverse the effects of it.

Also Read: Small House Plans 4.5×7.5 With One Bedroom Hip Roof

Best Silicone Roof Coating

Silicone roof coatings are placed slightly higher than other coatings when it concerns UV protection and moisture resistance.

Such coatings have in them the ability to resist water, thereby slowing down the erosion as compared to other coatings, without coming off as brittle or hard.

Owing to such qualities, you can consider installing these any fine day. These are the best roof coatings in the box.

Elastomeric Vs Silicone Roof Coating

As the name suggests, elastomeric roof coatings are elastic coatings, typically chosen to guard and waterproof the roofing material underneath it. The reason why these have been given the name elastomeric is that they are stretchable, just like elastic.

Conversely, silicone roofing is a single sheet of silicon, either sprayed or rolled over the roofs, to fill in existing blisters, cracks, and other rifts.

This, however, will not provide you insulation and just bolster your roofing system. Thus, extending its lifespan.

Also Read: Small House Design Plans 18×21.3 Feet With One Bedroom Shad Roof

Silicone Roof Coating Pros and Cons

Like anything else, this, too, has some pros and cons. Refer to the following pointers for the same.

Silicone Roof Coating Pros

1. If your roof is already in a stable condition, getting these systems installed over them could possibly protract the life of your roof. To reiterate, these roof coatings linger on for as long as 15 years.
2.  Another major benefit of opting for such coatings is that it keeps the spaces and facilities cool throughout the day. In addition to that, silicone coatings occlude UV rays, thereby letting your pockets heave a sigh of relief. You won’t find yourself splurging large amounts as electricity charges if you have these roof coatings installed.
3. Next up, we bring you the best news ever. If you plump for these silicone coatings, you wouldn’t have to hold up your daily activities till the work is done. These coatings are known for curtailing the duration of installation by 30%. So there are fewer chances of labor hanging around on the premises.
4. Who would want to get their roofs coated with systems that hardly offer a warranty? We do not want to pay bucks over and over again on this, so it is better to go ahead after taking stock of other alternatives like Silicone roof coating that come with a relatively longer warranty period.

Silicone Roof Coating Cons

List of the Cons of a Silicone Roof Coating

1. Silicone roof coatings are highly prone to dirt, debris, and other particles. And as the dust particles start building up, the roof coatings no longer boast their reflective properties.

Not only does the roof start to lose its shine, but such a build-up can also negatively impact the roof and expose it to heat from the sun, thereby raising the temperature within the premises.

To avoid this from taking place, go for a pressure wash every 6-12 months so that if there is any dirt build-up, it will not curtail the functions of roof coatings. Ask your contractors to install additional shelters to protect this build-up.

2. In silicone roofs, coating problems can be difficult to work with, especially on hydraulic spray equipment. If your sprinkler equipment or tools have not been properly cleaned or washed well, you may encounter some problems when working around your roof area.

This challenge comes off as an indelible one, especially when spraying is the last resort.

3. Silicone roof coatings are slippery and greasy, which makes them one of the hardest substrates to make use of.
The other downsides are mentioned at length under the silicone roof coatings section.

Also Read: Small House Plans 6×7 With 2 Bedrooms Shed Roof

Silicone Roof Coating Price

Once the roof is prepared, you are required to go over the roofing panel again to install silicone sheets. Either one can roll it over the roof or spray the application over the entire surface of the roof so that there is a waterproof layer to your commercial and residential spaces, and the chances of seams are thin on the ground.

There are quite a few factors affecting the number of layers and the thickness thereof, with the main being the brand of the material that your contractor came down in favor of. Some contractors may be bent on one coat, whilst others go for two or more coatings.

All of these factors have a considerable bearing on the expenses of roof coating installation. The standard prices can be checked out below:

There’s a minimum of 10-year warranty offered, and the prices are:

One coat will cost you around $1.40 to $1.87 for an area of one sq. foot. If you want two coatings to be done, you are going to have to pay around $1.78 to $2.10 per sq. foot.

There’s another silicone roof coating that comes with a 15-year warranty and will set you back by $2.10 to $2.45 per sq. foot. Similarly, if you decide on two coats, be ready to pay around $2.45 to $2.50 for every sq. foot.

You will have to choose which one would be more suitable for your roof, and this decision is influenced by the roof material you have.

How Long Do These Coatings Last?

You can enjoy a huge mileage off of silicone roof coatings if the pre and post-installation measures are appropriate.

These can last up to 15 years if you have computed the possibilities of it wearing off, the roof material, cracks/rifts, and other things. Similarly, you must remember to treat the coating with utmost care.

Silicone Roof Coating Residential

These Silicone roof coatings need not be applied over and over again, i.e., there is no need to have multiple layers to keep the system in control.

When we consider residential spaces or flat roofs, this sort of coating proves to be the best, as one coat is sufficient for the entire roofing system.

Not only that, but it also offers optimal durability. Further, you won’t have to worry about residential space for a long time if you have these systems installed over your roofing system.

Silicone roof coatings might not be the best choice to insulate the roofing, it does keep excessive heat at bay, all thanks to their reflective white coat. These make an essential thing to reduce the scorching levels of heat from entering residential flat roofs.

These, however, don’t shut out heat completely but manage to keep the insides cool. As per officials, the coatings of silicone act as a thick paint to obstruct UV light from entering the premises and has some restorative features to them as well.

Conclusion

The aforesaid article talks about silicone roof coatings and how to work around them. These are essentially protective layers over your roof to prevent the roof from falling apart or deteriorating.

We have looked into various topics as regards silicone roof coating problems, the pros of having these systems installed, how long these last, and how much it will cost you.

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