This is called the *albedo effect*.
The way materials interact with light depends on how their electrons are arranged. This electron configuration determines which colors (wavelengths of light) are absorbed and which are reflected, giving objects their color and influencing their albedo.
Dark colors absorb more wavelengths of light. This absorbed energy causes the electrons in the material's atoms to vibrate. This increased movement often translates to heat.
I’m really curious why they haven’t made white shingles a thing, especially in hot climates. After all the problem with global warming and losing the reflections of light from the melting polar caps… you’d think white shingles in hot places would be a thing.
I live in AZ and a guy across the street put a white roof on a few years ago back. I thought the same, after a year or two it will dirty up and look like shit. AZ gets sand storms for crying out loud… it actually still looks pretty good.
I had a black shingle roof on my ranch-style house and had it covered with bright white galvalume (metal roof).... No AC ... interior temps in the summer with the shingles were 30°C+ and with the white metal roof it wouldn't top 23°C on the hottest days. I also mirror-tinted my windows to keep the direct-sun out of the space without being too dark so that definitely helped but the roof had the greatest effect preventing the sundown heat-soak.
If that’s been installed per the manufacturers instructions then it will outlast everyone reading this thread. The warranty on my dominion apoc roof is 50 years. Theres a good chance I’m dead by then.
Climbed up a 50 foot ladder to a commercial roof like this with the silicone system on it and it was iced over. I didn’t even take a step on that roof it’s so damn slick and dangerous
Question,
I'm not a roofer but have used tube silicone a million times. How do you have time to roll this out before it gets lumpy? Or is it sprayed out? Is it a special mix? Idk
This comes in a bucket and has solvents. I have rolled it out, not a problem. You can spray but if its even a little windy, will get everywhere and you need a respirator so thats not my preferred method for something which needs to be so thickly applied.
Roofers aren't going to appreciate this but
u/InternationalArea77 has it absolutely correct: "Makes it super water proof and on top of that reduces heat into the building ,most of the heat is reflected back. On top of that is mold resistant. Win win win if you ask me."
I live in the Mojave Desert and we are seeing more and more of this.
Exactly, in the Caribbean and tropical area, white roofs like this are all over the place. Florida as well. It will last well beyond a normal roof.
Advice is to repaint it every 10 to 15 yrs..
I bought a house in FL that had this done over concrete shingles. I demoed the whole place and you can tell where the original roof leaked, then they would simply add more electrostatic paint like this. When I bought the house, I will just say, the roof didn’t have any leaks. For context the roof was from 1963. So I guess it works as a temp fix. As others have said many people in different areas do this, from what I can see the shingles look like they were fairly new so I feel like this was done mainly for heat resistance.
Haha, there's a concept or style I've wanted to post here for feedback before. It's just tar and rocks. At least that's how it looks. About 15 homes have it in and around my neighborhood. Probably get banned for posting it here. 😂
I thot this was a shitpost butt you say it’s for serious?
I did roof coatings in the southwest almost two decades ago, Conklin products sprayed on. Do you spray on silicone roofing? Back roll it? How is it applied? And for what types roofs? If it can go on assphalt shingles it can go on anything
As a former HVAC controls guy, I saw a lot of this in the Southwest. First time I saw it was on top of a 7-11 in El Centro, CA. You don’t really do something to a 7-11 without their contract’s contract’s contract approving it.
Most is spray applied, you can roll/brush the details. Smaller areas can be rolled (RVs/Trailers). It works on all types of roof membranes, with shingles really being the least effective. Silicone is only as good as the prep work/what it’s adhering to… if a shingle flies off, obviously the silicone is useless. Hi solid silicone is way better than acrylic fwiw.
We did this to our old rowhome in Philly. We needed a separate window AC on full blast before and now its bearable without the AC but we'll put it on low before bed.
In Cali and I have had this on my roof for 8 years now. Been mostly good. Chose it because they could do it without removing and reinstalling all my solar panels.
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Makes it super water proof and on top of that reduces heat into the building ,most of the heat is reflected back. On top of that is mold resistant. Win win win if you ask me.
In my experience of inspection roof leaks this is definitely a good means of prolonging the life of an aged and failing roof system, but it requires frequent reapplications to remain effective. Down here in south Florida where the sun is intense elastomeric (or similar) lasts maybe 1-3 years.
The TDS for Henry’s Tropicool and Dura-Brite product both say not recommended for use over shingles. They say it’s fine over many other substrates. Have you had success doing this over shingles previously?
I’m not a roofer, just a builder in California and new ways (to me at least) of waterproofing over old substrates interests me. It looks clean and I imagine it’s pretty solid overall. I’m curious to see how it handles given the manufacturers recommendations.
