You want a safe home. You want a warm home. And of course, you want an energy-efficient home. Do you know what can help you achieve all of these goals? Your roof. That's right, if you call up a roofer and tell them about your desires, they can recommend some roofing repairs or materials to help you achieve those desires. They may recommend a metal roof, or they might recommend adding zinc strips to the roof peak. It all depends. One thing we can promise, though, is that learning more about roofing is a good idea. This blog is a good resource, but we recommend looking for other ones, too.
When Does A Commercial Spray Foam Roof Need To Be Replaced?
When properly maintained, spray foam roofing will last for a very long time on a commercial building. It consists of a layer of spray foam applied directly to the roof surface that's coated with a protective elastomeric material like urethane, acrylic, or silicone. The closed-cell spray foam used on roofs is completely waterproof, so it does a great job of repelling rain. When a spray foam roof starts to leak, it's most likely due to a problem with the spray foam layer. To learn when you need to replace an aging spray foam roof, read on.
Your Spray Foam Has Severely Degraded Due to Sunlight Exposure
Spray foam degrades when it's exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun. It turns brittle and starts to crumble apart, and the crumbled foam will be blown away by the wind and carried away by the rain. This will cause holes to form on your roof as the spray foam is removed, and it will eventually cause the roof to leak if the spray foam layer in an area is entirely destroyed by sunlight.
The purpose of the elastomeric coating on a spray foam roof is to protect the spray foam underneath from being exposed to sunlight. If the coating is punctured by hail, debris, or a contractor working on the roof of the building, then the spray foam will start to deteriorate. The coating also becomes thinner over time, so it needs to be periodically reapplied.
If the coating wears away entirely, then all of the spray foam on your roof will be exposed to sunlight. This will cause extensive degradation of your roof as all of the spray foam starts to crumble away. This makes your roof likely to leak as gaps open up in the spray foam layer. When the spray foam layer on your roof has extensive deterioration, you'll need to have a commercial roof replacement service grind the remaining spray foam away and replace your roof.
Your Spray Foam Is Delaminating From the Substrate
Delamination occurs when the spray foam starts to pull away from the substrate it was sprayed onto when it was installed. Delamination is normally caused by damage to the substrate. If the spray foam was applied to an existing metal roof, for example, a leak can cause the metal roof to rust and start to break apart.
When the substrate beneath the spray foam starts to deteriorate, the spray foam will detach from it. This creates gaps that water can use to leak into your building. It also makes your roof less resistant to high winds since portions of the spray foam are no longer attached to your building. In order to fix the problem, a commercial roof replacement service will need to remove all of the spray foam and replace the damaged substrate that's causing your spray foam roof to delaminate.
Ultimately, a spray foam roof needs to be replaced when there's an issue with the spray foam layer, whether it's deteriorating due to sunlight exposure or detaching from your building because of damage to the substrate. If the spray foam on your roof is deteriorating or delaminating, call a commercial roof replacement service in your area to have it replaced. Replacing your roof will reduce the risk that your roof will start leaking, resulting in water damage to your building's interior.
For more information about commercial roof replacement, contact a local company.