Silicone Roof Restoration Arlington Warehouse 2330 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA

Yes, when the assembly below the membrane is dry and structurally sound. Modified bitumen is one of the substrates silicone restoration is best suited to, because the existing membrane stays in place and becomes the base sheet for a new fluid-applied waterproofing layer. What determines eligibility is not the age of the roof but its condition: a moisture survey has to confirm the insulation is dry, any wet areas have to be cut out and replaced, and an adhesion test has to confirm the coating will bond to that specific weathered surface. Structural damage found during that assessment does not rule restoration out, but it does have to be rebuilt first rather than coated over.

Yes, and because the restriction appears in both model codes, the correct citation depends on what kind of building it is. For one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses, the residential provision is 2018 IRC Section R908.3, which governs roof replacement and does not permit a roof recover where the existing roof already has two or more applications of any type of roof covering. For commercial buildings and most multi-family residential construction, the equivalent commercial provision is 2018 IBC Section 1511.3. The effect is the same under either code: where a roof already carries two or more layers, for example modified bitumen installed over an existing built-up roof, a new roof covering cannot legally be installed over the top, and the existing layers have to be removed down to the deck first. That turns a traditional re-roof into a mandatory full tear-off, which is the most expensive and most disruptive part of any roofing project: it is noisy and dirty, it exposes the interior to weather, and in a working building it is the part that interferes most with operations. A silicone restoration is not a new roof covering installation, so the two-layer restriction does not force a tear-off. The existing layers stay on the building and are waterproofed with a fluid-applied coating instead. This project is a warehouse, so the IBC provision is the one that applies.

It has to be rebuilt, and the damage is usually worse than it looks from above. Water that gets past the membrane at a roof edge keeps the wood decking and framing beneath it permanently wet, and the wood swells, softens, and eventually loses its structural strength. As it deteriorates it also loses its shape, so the roof edge no longer sits where it was built to sit. That is a structural repair, not a roofing repair: the membrane is opened up, the rotted decking and framing are cut out and replaced with sound material, the correct line and slope are re-established, and only then is the area reroofed and brought into the coating system.

Because the edge of the roof has risen relative to the field behind it. When the wood structure along a gutter line rots and swells from prolonged leakage, the deck can deflect and curl upward at the edge, forming a lip. That lip acts as a dam: water running down the roof reaches it and stops instead of spilling into the gutter, so it stands in a band along the roof edge. It is a self-worsening condition, because the water that now sits against the edge keeps the rotting wood wet and the lip keeps growing. Coating over it would seal the surface but leave the dam in place, so the structure has to be rebuilt and the slope re-established first.

A silicone roof restoration is a fluid-applied waterproofing system installed over an existing low-slope roof rather than replacing it. The roof is power washed, repaired, and detailed, every membrane lap seam is reinforced with a silicone seam stripe, failed seams and flashings are rebuilt with reinforced three-course repairs, and a high-solids silicone field coating is then sprayed or rolled over the entire roof to a specified dry film thickness. The result is a seamless, highly reflective membrane that is renewable at the end of its warranty term rather than being torn off and landfilled.

To keep the asphalt from discoloring the coating. Chemicals bleed out of an asphalt roof surface and migrate up into the silicone above it, turning a white coating yellow. Progressive Materials P-160 Asphalt Bleed-Block Primer is a single-component, water-based, plasticizer-free acrylic primer designed for smooth asphalt roof surfaces, and it forms a barrier between the asphalt and the silicone that stops that bleed-through. On a Progressive Materials modified bitumen system it is applied over the entire asphalt surface at one gallon per 100 square feet before any silicone goes on. It can be sprayed, brushed, or rolled, and spray application is preferred.

A seam stripe is a heavier band of silicone applied over every membrane lap seam before the field coating goes down. On a Progressive Materials system it is applied at 20 mils and roughly two inches wide, at a coverage rate of about 400 linear feet per gallon. Laps are where a modified bitumen roof moves and where water finds its way in first, so building extra thickness there before the field coat means the most vulnerable line on the roof carries more material than the field, not less. Skipping the stripe leaves the seams at field thickness and is one of the most common reasons a coating fails early.

A three-course repair is a reinforced detail built in three passes: a base layer of silicone, a layer of polyester reinforcing fabric embedded into it while wet, and a second layer of silicone over the top that fully encapsulates the fabric. The fabric gives the repair tensile strength and bridging ability that coating alone does not have, which is why it is specified at failed or open seams, at flashing failures, and at penetrations and curbs. Any area that has already moved or split is repaired this way rather than simply being coated over.

For a Progressive Materials 20-year system over modified bitumen the field coating must achieve a minimum of 40 mils dry film thickness, and the 20-year color option is white only. Thickness is what drives warranty term on a silicone restoration: shorter warranty terms are written at lower dry film thicknesses and longer terms require more material on the roof. Because the requirement is a dry film thickness, application has to be logged and verified as the work proceeds, and the manufacturer inspects the completed roof before the warranty is issued.

Because a coating is a vapor-retarding layer, and any water already trapped in the assembly stays trapped underneath it. Wet insulation loses its R-value, rots a wood deck or corrodes a metal one, and will push against the new coating as it tries to escape, which can blister or disbond the system. A non-destructive moisture survey maps where the assembly is wet so those areas can be cut out and replaced before any coating is applied. It is also a manufacturer requirement, not just good practice, on a warranted restoration system.

An adhesion test confirms that the coating will actually bond to the specific roof it is being applied to. A small area is cleaned and dried exactly as the full roof will be, a sample of the coating is applied, and once cured it is checked for bond. Aged roof surfaces vary enormously depending on the original product, how weathered they are, and what has been applied over them previously, so the test is performed on the actual roof after cleaning rather than assumed from the data sheet. It is required after cleaning and drying and before the field coating is committed to.

Yes, provided the cause is addressed rather than the symptom. Where the slope is simply inadequate, low areas can be built back up with a pourable or trowel-applied slope compound such as Progressive Materials Pro Slope, installed in the low spots and feathered out into the surrounding field so water is carried to the outlets instead of standing. Heavily alligatored or cracked areas are filled and smoothed with a surface leveler such as PM SL 800 so the silicone has a sound, continuous surface to bond to. Where the ponding is caused by structural deterioration rather than original design, that structure has to be rebuilt first, because no amount of slope compound will fix a roof edge that has physically moved.

In most cases yes, and that is one of the main practical advantages of restoration over replacement. Because there is no tear-off, the existing membrane is never opened, so there is no point at which the interior is exposed to weather, no tear-off debris to move through or around the building, and no need to protect stored goods or racking from an open roof. Localized structural repairs are the exception and are staged and dried in area by area. Access, staging, and any temporary interruption to rooftop equipment are coordinated with operations, and loading dock and yard traffic is kept clear of the work zone.

The 20-year Progressive Materials system carries a 20-year labor and material warranty covering leaks caused by failure of the silicone material, subject to the warranty terms and exclusions. It requires the system to be installed to the published specification, including the minimum 40 mil dry film thickness, white coating, seam striping, and reinforced repairs at failed seams and flashings, and it requires a manufacturer inspection of the completed roof before the warranty is issued. That final inspection is the step that converts a completed coating job into a warranted roof system.