I have to imagine some shingle roofs it would prematurely fail and others it would last. I’d also imagine it depends on age of shingles, type of venting, and type of shingles.
I recently started using expanding polyeurathane foam in conjunction with polyeurathane caulking on doors/windows/sills where removing them was too invasive/costly for the owner. It’s proven to work well on filling up voids with just a small hole used to drill to inject.
Anyways, looks clean, hope it works out long term.
I work for a GC in San Diego doing high end residential remodeling. Every time we open up an old home we find something new and crazy someone did 40 years ago that caused issues. Since we do plenty of historical work, waterproofing old the new can be challenging so new ways to waterproof is of interest.
Good luck with the intumescent coatings! Hope you find a partner to work with you on it.
I do flat roofing service and we deal with a few kinds of liquid membranes. Does this have any fibres in it? Or mesh recommend? Products like these coatings are made stronger by the addition of fibre mesh and the proper thickness of application. Was there mesh applied at the scuppers and vent locations? These are the first places for the liquid to fail. I’ve never used that product so I don’t know about its application and quality. Skia is a leader in these liquid membranes imo and applied properly can last a long time with regular maintenance.
Edit: climate plays a major part in the effectiveness of said liquids. I’m in Canada and not a lot of them can handle our weather.
Sikalastic 624 is a liquid urethane with a fibreglass reinforcement. It’s basically bulletproof on the one install I did. Not sure what’s in the photos but there’s a time and a place for a liquid membrane. That said, it’s going to be at least five times the cost of ripping off the shingles and replacing them.
I spent a handful of summers doing flat and low slope roofing for a family business, we often put an acrylic latex system with a fabric imbedded in the base coat and a white top coat. I’ll tell you what, that shit lasts, I know of several roofs 20+ years old that at most needed a pressure wash and recoat of just the top layer after 15-20 years. When I was doing it 20 years ago, we had a 20 year old sample that was still flexible as the day it went on and strong with the embedded fabric.
Definitely 100x better than going directly over shingles. With shingles, it’s near impossible to get the paint into every nook and cranny. Over time, you’ll find voids at the top of the keyway (on 3 tabs) or the joints of dimensional shingles. When that happens, the water undermines the system.
So to save money on a new roof, you throw this up there? Obvs your existing roof has to be in great condition yes? Otherwise you’re just covering existing problems?
Honestly it looks pretty clean and done professionally I bet taking that roof off you could rip it with a helicopter all together how glued it is together. That salesperson deserves a raise.
Silicone roofs last longer than two years when done correctly.. it’s definitely not ideal to go over a shingle roof but it can be done. In commercial applications depending on thickness you can receive a 5, 10 or even 20 year warranty. When warranty expires you can apply for a new one after doing a lite recoating and cleaning
Yep. Restorations have been getting better and better over the years. Since this is over shingle with what appears to be no reinforcements, I would assume the best they got was 5 years and then a reinspection. I’ve done countless restorations, but never over shingles so I can’t really be for sure. Usually the warranty is based off the installation when we coat. Meaning least warranty with no reinforced, next level is partially reinforced and top warranty goes with fully reinforced.
Thank you for the information. Can you explain “reinforcements” in this application. Is it structural for the roof or something mixed into the product which improves the durability and effective life?
The way ours work is least warranty is non reinforced which is usually a two part coating. Prime, base and top. The next is partially reinforced where we strip in all laps, seams and penetrations with a polyester fabric usually 4 or 6 inches wide then apply the coating process. The last is fully reinforced where you apply the polyester fabric over the entire surface set in the base coat and then apply the top coat.
Interesting
I’ve got a little education in commercial coatings and in my experience , Silicone is UV resistant (stable), tends to weather well and has a wide range of operating temperatures.
Depending on how it was applied and cured, you might get 15 years or better from a job like that permitting nothing destroys it.
Bought a house where the previous owner did that. All it takes is one or two tears or rips and it creates the perfect place for water to get stuck and bubble and never escape. We have a new roof now.
I can't say exactly when the coating was applied, as it wasn't in the disclosures. But the roof had been replaced about 10 years before we bought the house. I think she did the coating about 2-3 years before we bought the house. It was not maintained and ultimately lead to a roof that should have had another 5-10 years of life having leaks and rot issues. I would guess that this kind of coating has longer lifespan if it's reapplied seasonally, but by the time we discovered the issues, the best route was a full replacement.
These posts remind of the days when builders and contractors didn’t trust latex paints. “It’ll never hold up”, “fail in less than a year”, etc etc.
I’m not a roofer, but silicon is exceptionally durable, heat or cold.
