Elastomeric Coating

Roofing Types

Elastomeric Coating in Los Angeles

An elastomeric roof coating is an elastic coating applied to a variety of roof types to protect and seal the underlying roofing material, help stop and prevent leaks, and limit future weathering. They are designed to move with your roof and be more forgiving rather than remain rigid, a quality that makes them especially durable. Some coatings are also designed to cool the building. The term elastomeric comes from the coating’s elastic quality to stretch and move.

Elastomeric roof coatings can be used on many industrial and commercial roof types such as metal roofs, concrete roofs, bitumen, modified bitumen or BUR roofs, EPDM roofs, or as a sealant over new PUF roofs.

When determining the best elastomeric roof coating to use on your roof, there are many physical properties that need to be taken into consideration.

Every roof is different in terms of construction, location, weather, sunlight, etc. It is impossible to ever know which physical characteristic will prove most important to the durability of your roof system, so we highly recommend you compare every one of them when you are reviewing the available roof coating products. The best roof coatings should perform well for you on every count.

Here are the properties to evaluate:

Elasticity/Elongation: Elasticity is the ability of a material to stretch. The ability to stretch and also recover means that a roof coating can move with the expansion and contraction of the roof as the temperature changes without cracking. Remember, only products which recover after being challenged are ready to take on the next needs. Bubblegum for example has tremendous elasticity. But because it has no recovery, stretching it only makes it thinner and ultimately a mess. The higher the elasticity, the more likely the product will endure your needs and fluctuations in the roof structure. When you couple this with recovery you get a product which can keep on performing for your needs.

Tensile Strength (new): Tensile strength measures the ability of the product to hold together and avoid breaking. Roof coating companies typically only report tensile strength when the product is new and in the lab. Spoiler: It always changes once outside exposure and aging begins.

Tensile Strength (aged): The tensile strength of a roof coating can deteriorate rapidly over time with exposure to the weather. We highly recommend that you select a manufacturer that can provide you with written, third-party tensile strength measurements of their coatings when they are aged and have been exposed to the elements. It provides you an added level of comparison. The aged measurements of the best roof coatings often beat those of competitors’ new product measurements. That signifies a serious difference in coating quality and value over time.

Perm Factor: The perm factor is the coating’s resistance to moisture vapor passing through it. A lower number shows less moisture can pass through it.

Moisture Gain by Weight: Moisture gain by weight measures the coating’s ability to absorb water vs repel water and protect the roof beneath. You want a roof coating that repels water away from the roof, rather than absorbing it into the roofing material which can accelerate aging and deterioration of the roof itself.

Peel Adhesion: Peel adhesion measures the ability of the coating system to remain adhered to the roof surface under adverse conditions. If your roof coating doesn’t stay firmly attached, then it can’t properly protect your roof.

Tear Resistance: The tear resistance of a coating is, just as it sounds, the resistance to tearing which can happen due to foot traffic, from roof movement, or from other shifts in the environment.

Reflectivity: Reflectivity measures how much solar heat is reflected away from the roof by the coating. A cool, reflective roof surface allows all building components to work more efficiently and reduces maintenance needs and premature roof failure caused by UV damage and thermal shock.

When choosing the right elastomeric coating option for your roof, there’s more to consider than just the coating’s particular properties. Some sealants perform better than others relative to industry standards. Comparing performance between brands can help you decide which option is best for your needs.

The chart below shows how Topps Seal® compares in performance against other alternatives based upon the ASTM Miami-Dade standard on some of the key properties for an elastomeric roof coating