Silicone Roof Coating Puts an End to Leaks at Multi-Tenant Office Building

By EVERROOF®.

The owner avoids re-roofing and adds 15 years to the existing roof.

The Creative Edge Offices (CEO) located in Santa Monica, California, is a Class C 60,750 square-foot, two story office building constructed in 1966. In 1980 it underwent renovations by renowned architect Frank Gehry. As a high-end office complex in an upscale neighborhood, it attracts premium tenants such as media-oriented companies, online businesses and architectural firms.

Challenge

The two-building, low-slope roof complex is comprised of both a smooth atactic polypropylene (APP) modified bitumen roll roofing membrane system and a built-up roof (BUR) granulated cap sheet membrane constructed in hot asphalt. However, 15 years ago, an acrylic roof coating was applied by Culver City, California-based Hull Brothers Roofing. The company has worked with the building’s property management company, Tarantino Construction, for the past 25 years to fix any roof issues. In spite of these repairs, the older roofs experienced leaks during the annual rain season that affected tenants and required Hull Brothers to do emergency repairs. Charles Jewett, president Hull Brothers Roofing, recently counselled Tarantino Construction that the roof’s acrylic coating reached a point of needing more than emergency repairs.

This project was challenging because of the building’s “open ceiling.” While this allows tenants to see a beautiful wood ceiling, it prohibits the installation of any roll roofing membrane because nails would be exposed and visible. Additionally, the roof has 40 air conditioning units, other roof-mounted equipment, electrical conduits gas pipes, and vent and drainage systems, requiring attention to detail when applying coatings around these penetrations.

Solution

Jewett recommended a silicone roof coating to extend the roof’s lifespan up to 15 years.  Unlike other coating materials, silicone won’t degrade, chalk, or crack from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. Silicone coatings erode much slower than other elastomeric coatings without becoming too brittle or hard. However, before Jewett and his team could get started, the roof required an adhesion test to see how well a silicone roof coating would stick to the existing acrylic coating. With positive results from the adhesion test, it was determined that CEO’s roof was a good candidate for a silicone roof coating.

Hull Brothers turned to California-based EVERROOF to leverage their manufacturing expertise and myriad silicone roof coating products. Six years ago, EVERROOF representatives met with Hull Brothers to offer an alternative to roof tear offs and traditional reroofing. Since that time, Hull Brothers hasn’t torn off even one cap-sheet roof because of the benefits EVERROOF silicone roof coatings provide their customers.

The four-step coating process consisted of Hull Brothers pressure washing CEO’s roof, putting on a primer, using Mastic™ sealant to reinforce any cracks, such as vents or pipe penetrations, and finally applying the silicone [coating]. When ready, this moisture-cured coating formed an elastomeric and durable film, which allowed the roof coating to seal around penetrations, bridge cracks, and reinforce membrane seams, as well as protecting against the damaging effects of ponding water.

“Because of my positive experience with EVERROOF, I was confident in recommending their silicone roof coating for this project,” commented Jewett.

While the offices would typically be occupied, because of the pandemic, most tenants are working from home, which made this the ideal time to recoat the roof. However, even if tenants were onsite, a silicone roof coating is a less disruptive, cleaner installation with no falling debris compared to a tear off and reroof.

“As astute and proactive property managers, Tarantino Construction recognizes that controlling unplanned maintenance expenses is the most effective way to reduce costs and tenant frustration while protecting the building owner’s assets,” said Mike Tarantino, president Tarantino Construction.

Results

EVERROOF’s new silicone roof coating saved the property owner 45 percent over the cost of a complete re-roofing. It also added an extra layer of UV protection to reduce thermal absorption. This will help CEO’s interior stay cooler, reducing energy consumption and costs, which the tenants will appreciate since they pay the electric bills.

This new roof coating provides a tax benefit to the building owner who can deduct (up to $1 million) on income taxes as an expense the first year rather than being considered a capital expense subject to depreciation over multiple years.

“Chuck pointed out that roof coatings can eliminate the need for a tear off over the life of the building because it can be recoated multiple times and avoids the exposure of a torn off roof. These are tremendous benefits to the owner,” added Tarantino. 

This new cool roof silicone coating is in compliance with California’s updated Title 24 Building Energy Efficiency Standards that went into effect January 1, 2020. The cool roof dramatically reduces roof temperatures by reflecting UV rays, which also prevents the building’s interior from heating up, thereby lessening air conditioning usage.

The owner is also saving money with this new silicone roof coating because it can be installed in half the time required to re-roof. Additionally, they’re saving on costs to haul away and dump the existing roof in a landfill, along with the added expenses for the new roof material and installation.

Roof contractor

Hull Brothers Roofing

http://hullbrothersroofing.com/

Products used

EVERRROOF® Ever-Silic® System: Primer M100, Mastic™ sealant and Ever-Silic HS White

https://everroof.com/everroof-silicone-products.html

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