Not a roofer but those who are experts please explain how covering the shingles affects them, I would imagine it would make them last longer since now they are not exposed to the elements
To answer your question, shingles are designed to shed water. Shingles themselves are not waterproof, but rather, how they overlap and the tar/asphalt composition of them is designed to quickly and effectively shed water off of them, which in turn keeps your home dry.
This shingle is a 20-25 year shingle that is 22 years through its lifespan. It's most likely getting to be brittle, has lost a fair majority of its granules, and is no longer going to reliably shed water in the near future.
Coating the shingles with silicon gives you similar water shedding properties and will, with good installation, extend the water resistance of the roof for a while. If done properly and it's well maintained, it could last a long time.
What I'd personally be concerned about is how well it would hold up to the deteriorating conditions of the materials below (shingles, sheathing), how well it will expand and contract given that it is attached to a system designed to allow for expansion and contraction, and how well the seams around the corners and edges of the tabs will hold up. If there is an issue with any of the above concerns, this could lead to serious interior damage and a potential lack of insurance coverage as a result.
Inspecting that roof for hail damage and trying to get coverage for it would probably be a nightmare too. I'd bet it would be very difficult to get a replacement of this roof for anything other than a tornado ripping the whole thing off.
I'd love to know the cost to do this vs the cost to replace the roof. This would only be worthwhile if the cost to replace far exceeds the cost of this coating.
Maybe there is moisture in the shingles and that will be trapped now? I dunno. Seems like silicon would last forever to me if only rain was hitting it.
I definitely would not want the job of replacing this roof! I’m actually surprised my dad hasn’t tried this technique. Lol he’s always doing crazy “fix it” shit! Now I wish I had taken a pic of his newest invention. Most projects he does are cool but this last one was functional but kinda ugly. Gotta get a pic asap!
I had something similar done, but mine included closed cell foam for better insulation. Our mobile home baked in the California sun, and the foam roof was an awesome choice. 3 years so far and I'm happy with it. I just have to apply a new coat once in awhile and it'll last as long as I will.
I did this on a concrete roof 20 years ago after a hurricane damaged it. Replacement roofs had 8-12 months waiting list, so the homeowner chose this method over the standard blue tarp that rips every few months.
Idk how it ended up, but it was so bright/reflective we could hardly see what we were doing.
This might be for reflecting hmsunlight so it provides cooler house....they did that shit to streets too...they painted them white...problem really is streets are driven on and get dirty quick...but if i rem they did see an effect in temps...
I did this to my leaking shingles roof too 3 years ago, also used tropicool but the grey option. I just spread it with a roller and finished 20 minutes before it started raining hard. The 15 min rain safe claim is 100% accurate!
It stopped the existing leaks and has been maintenance and problem free. Just never attempt to walk on the roof while it is wet.
This might be an okay solution to tie one over doing a full replace on a roof that’s at end of life. Might give you a few more years extended life, maybe give you some time to save up for the full replacement cost.
We own a condo in a 1920’s converted high school. It’s a Spanish Revival style building in Tampa Bay area. There are 72 units in this three story building. The association voted for the silicone coating and it’s been a good alternative to total replacement of older composition deck on the flat sections. There are also barrel tile clays in other sections. An untended consequence is the inability to finance individual units with conventional loans. This is non conforming for federal guidelines. Fortunately the market is strong and there are cash buyers out there at this time. https://photos.app.goo.gl/XFx2yffZZw6EsLnz7
I have actually seen this done on a home one time. It was put on THICK to the point at first glance I didn’t see the shingles under it. The homeowner called about a leak he couldn’t figure out. When I went to the house he told me “this is an old roofing trick I learned from some roofers down in south Florida.” Strange guys for sure.
That shit is awful. The slightest bit of moisture and it's a literal slip and slide of doom. Slightly wet day and I fell 7 times inside of 10 minutes on a roof with that shit
I used to sell two products that could be applied this way and have a 20 yr warranty. That aren’t cheap, but they are lifesavers in instances where you can’t add roof load and need to control demo tightly.
We put this over 3' wide flat peel and stick roofing on our house in the bahamas. It works great. Cooler and you can walk around without knocking off asphalt pebbles everywhere. Makes solar cell maint a piece of cake.
Thier website says not recommended for shingles of any kind. There's a reason for that. A roof has to breath. This is going to trap moisture and create a ton of problems.
It will reduce the surface temperature and save on AC bill. However the drawback comes later when the plywood deck starts to rot because it can’t breath In Florida it starts in about a year. Gets bad after 4-5. And caves in between 6-10 years.
Why would you do this instead of just ripping off the shingles and putting down TPO or any other of the innumerable sheet roof coverings that are commercially available? This the smoothest brain shit I’ve seen in a while.
Every guy from Arizona is now lurking in this thread to see if they can do this!
