Should I Have Aluminum Roof Coating?
Typical weather damage to your roof
Roofs can heat to high temperatures under the hot summer sun, and once this happens your house will become very hot as well. Extra heat in your house will become uncomfortable and the cost of keeping an air conditioning unit running regularly can escalate significantly. However, extra heat within your house isn't the only problem. When a roof gets very hot it becomes more likely to crack. Heat from the sun acts to bake and contort the roof and eventually the roof can end up with cracks and holes.
Preventing damage to flat roofs
Flat roofs are similar to sloped roofs in that the best way to prevent damage is to have them regularly checked and maintained. There are steps you can take to try to increase the life of your roof. To start, you must ensure that a flat roof is fully waterproof. A flat roof does not allow for rainwater to run off and even if you do have a waterproofing layer on, if there is no overhang the water will be allowed to run down the side of the roof and the building below, potentially causing damage to the roof, the walls and any doors or windows.
What is aluminum roof coating?
Aluminum roof coating is ideal for flat roofs. It is a strong and durable metal that still allows a good amount of movement. This movement is vital while fitting to ensure that the aluminum roof coating fits properly and also to ensure that there is no excess or shortage of the aluminum roof coating. Either of these can potentially lessen the effect. However, an aluminum roof coating isn't just easy to fit, it also offers other benefits that you might want to consider when you are looking at repairing or upgrading your flat roof.
The advantages of aluminum roof coating
An aluminum roof coating is waterproof and because of how malleable the material is it can be bent to form the required overhang in areas that you want it. This means that rainwater can run off your roof in the areas you want it to, thus avoiding running the water down the walls of your building or collecting in certain areas on the floor. Rain isn't the only element that an aluminum roof coating can protect from either. Because it is a reflective metal it reflects the sun's rays to repel heat from the roof, therefore preventing heat cracks and excessive indoor heat. This can save you money on the repair of your roof and also on your energy bills.
Having aluminum roof coating fitted
While single sheet roofing does cost more than asphalt it offers you many more benefits than asphalt roofs and an aluminum roof coating will usually make back the money it cost within a few seasons. Consult a roofing contractor to ask what they believe your best option is and ask them how much it would cost to have aluminum roof coating installed on top of your flat roof.
Copyright 2005 Roofer 911.com. All Rights Reserved
by Steven Briesemeister. Reprinted courtesy of Roofer 911.com, roofing contractor serving Long Island, Queens, Brooklyn, NY and northern Virginia.