As an example, while searching online, I found on Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com) that bitumen is a good sort of roof coating, and indeed, it is one of the most commonly used roof coating. The thing about modified bitumen is that it also allows for reflecting back the rays of the sun.  By reflecting most if not all of the sun’s harmful UV rays the roof that lasts a lot longer than ordinary or in this case, untreated roofing.

The best thing about treating your roof with roof coating is that it also protects you from drips or leaks.  In fact, most of the time it gets rid of most leaks depending on how severe the case is of course.  They say that by using the usual modified bitumen, the roofing may last 25 years longer than ordinary roofing.  This may sound too good to be true, but in my case, being a roofing specialist and all, I’ve seen roofs lasting a lot longer than that.  It even allows you to stretch the life of your already ancient roof.

Most of the people I know, and yes, even some of my colleagues think that roof coating is only good for sealing the roof and making it waterproof.  However, the truth is that there are many kinds of roof coating, and indeed, I have used most of them for various other purposes besides waterproofing.  Some clients’ roofs for example are made to double for a basketball court.  As you might expect, these are the size of a basketball court if not bigger.  The client would usually try to skimp on shelling out for this additional cost, but they usually change their minds after talking to me.  I must agree though, they could cost quite a bit, and for some the amount may already be viewed as a small fortune, but for people who could afford to put up such a building (not so huge but huge enough to have a basketball court), they could usually afford to shell out a bit more.  The roof after all is their first line of defense against the elements.  Also imagine the difference of getting 25 years more life for your roof (renewable if you coat the roof again) for what can’t even be considered a fraction of the cost of installing a new roof.

Going back to the basketball court on the rooftop, the coating also makes for better traction when playing.  There are some materials (yes you can give me a call for details on this) that are able to give you just that even when wet or coated with a bit of snow here and there.  Once coated, you’re not just getting a longer lifespan for your roof but you’re also getting a serviceable rooftop.  The extra space can double not just for basketball.  It can also be used for practicing your putting.  All you need is some fake putting green and you can have quite an enjoyable space for it.  If you want real putting green then that can be arranged as well, as there are also some roof coatings that are able to tolerate dirt and acids from dirt.  I have no doubts that you’ve seen some hotels do this on their rooftops that double as a restaurant, as a gym, and for more challenging cases, as a swimming pool.  Rooftops can be rather interesting when you want it to be.  The possibilities for rooftops are close to limitless if you know what to do.

So as you can probably imagine by now, a rooftop doesn’t have to be just a rooftop, it can be a lot of things as well.

There is one other point that I always emphasize to my clients when considering roof coating, and that is energy savings.  Why do I say this?  It’s simply because a hot roof makes for a hot building, and a hot building is always in need of air-conditioning.  Insulating your roof by treating it with roof coating can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars worth of electricity.  I’m not kidding.  The hotter your roof is, the more electricity your air-conditioning needs as it would always need to use its compressors, which are real energy vampires, to cool down the place.  Imagine if you set your air-conditioning to 20 degrees but your building is a constant 30 something degrees.  That means that the compressors will be working non-stop from sunup to sundown.  Now imagine if your building temperature is usually around 25 degrees because of the roof coating.  Lower the temperature by around 5 more degrees to hit your 20 degrees setting will cause the air-conditioning units to turn their compressors off automatically.  Once it hits the 20 degrees mark, it would only be using the blower or the fan.  There would be no more need for Freon to be running around the tubes as it has already hit its mark.  In this way, you’d be able to lower your energy consumption to 50% or sometimes even more.  With a few dollars per square meter’s worth of roof coating, you’re able to save thousands of dollars.

If it’s a commercial building, then indeed there would be endless possibilities.  Not only are you able to save thousands of dollars, you may even be able to gain thousands of dollars, all because of a bit of roof coating.  Perhaps it’s not in the roof coating itself that you’re able to profit from directly, but I must say that this is the only way to make such big roofing projects possible.