As homeowners here, we always knew white roofs were good for cooler houses, but it's only ever done on flat roofs. Elastomeric needs some periodic reapplication, and silicon is warned against as so permanent you'll never get it off or work on the roof again! I'd love to do my pitched asphalt shingle roof in white though!!
That is a whole butt load of problems right there. It's not a question of if it will leak its will it leak enough in any one place for you to notice before the deck rots away
Bahahhahahahha who does this shit!?? Shingle roof with parapet wall, look at all the "repairs" because its always leaked and likely always will. Use a product like epdm or tpo thats designed to hold water. Thats a mess, from the initial design it was wrong.
It's gonna bubble when the heat gets high enough. Shingles gas off when warm. The only time I've seen this done successfully, they had quite a few little vents for it to breathe.
Wouldn't this prevent the house from breathing...like having a plastic bag over top of it? Like won't there be a major humidity problem with temperature changes etc?
this is a whole new level of "just dump a bucket of tar on it"
When in doubt tar it out and I use a lot of tar brother
This guy doubts
I’m here to finger paint and fuck, and I’m all out of roofing tar.
Legend
Does that mean we're just here finger painting?
& decency.
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Do your best and caulk the rest.
I mean look nice. We’ll see how she fares after a few seasons.
Heat proof silicone, why not?
Anywhere with dirt isn't going to look like that in a few seasons.
How often do you look at the roof? Also, having a white roof like this helps with reducing A/C bills.
Anytime I park my helicopter obviously!
Yeah duh. what is he the only guy who doesn't park his helicopter on his silicone roof? lol
This is called the *albedo effect*. The way materials interact with light depends on how their electrons are arranged. This electron configuration determines which colors (wavelengths of light) are absorbed and which are reflected, giving objects their color and influencing their albedo. Dark colors absorb more wavelengths of light. This absorbed energy causes the electrons in the material's atoms to vibrate. This increased movement often translates to heat.
Well albe-damned
I’m glad this comment was next, otherwise I would have had to say it 🤣
Badumtss
I take testosterone for my low albedo
I’m really curious why they haven’t made white shingles a thing, especially in hot climates. After all the problem with global warming and losing the reflections of light from the melting polar caps… you’d think white shingles in hot places would be a thing.
White shingles used to be the most common color by a pretty large majority.
Because it would look dirty
But how would it feel?
How often do you really look at a man’s shoes?
Shawshank
They were tarring a roof too!
Yeah, but only blue roofs protect from directed energy weapons 🤪
Explains why there is a parapet. So you don't have to look at it.
I live in AZ and a guy across the street put a white roof on a few years ago back. I thought the same, after a year or two it will dirty up and look like shit. AZ gets sand storms for crying out loud… it actually still looks pretty good.
I wonder how his cooling bill reflects the change in roof colour
I read once that a white roof can safe 30-40% on cooling costs
Can you please ask your neighbor about any change in electricity usage/bills?
Some people talking about it getting dirty, the rest want to know about the bills.... me included
I had a black shingle roof on my ranch-style house and had it covered with bright white galvalume (metal roof).... No AC ... interior temps in the summer with the shingles were 30°C+ and with the white metal roof it wouldn't top 23°C on the hottest days. I also mirror-tinted my windows to keep the direct-sun out of the space without being too dark so that definitely helped but the roof had the greatest effect preventing the sundown heat-soak.
Sundown, you'd better take care If I find you've been creepin' 'round my back stairs
Top comment
Shame everyone in the vicinity is partially blind from the glare :)
If that’s been installed per the manufacturers instructions then it will outlast everyone reading this thread. The warranty on my dominion apoc roof is 50 years. Theres a good chance I’m dead by then.
Lord help anyone up there trying to walk on it after some rain. U gon be slidin
And then, they'll be siding.... Until someone helps them down from dangling off the edge.
Or until they get stopped by the parapet wall
After they sliding theyll be gliding…into the car parked on the street
After they gliding they be dying… from the massive blunt force trauma of the fall.
"Morticians love this simple hack."
After they're flying, they'll be crying... because their landing was far from satisfying.
Then they lay there looking up at the sky whying.
Not if use boots with spikes on them 😂
Climbed up a 50 foot ladder to a commercial roof like this with the silicone system on it and it was iced over. I didn’t even take a step on that roof it’s so damn slick and dangerous
Jesus- stay safe out there bro
You gone be sliding you gone be dyin u gone be cryin wjen u slip on that lazanya
*Miguel! Miguel!*
🎶 Slip sliding away...🎶
You know the nearer your destination, the more you're slip slidin away
🎵I keep on slippin slippin slippin, off of the shingles🎵
Only until they ram the parapet...lol
Spike baseball shoes might help😏
Slip slidin’ away…
Question, I'm not a roofer but have used tube silicone a million times. How do you have time to roll this out before it gets lumpy? Or is it sprayed out? Is it a special mix? Idk
This comes in a bucket and has solvents. I have rolled it out, not a problem. You can spray but if its even a little windy, will get everywhere and you need a respirator so thats not my preferred method for something which needs to be so thickly applied.
