Spray foam roofing in Acheson is work on the wide, shallow roofs that cover industrial bays west of Edmonton. These are not house roofs. They are large areas of low slope, often with parapets on two or more sides, mechanical units sitting on them, and a taller section of the same building standing beside a lower one. The failures that bring us up there are about water sitting still, not water running off.
Water that has nowhere to go
A low-slope roof only drains if the slope survives. Decks deflect over long spans, insulation board compresses under foot traffic, and drains end up slightly higher than the area around them. Once water stands, it finds every seam it is given time to find. Sprayed polyurethane is one of the few roof materials that can be applied at a varying thickness, which means it can be built up to create fall toward a drain on a deck that no longer has any. That is the main reason it gets specified on a roof like this rather than a straightforward replacement in kind.
Re-covering instead of tearing off
On a building that is running, a tear-off means an open roof over somebody's operation. Foam can frequently be sprayed over a sound existing roof once it is cleaned, fastened down where it has loosened and dried out, which keeps the building closed while the work happens. The condition for that is a dry substrate. Foam applied over trapped water seals the water in, and there is then no route for it to leave. A core cut to find out what is actually in the assembly is a cheap step compared with discovering it afterwards.
The coating is the roof
This is the part owners most often misunderstand. The foam is the insulation and the slope; it is not the weather surface. The elastomeric coating over it is, and that coating is a maintained item. Left alone it thins under ultraviolet light and eventually exposes the foam, which does not tolerate sunlight. Recoated on schedule, the same assembly keeps going almost indefinitely. A foam roof is therefore a maintenance commitment rather than a fit-and-forget product, and anyone selling it without saying so is leaving out the condition that makes it work.
Snow, drifting and the step in the roof
Out here the roof has to deal with snow that arrives with wind behind it and with very little to break it up. Snow loads unevenly, which matters on a wide deck: it piles against parapets, in the valley where a low roof meets a high wall, and on the lee side of rooftop units. That is both a loading issue and a water issue, because drifted snow melts slowly from below where the roof is warmest and refreezes at the edge where it is not. The detail at a step in the roof and at every parapet is where a low-slope roof out here is won or lost, and it is exactly the detail a seamless sprayed assembly handles well, because there is no lap to open up.
The things sticking out of it
Curbs, vents, pipe penetrations, exhaust fans, conduit and the units themselves all have to be flashed, and on an older industrial roof that is where the existing leaks nearly always are. A seamless application can turn up the curb and onto the flange in one pass, which removes the joint rather than sealing it. The counting of those penetrations is a real part of the scope, and a price produced from a roof area with no reference to what stands on it is not a price for your roof.
One company, start to finish
We take care of spray foam roofing Acheson end to end -- the assessment, the quote, the scheduling and the spraying. Our crews do the work.
Spray Foam Roofing Acheson: Common Questions
Can you spray over our existing roof? Often, if it is dry, sound and well fastened. If there is water in the assembly it has to come out first, because foam over trapped moisture has no way to release it.
Does a foam roof need maintenance? Yes. The coating over the foam is the weather surface and it needs recoating on a cycle. Looked after, the assembly lasts; neglected, ultraviolet exposure takes the foam.
Our roof ponds. Will foam fix the slope? That is one of its genuine advantages. Thickness can be varied to build fall toward a drain without rebuilding the deck.
How much does spray foam roofing cost in Acheson? It is priced by the board foot over the roof area plus the coating system on top, so area and thickness set the base. What moves it on an Acheson building is the number of penetrations, the parapet and step details, and whether the existing roof can be recovered or has to come off.
How do I choose a spray foam roofing contractor in Acheson? Ask what they will do to confirm the existing assembly is dry, and ask for the recoating interval in writing. A contractor who skips either question is not quoting a roof that will last.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Acheson quote. More on Spray Foam Roofing Alberta.