Urethane roof?

Question

I have learned a ton on these forums and through the BP podcasts, but I learn even more by actually renovating properties. I have my 4th and 5th rehabs in process at the moment. I had a roofer look at the roof of number 4 before purchase. He said it was great. It was a metal roof and needed a few small repairs that would run me about $1000. After putting new roofs on my previous three rehabs, I was feeling good.

Fast forward a month or two. The same roofer bid me high on another job and I decided to get a second opinion on the roof of house 4. The second roofer came back (with pictures) and said the whole roof was done wrong, probably leaking (no evidence of that on the inside) and needed completely replaced. Suddenly I was not feeling so confident about my metal roof.

With two roofers on the opposite ends of the spectrum, I decided to call in a guy I'll call roofer number 3. He was recommended by another investor in the area with over a decade of experience. After seeing the property, he said the truth is probably somewhere in between to the first two assessments. But rather than a full replace, he recommended a urethane overlay which would have a 12-year guarantee and would be half the price of the new "traditional" roof.

So I've been messing around on the internet trying to learn about urethane roofing systems.

Have you used them? What's your thoughts about cost and durability? Do insurance companies ever have issues with them?

Mike

Michael Wentzel · Answer

@Jake LandryThanks for the insight. It is good to have someone share with a ton of experience.Gary W.I did a google search. It looks like my cheapest option and reminds me of the spray-on shoes in "Cloudy with a chance for meatballs". I wonder if any of Jake's guys would apply it for me in a professional manner.Mike

Jake Landry · Answer

The standard warranty offered by roofing then the factors is always a limited warranty. They cover material defects and they are prorated and they do not cover any workmanship errors. Workmanship errors are the number one problem in roofing. Not the actual product failing. Most of the time when the product fails, it's because it was not installed properly. I work as a regional training manager for the largest roofing manufacturer North America. We make a product called TopCoat. It's an elastomeric acrylic coating. The coatings business is a large industry in United States. We have a premium product that can go over metal roofs and you can get a 20 year no dollar limit warranty that covers manufacturig defects as well as workmanship errors. The only way to obtain a 20 year NDL guarantee by us or any other manufacturer is to make sure that a contractor that is actually certified by the manufacture installs the roof and the roof is inspected by the manufacturer. I didn't join this site to sell roofs but I like to add insight when people are talking about roofs. There are several good manufacturers out there that make elastomeric acrylic coatings designed to restore metal roofs. If you're interested in checking out the product that I'm referring to go to GAF.com and search for topcoat roof restoration. If you have any general questions about coatings or metal roofing in general, feel free to PM me. Good luck and at the end of the day, it may not be easy to find a good roofer But it's easy to identify ones simply by asking for recent references. I can refer some roofers we have in your area if you'd like.

Wayne B. · Answer

Not sure if this is the same, or similar, but Conklin Roofing devolped a product that sprays on. I met a distribution rep over the weekend and am very impressed with it. We have a lotof metal, EPDM and BUR roofsthat need to be replaced and thinking of using it. .Worth mentioning; he said at the end of the warranty, we can have it washed and a thin recoat done to restart the warranty!!Curious to hear opinions on this myself.

Michael Wentzel · Answer

@Wayne B.Thanks for sharing your insight. There have to be some people on BP who have actually used this product over metal roofs. Hopefully we get a few people to share who have put 30 or 40 of these roofs on.Gary W.Not sure what "flex seal" is. Are we talking about the same thing?Mike

Jake Landry · Answer

let me find out who we've got over there and I can send you their contact information. Do you want to PM me your phone number?

Michael Wentzel · Answer

@Jake LandryYeah... I picked up on Gary's joke. I was just a little slow on his first post.Thanks for the link to the videos. That gives me a better picture of how it would work. Do you have any approved contractors in Pueblo, Colorado?Mike

Jake Landry · Answer

The flexseal that he's referring to is actually a gimmick. The coatings I'm referring to are elastomeric acrylic coatings that can be brushed on rolled on or spray applied. Go to YouTube and search for GAF topcoat and there's a video showing what I'm talking about.

Account Closed · Answer

it was a joke sorry, ignore my comment http://rubberspraysealant.com/

Account Closed · Answer

just flex seal your whole roof