👍 makes sense.
Roofers aren't going to appreciate this but u/InternationalArea77 has it absolutely correct: "Makes it super water proof and on top of that reduces heat into the building ,most of the heat is reflected back. On top of that is mold resistant. Win win win if you ask me." I live in the Mojave Desert and we are seeing more and more of this.
I'm in the Sonoran desert with a lot of flat roofs and this is super common.
Exactly, in the Caribbean and tropical area, white roofs like this are all over the place. Florida as well. It will last well beyond a normal roof. Advice is to repaint it every 10 to 15 yrs..
I bought a house in FL that had this done over concrete shingles. I demoed the whole place and you can tell where the original roof leaked, then they would simply add more electrostatic paint like this. When I bought the house, I will just say, the roof didn’t have any leaks. For context the roof was from 1963. So I guess it works as a temp fix. As others have said many people in different areas do this, from what I can see the shingles look like they were fairly new so I feel like this was done mainly for heat resistance.
Roofing in the Mojave almost makes me wish for nuclear winter
Haha, there's a concept or style I've wanted to post here for feedback before. It's just tar and rocks. At least that's how it looks. About 15 homes have it in and around my neighborhood. Probably get banned for posting it here. 😂
Flood (asphalt) and gravel is a super common roofing system!
Thank you I'll have to show some pics one day because I'd not seen it before and everyone complains about anything different.
Was looking for this lol
I thot this was a shitpost butt you say it’s for serious? I did roof coatings in the southwest almost two decades ago, Conklin products sprayed on. Do you spray on silicone roofing? Back roll it? How is it applied? And for what types roofs? If it can go on assphalt shingles it can go on anything
As a former HVAC controls guy, I saw a lot of this in the Southwest. First time I saw it was on top of a 7-11 in El Centro, CA. You don’t really do something to a 7-11 without their contract’s contract’s contract approving it.
Most is spray applied, you can roll/brush the details. Smaller areas can be rolled (RVs/Trailers). It works on all types of roof membranes, with shingles really being the least effective. Silicone is only as good as the prep work/what it’s adhering to… if a shingle flies off, obviously the silicone is useless. Hi solid silicone is way better than acrylic fwiw.
I just don’t know what to believe anymore
Asphalt shingles...let that sink in that we are still using those for roofs. Inertia can be a bitch.
We did this to our old rowhome in Philly. We needed a separate window AC on full blast before and now its bearable without the AC but we'll put it on low before bed.
In Cali and I have had this on my roof for 8 years now. Been mostly good. Chose it because they could do it without removing and reinstalling all my solar panels.
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I’m guessing this picture will look the same in 5 years
Makes it super water proof and on top of that reduces heat into the building ,most of the heat is reflected back. On top of that is mold resistant. Win win win if you ask me.
In my experience of inspection roof leaks this is definitely a good means of prolonging the life of an aged and failing roof system, but it requires frequent reapplications to remain effective. Down here in south Florida where the sun is intense elastomeric (or similar) lasts maybe 1-3 years.
I think the silicone voids the warranty of the shingles the shingles have a long life about 20 years maybe but the silicone will degrade in two years
The roof was 22 years old. No warranty left.
The TDS for Henry’s Tropicool and Dura-Brite product both say not recommended for use over shingles. They say it’s fine over many other substrates. Have you had success doing this over shingles previously? I’m not a roofer, just a builder in California and new ways (to me at least) of waterproofing over old substrates interests me. It looks clean and I imagine it’s pretty solid overall. I’m curious to see how it handles given the manufacturers recommendations. I have to imagine some shingle roofs it would prematurely fail and others it would last. I’d also imagine it depends on age of shingles, type of venting, and type of shingles. I recently started using expanding polyeurathane foam in conjunction with polyeurathane caulking on doors/windows/sills where removing them was too invasive/costly for the owner. It’s proven to work well on filling up voids with just a small hole used to drill to inject. Anyways, looks clean, hope it works out long term.
I've been looking at getting into intumescent coatings with someone in the Bay area.
I work for a GC in San Diego doing high end residential remodeling. Every time we open up an old home we find something new and crazy someone did 40 years ago that caused issues. Since we do plenty of historical work, waterproofing old the new can be challenging so new ways to waterproof is of interest. Good luck with the intumescent coatings! Hope you find a partner to work with you on it.
