Sean Fraker - The Future is Here – Liquid-Applied Roofing Membrane

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

How the increase in roof restoration and sustainable roofing has made liquid-applied roofing one of the most popular options now and in the future. 

In Season 3, Episode 56 of Roofing Road Trips, Heidi J. Ellsworth meets with one of the leaders in liquid-applied roofing membranes, Sean Fraker. In this podcast, the two discuss how the future of roofing has arrived with liquid-applied roofing. Sean also shares the vision of Sika and their recent acquisition of American Hydrotech. With building owners and contractors looking for more roof restoration alternatives, Sean shares how liquid-applied roofing has become one of the most sought-after roofing options. 

Sean is the national manager at Sika, where he has been working since 2009. Throughout his career, Sean has witnessed firsthand the rapid growth of liquid applied roofing membranes alongside chemical and technical advances that have improved the functionality of these products. After years of innovation, manufacturers are now offering products that provide an alternative solution to the traditional roof tear-off and replacement.  

"If the substrate's still in good shape, why tear it off? Why fill up a landfill? Why re-insulate and dispose of everything versus put a high-performance coat on it that's married with a reinforcement and offer another 20 or 25 years on a warranted system,” said Sean. “Especially on school systems and in shopping malls and all these places that have these massive roofs?" 

Sika has cold applied, acrylic-based coating options as well as silicone and urethane liquid-applied membrane systems. Additionally, Sika’s products are uniquely designed to be adaptable and, in some cases, fully customizable to meet a building’s particular needs. For instance, while most urethanes need the presence of moisture to complete their curing process, Sika's products just need the presence of moisture to start a molecular reaction, but do not require moisture throughout the entire curing process. 

"The big advantage of that in most markets is, is as long as you put it down on a dry substrate, it will cure under water,” said Sean. “It can virtually rain on it within minutes and it will finish the cure and be waterproof.” 

Additionally, Sika’s products are all single component and simple-to-use. They save time and energy on the job, which is particularly beneficial for contractors struggling to find and retain quality workers right now.  

“You literally open the bucket, you don’t [need to] mix it, you put a roller in it or a pump apparatus, and you immediately begin to use it and apply it to the roof,” said Sean. “The next generations of these products along with the primers or primerless systems are going to make it simpler yet. So literally, a supervisor from a roofing crew with experience can direct a group of guys that are fairly new to the industry and pretty quickly put down a state-of-the-art, long-term system.” 

Listen to the entire podcast to learn more about the exciting advancements of Sika’s liquid applied roofing products and the benefits they offer to contractors.