I mentioned something about having a swimming pool on top of the roof a while ago, but you don’t have to stop there.  You may want an infinity pool instead of a regular rooftop swimming pool.  An infinity pool is made possible by using waterproof cement.  This is the usual concept.  However, can you really trust plain old waterproof cement when it has failed you so many times before?  I’m sure you would agree that there are many cases wherein we are required by our builder to use waterproof cement, but just as anything that is considered waterproof (like those cheap waterproof watches that claim to go up to 100 meters deep) waterproof cement can only do so much.  It is inevitable that these things would soon have hairline cracks after a while.  This is usually caused by the expansion and contraction of the cement when exposed to different temperatures.  There are places that are really hot in the mornings and especially during noon time, but goes down to an almost freezing cold at night.  The constant change in temperature in these places would have to get you worried about the condition of your roof over time.  Sadly, most building owners are not entirely aware of this and stick to the old method of just building a “good ol’ sturdy roof”, which they later find out doesn’t count for much when it develops hairline cracks.  It isn’t so sturdy after all.  Brought by our world’s advancements in technology are new products that could actually help remedy this, so we’d better use them.  Applying a roof coating on your roof, especially in these sorts of places will give you unprecedented results every time.  As I also mentioned before, there are many types of roof coatings, and for these places, you will need a roof coating that is not only durable and seamless, but is also flexible and has the ability to stretch as the roof material that it’s been applied to expands.  This not only helps in making your roof seamless by covering those hairline cracks, but it also prevents the roof from developing more hairline cracks by keeping the roof temperature a lot more stable.  If you’d remember the reflective surfaces and other insulating substances, then you’ll agree that this is truly possible.

Truly, there are a hundred different things that you can do with your roof.  Someday, when you see or hear about new ideas you might wonder why you’ve never thought of doing the same thing.  Just like every great idea, it all starts with a tiny spark of genius.  With roofing ideas, I think it all starts with using a little roof coating, and go from there.

Before you purchase a roof sealant, you will need to know the how, the whys and the wherefores of a leaking roof. Most often, the type of roof is a chief determiner of whether it will experience leaks or not. A flat roof will experience leaks more than a sloping roof because “standing” water pools on top over it. You may also need expert advice on what kind of sealing product you should apply and the procedure for doing so.

Although in extreme cases you may need a contractor to come and sort out the mess, you can easily plug the leak by applying the sealant by yourself. Before you apply the sealant you should know how it works, that is, exactly what kind of leaks it stops. Some leaks may be caused by cracks while others are caused by percolation of water through the roof over time. Percolation simply means water seeping through the tiny holes in the roof that the human eye cannot spot. The roof sealant can be composed of tar as its main material or rubber. Tar is mostly suitable for plugging leaks in rainy seasons while rubber-based products are more suited for winter seasons.

The material that your roof is made of should also be put into consideration. Roof sealant may come under a variety of brand names but essentially they could be either concrete roof sealants, tile roof sealant or iron sheet roof sealants.

Applying the sealant depends on the type of sealant, but often it would not require anything more than a mop and a roller.

Elastomeric roof coatings are chemicals coated onto roofs in order to lessen the amount of heat that penetrates through the roof. During periods of extreme temperature change, elastomeric coatings can expand and contract with the roof it is coated on, hence avoiding roof problems related to the coating. Proper use and application of these coatings can lead to huge financial benefits in terms of air-conditioning costs and equipment wear. Plus the U.S federal government offers tax incentives for companies that make use of energy-saving innovations, including roof coatings. In addition, many states now actually offer incentives for households and contractors that make use of these “cool roof coatings”.

Aside from the financial benefits that can be derived from the application of these coatings, there are a number of added perks to applying elastomeric coatings. One of which is the fact that it even serves as a form of added waterproofing for your roof and at the same time it can allow for trapped moisture to escape through evaporation. These coatings also offer a degree of protection against corrosion and are usually flame resistant. A number of elastomeric roof coatings also offer protection against the growth of moss and algae.

These elastomeric roof coatings are usually applied thru the use of a brush or spray onto a roof’s surface. Elastomeric coatings can be applied on a variety of roofing materials such as metal, urethane and polystyrene foam, concrete, flat and barrel cement tiles.

There are a lot of benefits that can be derived from elastomeric roof coatings. So if you’re looking for ways to lower the temperature in your home, lessen heating bills and improve your roof, talk to a contractor today about the possibilities of an elastomeric roof coating for your home.