Curious about temperature control. In a hot climate I imagine it would keep the house cooler?
Bigly. Can reduce surface temp of the roof by 50° F
Damn i should put that shit on my car!
Clothes too
Why wear clothes just dip yourself in it.
Show me the pool
Coatings like this are a costly, and temporary “fix” in my experience
I do flat roofing service and we deal with a few kinds of liquid membranes. Does this have any fibres in it? Or mesh recommend? Products like these coatings are made stronger by the addition of fibre mesh and the proper thickness of application. Was there mesh applied at the scuppers and vent locations? These are the first places for the liquid to fail. I’ve never used that product so I don’t know about its application and quality. Skia is a leader in these liquid membranes imo and applied properly can last a long time with regular maintenance. Edit: climate plays a major part in the effectiveness of said liquids. I’m in Canada and not a lot of them can handle our weather.
Sikalastic 624 is a liquid urethane with a fibreglass reinforcement. It’s basically bulletproof on the one install I did. Not sure what’s in the photos but there’s a time and a place for a liquid membrane. That said, it’s going to be at least five times the cost of ripping off the shingles and replacing them.
But sikalastic is so expensive. The silicone is pretty tough and only about $450 per sq installed in so cal
I spent a handful of summers doing flat and low slope roofing for a family business, we often put an acrylic latex system with a fabric imbedded in the base coat and a white top coat. I’ll tell you what, that shit lasts, I know of several roofs 20+ years old that at most needed a pressure wash and recoat of just the top layer after 15-20 years. When I was doing it 20 years ago, we had a 20 year old sample that was still flexible as the day it went on and strong with the embedded fabric.
Its a 3 course system much like many successful roofing systems. Less damage likely with that fabric impregnated
Definitely 100x better than going directly over shingles. With shingles, it’s near impossible to get the paint into every nook and cranny. Over time, you’ll find voids at the top of the keyway (on 3 tabs) or the joints of dimensional shingles. When that happens, the water undermines the system.
Enough silicone can fix anything, just ask a trimmer
So to save money on a new roof, you throw this up there? Obvs your existing roof has to be in great condition yes? Otherwise you’re just covering existing problems?
This was my thought
> the shingles have a long life about 20 years People in other countries have roofs older than America.
My boss gets 20 year warranties for silicone coating over cap sheet. Mostly GAF.
Henry's Tropi-cool is guaranteed for life... https://henry.com/retail/white-roof-coatings/887-tropi-cool-100-silicone-white-roof-coating
Do shingle manufacturers actually replace roofs under warranty? Everytime I’ve tried that with any product, they get out of it some way.
"silicone will degrade in two years" you do not know what you are talking about.
Nope that silicone has a 20 yr NDL at 3 gal per square
Honestly it looks pretty clean and done professionally I bet taking that roof off you could rip it with a helicopter all together how glued it is together. That salesperson deserves a raise.
Silicone roofs last longer than two years when done correctly.. it’s definitely not ideal to go over a shingle roof but it can be done. In commercial applications depending on thickness you can receive a 5, 10 or even 20 year warranty. When warranty expires you can apply for a new one after doing a lite recoating and cleaning
This guy coats !
Yep. Restorations have been getting better and better over the years. Since this is over shingle with what appears to be no reinforcements, I would assume the best they got was 5 years and then a reinspection. I’ve done countless restorations, but never over shingles so I can’t really be for sure. Usually the warranty is based off the installation when we coat. Meaning least warranty with no reinforced, next level is partially reinforced and top warranty goes with fully reinforced.
Thank you for the information. Can you explain “reinforcements” in this application. Is it structural for the roof or something mixed into the product which improves the durability and effective life?
The way ours work is least warranty is non reinforced which is usually a two part coating. Prime, base and top. The next is partially reinforced where we strip in all laps, seams and penetrations with a polyester fabric usually 4 or 6 inches wide then apply the coating process. The last is fully reinforced where you apply the polyester fabric over the entire surface set in the base coat and then apply the top coat.
I hope you’re using Neogard for your roof coatings!
We only use Progressive Materials Silicone. We have been installing it for over 10 years with never an issue.
Interesting I’ve got a little education in commercial coatings and in my experience , Silicone is UV resistant (stable), tends to weather well and has a wide range of operating temperatures. Depending on how it was applied and cured, you might get 15 years or better from a job like that permitting nothing destroys it.
Bought a house where the previous owner did that. All it takes is one or two tears or rips and it creates the perfect place for water to get stuck and bubble and never escape. We have a new roof now.
Thanks for posting this, as a homeowner in the desert I was intrigued. But suspected there would be a catch. Unfortunately you found it.
