Hi Cheri, if possible can you post a couple of pictures of your flat roof. If not a huge area, you can probably do a fiberglass "roll-roof" that should last you years. If not a DIY project, I'd search for a roofing contractor who's a member here on HomeTalk. Many offer significant discounts for members. let us know if you have any problems with the feature or when you find someone, let us know your critique of their performance. Best wishes to you...JL
It has been our experience that the sprayed foam roof becomes the target of animals. Squirrels, birds, etc. will eat this type of roof. That type of destruction would not be covered by any type of warranty - neither manufacturer nor labor warranty.
This is a "hard" substance....how can animals damage it...It is sturdy enough to walk on...please check this link and let me know if this is what you are responding to...energyshield.net
Cheri, I have a house with a flat roof that had to be replaced last year. I went with an Energy Star-rated TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) product with added insulating board underneath. So far so good! I looked into hot tar and gravel and it was WAY expensive.
Actually, my roofing material is bright white and there is nothing on top of it. It's highly reflective, which is partially where the energy savings come from.
I dealt with one years ago and we roofed it with insulation board and fiber rubber which welds together at the seams. I have been coating it with aluminum roof coating and it has lasted 17 years with no ill effects, of course it is sealed and that is what has made it last so long. Last year the oak tree drippings, sap, made the aluminum coating let go so it was thoroughly cleaned and then got two coatings of elastomeric polymer. Now it is white like Douglas's is and it should not have to
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have anything done to it for many years at this point. The original cost of the fiber rubber roof was about 800. That included tearing off the old one and then putting on the new one. It was a mess when I got it so it was well worth the money to not have that worry on my mind.
TPO or EPDM rubber roof surface is the way to go. Where insulation upgrades are desired, the roof insulation board is paced under the new roof surface. The sprayed foam is NOT a good thing.
I have over forty years experience in residential const - the first twenty years as a roofing contractor. The foam is better at hiding and diverting leaks than it is at preventing them.
Cheri, I was responding to your post. The spray foam roof does harden but the birds peck away which basically opens the roof up. I have attached the newstory I was referencing that shows the foam roof and how the birds have eaten away at this roof. Again, in our experience the animals do tend to make meals out of this type of roofing and that would not be covered by your warranties.
There is a viable route here to be investigated, In the NW, there is a company called AMES Research. They have a system which can be installed by a competant homeowner or pro. I would Google AMES Research and look thru their site. They have a relationship with ACE home improvement stores where you can pick up your materials once ordered online.
The size and use of the roof would determine what I would recommend for a product. Also the desired warranty as well as your budget obviously also play a part in my recommendations.
Spray foam (SPF) is very much a specialty roofing system, which we do not install, but I have a friend who is now retired and made the application of spray foam his career. Alot of his knowledge has rubbed off on me, but he has forgotten more than I ever want to know. What I do know, what I
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have seen, I personally don't like it. He's gonna shoot me if he ever reads this :) It's not as "hard" as you may think and there is ALOT of room for error in the installation process when it comes to spray foam. BRC is right in regards to the bird pecking, and though this can and does happen to any roof, it is most common with SPF.
If you want the very best roofing system look into PVC, similar to the TPO previously mentioned but with a much better track record. If you want a roof with slightly less upfront investment look into the TPO. http://reliableamerican.us/services/low-slop...
However there is more to the roof than just the membrane. I can take the worlds best roofing membrane and if I install it wrong, or incomplete, this membrane is utterly useless. Addressing all the proper details is what matters most in low slope roofing. Faster and Easier is seldom ever Better.
A cover board or insulation board of some kind is an absolute must. Keep in mind my recommendation for insulation would be based upon what you have now (a cold deck or warm deck design http://reliableamerican.us/articles/warm-dec... ). Then all the necessary flashing details including possible termination bar or counter flashings, all edge metal, drainage, pitch pans, etc... would be really what determines how long the roof will last.
Do as Douglas said. Install insulation board and have heavy membrane rubber installed.
Commercial roof are done in this fashion and to re leave the added heat from the black rubber, round river stone is added.
I have over forty years experience in residential const - the first twenty years as a roofing contractor. The foam is better at hiding and diverting leaks than it is at preventing them.
Link - http://www.wpbf.com/news/28528121/detail.htm...
Spray foam (SPF) is very much a specialty roofing system, which we do not install, but I have a friend who is now retired and made the application of spray foam his career. Alot of his knowledge has rubbed off on me, but he has forgotten more than I ever want to know. What I do know, what I ...»
If you want the very best roofing system look into PVC, similar to the TPO previously mentioned but with a much better track record. If you want a roof with slightly less upfront investment look into the TPO. http://reliableamerican.us/services/low-slop...
However there is more to the roof than just the membrane. I can take the worlds best roofing membrane and if I install it wrong, or incomplete, this membrane is utterly useless. Addressing all the proper details is what matters most in low slope roofing. Faster and Easier is seldom ever Better.
A cover board or insulation board of some kind is an absolute must. Keep in mind my recommendation for insulation would be based upon what you have now (a cold deck or warm deck design http://reliableamerican.us/articles/warm-dec... ). Then all the necessary flashing details including possible termination bar or counter flashings, all edge metal, drainage, pitch pans, etc... would be really what determines how long the roof will last.