You are sitting in the doctor’s office when he/she returns and explains to you that you have a bacterial infection that must be treated with antibiotics. The antibiotics are more expensive than just taking pain medicine for immediate relief, but they are the only way to actually treat the infection. Your decision is easy, you treat the ailment and cure the problem; you wouldn’t simply take Acetaminophen to treat the pain and hope the infection miraculously disappears.
Your metal roof is no different. What if your simple roof leaks are only a symptom of an even greater ailment? You may be just treating the symptom and not the underlying issue.
As the summer heat causes the thermal expansion your roof can expand and contract as a result of up to 90⁰ surface temperature fluctuations. A metal roof can be upwards of 180⁰ in the heat of a summer day, then cool down to less than 90⁰ within a 24-hour period. With that fluctuation in temperature, the amount of expansion and contraction the roof endures is extreme. The ensuing pressure that is put on seams, screws and other penetrations can create integrity issues long term.
The symptoms come in the form of popped seams and loose fasteners that are causing infiltration of water into your building. The underlying ailment is the thermal expansion of the building which is what caused those sealed seams and screws to open in the summer months. Ultimately, repairing the seams and screws will cure your pain but it will not be a long-term solution for the ailment. The only true corrective measure is to reduce the temperature fluctuations and resulting thermal expansion by reflecting the heat with a white roof coating solution.
Not only will you see benefits of reduced thermal expansion, a white roof’s efforts of reflecting the sun will also greatly reduce the heat transference into your building. While a liquid applied coating doesn’t add any true R-Value, it can reduce peak roof temperatures from 180⁰ (too hot to touch) to 110⁰ (relatively cool in comparison). If the roof is reflecting enough sunlight to reduce surface temperature by 70⁰ imagine the effects on the inside of your space. This change will help to reduce cooling costs during peak demand hours in a climate controlled space and interior temperatures in non-climate controlled warehouse or manufacturing floor space. This is truly a solution inside and out.
Additional benefits of reflective roofs include: reduction of heat transfer into building spaces and with this reduced energy costs and enhanced comfort for occupants as well as a reduction in the urban heat island.
We understand that budgetary constraints don’t always allow for a full roof coating restoration immediately due to the repair work that may be required from damage already done. When this is the case, protect your assets and work with a reputable contractor to determine a repair plan for your roof that will eventually lead to a restoration and reflective roof for a long-term, sound and sustainable future for your structure.