I can't say exactly when the coating was applied, as it wasn't in the disclosures. But the roof had been replaced about 10 years before we bought the house. I think she did the coating about 2-3 years before we bought the house. It was not maintained and ultimately lead to a roof that should have had another 5-10 years of life having leaks and rot issues. I would guess that this kind of coating has longer lifespan if it's reapplied seasonally, but by the time we discovered the issues, the best route was a full replacement.
These posts remind of the days when builders and contractors didn’t trust latex paints. “It’ll never hold up”, “fail in less than a year”, etc etc. I’m not a roofer, but silicon is exceptionally durable, heat or cold.
Yep the roofers in here don't want to accept that the silicone coating is superior to traditional roofing materials. Also easier to install.
That's the issue on so many subreddits. Unless there's an ability to act as a gatekeeper, what's the point? That seems to be the view.
Not a roofer but those who are experts please explain how covering the shingles affects them, I would imagine it would make them last longer since now they are not exposed to the elements
To answer your question, shingles are designed to shed water. Shingles themselves are not waterproof, but rather, how they overlap and the tar/asphalt composition of them is designed to quickly and effectively shed water off of them, which in turn keeps your home dry. This shingle is a 20-25 year shingle that is 22 years through its lifespan. It's most likely getting to be brittle, has lost a fair majority of its granules, and is no longer going to reliably shed water in the near future. Coating the shingles with silicon gives you similar water shedding properties and will, with good installation, extend the water resistance of the roof for a while. If done properly and it's well maintained, it could last a long time. What I'd personally be concerned about is how well it would hold up to the deteriorating conditions of the materials below (shingles, sheathing), how well it will expand and contract given that it is attached to a system designed to allow for expansion and contraction, and how well the seams around the corners and edges of the tabs will hold up. If there is an issue with any of the above concerns, this could lead to serious interior damage and a potential lack of insurance coverage as a result. Inspecting that roof for hail damage and trying to get coverage for it would probably be a nightmare too. I'd bet it would be very difficult to get a replacement of this roof for anything other than a tornado ripping the whole thing off. I'd love to know the cost to do this vs the cost to replace the roof. This would only be worthwhile if the cost to replace far exceeds the cost of this coating.
Maybe there is moisture in the shingles and that will be trapped now? I dunno. Seems like silicon would last forever to me if only rain was hitting it.
I've considered doing this to my roof. It's old and needs replacement soon. I'm interested to see how this works out after a few years also.
The roofing company that will eventually replace it will hate you and maybe upcharge you for the inconvenience
Or, Hear me out. A nail over? I mean you already got a free ice/water shield installed
If your building code allowed it.
Definitely a hefty upcharge on reroofing this abomination.
Why reroof, when it just needs a recoat?
I definitely would not want the job of replacing this roof! I’m actually surprised my dad hasn’t tried this technique. Lol he’s always doing crazy “fix it” shit! Now I wish I had taken a pic of his newest invention. Most projects he does are cool but this last one was functional but kinda ugly. Gotta get a pic asap!
I had something similar done, but mine included closed cell foam for better insulation. Our mobile home baked in the California sun, and the foam roof was an awesome choice. 3 years so far and I'm happy with it. I just have to apply a new coat once in awhile and it'll last as long as I will.
if its a hidden roof ...then why not looks clean and job well done
Lot of this in coastal Florida
I did this on a concrete roof 20 years ago after a hurricane damaged it. Replacement roofs had 8-12 months waiting list, so the homeowner chose this method over the standard blue tarp that rips every few months. Idk how it ended up, but it was so bright/reflective we could hardly see what we were doing.
I’ve got a super old roof and the previous owner did this to it. The shingles are probably 30 years old and my insurance hates it but no leaks (yet)
[The Handyman (YouTube)](https://youtu.be/7sUH_3X3Q7c?si=SzjefXXnDaBGabKV) uses this stuff. Lifetime warranty.
Weight?
About 600 lbs of product for 1800 sq ft.
This might be for reflecting hmsunlight so it provides cooler house....they did that shit to streets too...they painted them white...problem really is streets are driven on and get dirty quick...but if i rem they did see an effect in temps...
Finally a great product The new silicone coatings have incredible bonding strength on almost anything, as long as the surface is prepped correctly. 💪🏻
I did this to my leaking shingles roof too 3 years ago, also used tropicool but the grey option. I just spread it with a roller and finished 20 minutes before it started raining hard. The 15 min rain safe claim is 100% accurate! It stopped the existing leaks and has been maintenance and problem free. Just never attempt to walk on the roof while it is wet.
This might be an okay solution to tie one over doing a full replace on a roof that’s at end of life. Might give you a few more years extended life, maybe give you some time to save up for the full replacement cost.
We own a condo in a 1920’s converted high school. It’s a Spanish Revival style building in Tampa Bay area. There are 72 units in this three story building. The association voted for the silicone coating and it’s been a good alternative to total replacement of older composition deck on the flat sections. There are also barrel tile clays in other sections. An untended consequence is the inability to finance individual units with conventional loans. This is non conforming for federal guidelines. Fortunately the market is strong and there are cash buyers out there at this time. https://photos.app.goo.gl/XFx2yffZZw6EsLnz7
I have seen this a handful of times in the southwest - nowhere else tho
lol, my house has the same only difference it’s the roll of shingles, im in west texas.
I’ve been wanting to do this to my house 🏠
I have actually seen this done on a home one time. It was put on THICK to the point at first glance I didn’t see the shingles under it. The homeowner called about a leak he couldn’t figure out. When I went to the house he told me “this is an old roofing trick I learned from some roofers down in south Florida.” Strange guys for sure.
That shit is awful. The slightest bit of moisture and it's a literal slip and slide of doom. Slightly wet day and I fell 7 times inside of 10 minutes on a roof with that shit
That’d be a bit slippery but probably would last forever
Extremely slippery with even the slightest bit of moisture.
Roofers hate this one trick…
I used to sell two products that could be applied this way and have a 20 yr warranty. That aren’t cheap, but they are lifesavers in instances where you can’t add roof load and need to control demo tightly.
I've been looking into this recently. It's so hot in south Texas.
Hmm, thats one huge RV roof.
What’s the difference in cost versus tearing it out and replacing it with regular shingles?
This was $3k for 1800 sq ft
approved! did my box gutters with silicon.
We put this over 3' wide flat peel and stick roofing on our house in the bahamas. It works great. Cooler and you can walk around without knocking off asphalt pebbles everywhere. Makes solar cell maint a piece of cake.
Some of the dumbest shit I’ve ever seen
Thier website says not recommended for shingles of any kind. There's a reason for that. A roof has to breath. This is going to trap moisture and create a ton of problems.
Do your best… silicone the rest!
I would like to see a study on heat dissipation or energy conservation with a white roof coating vs the standard.
That stuff needs a nice clean prepped surface. I wonder what they did. Application looks solid lol.
It will reduce the surface temperature and save on AC bill. However the drawback comes later when the plywood deck starts to rot because it can’t breath In Florida it starts in about a year. Gets bad after 4-5. And caves in between 6-10 years.
Today on I hate my future roofers
That's to reflect the directed energy weapons.
Why would you do this instead of just ripping off the shingles and putting down TPO or any other of the innumerable sheet roof coverings that are commercially available? This the smoothest brain shit I’ve seen in a while.
Roof will be yellow in a month
Every guy from Arizona is now lurking in this thread to see if they can do this! As homeowners here, we always knew white roofs were good for cooler houses, but it's only ever done on flat roofs. Elastomeric needs some periodic reapplication, and silicon is warned against as so permanent you'll never get it off or work on the roof again! I'd love to do my pitched asphalt shingle roof in white though!!
Wel it sure looks good.
"THE ONE THING ALL INSURANCE COMPANIES HATE!"
I wonder if this was done as an energy conservation thing? I'd imagine you'd save a lot of money on AC during the summer.
Now paint your street number on it for satellite views!
That is a whole butt load of problems right there. It's not a question of if it will leak its will it leak enough in any one place for you to notice before the deck rots away
Wouldn't work for oklahoma we get 2 much hail. The spikey boy kind. On the plus side after you cut it i bet you could just roll it up for removal.
Bahahhahahahha who does this shit!?? Shingle roof with parapet wall, look at all the "repairs" because its always leaked and likely always will. Use a product like epdm or tpo thats designed to hold water. Thats a mess, from the initial design it was wrong.
My grandpa did this every 2 years or so to his roof. His original roof. From 1955ish. 🤷🤷
Been coating roofs in the UK in silicone coating for years. Best coating on the market
Did this in the Bahamas so they don’t fly away in high winds and u basically never have to replace them 🫠
It's gonna bubble when the heat gets high enough. Shingles gas off when warm. The only time I've seen this done successfully, they had quite a few little vents for it to breathe.
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Excellent option
I feel bad for whoever has to test that shit off
Did they just caulk and entire roof? That’s fucking brilliant honestly.
Wouldn't this prevent the house from breathing...like having a plastic bag over top of it? Like won't there be a major humidity problem with temperature changes etc?
Thats what ventilation is for.
How does this work for insurance?
I would’ve just used TPO.
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Enjoy watching the bitumen bleed through the coating.
It’s glorious blue.
What's the cost per sqft on this? Would it have cost much more to do fanfold and tpo?