Spray foam roofing in Westlock applies to a specific and recognisable group of buildings: the flat and low-slope roofs on the older commercial core, on institutional buildings, and on the odd addition at the back of a house. It is a different product from the foam we spray inside a building. It is applied on top of the deck, it becomes the roof itself, and it carries a protective coating over it.
What a sprayed roof is
Closed-cell foam applied over the existing deck or over an existing roof, then coated. Three things follow from that. It is monolithic, so there are no seams and no laps, which is where conventional low-slope roofs usually fail. It is adhered, so wind uplift has nothing to get under. And because it is sprayed to a thickness the applicator controls, it can be built up to create slope towards the drains on a deck that has none, which is something no membrane can do.
The snowpack is the local design condition
This is the part that matters north of Edmonton and gets glossed over in general descriptions of foam roofing. There is no chinook here, so the snow that lands on a low-slope roof in November is still on it in March. That means three things. The dead load from accumulated snow and any ice beneath it is present all season rather than coming and going, so the structure's capacity is the first conversation, not the roofing. Meltwater generated by heat escaping the building below has to go somewhere, and on a dead-flat roof that means towards a drain that may itself be frozen. And the roof is not available for inspection or repair for a large part of the year, which argues strongly for a seamless surface rather than one with hundreds of laps to monitor.
Ponding and drainage come before the roofing
The reason a low-slope roof in this climate fails is almost always water standing where it should have drained. On older buildings in the townsite core the deck has often deflected over the decades into a shallow basin that holds water in the middle. A sprayed roof is the one system that can correct that by building up thickness away from the drain, and doing that properly is what distinguishes a roof that lasts from a resurfaced puddle. If the drains themselves are undersized, blocked or in the wrong place, that is a separate job and it comes first.
Recovering an existing roof rather than tearing it off
Where the existing roof is sound and dry, foam can frequently be applied over it, which avoids a tear-off, avoids the disposal and keeps the building watertight throughout. Where it is wet, it comes off, because foam applied over trapped moisture seals the water in. Establishing which of those two situations you have is the first thing we do, and it involves looking rather than assuming.
Spray Foam Roofing Westlock: Common Questions
Can a sprayed roof fix a flat roof that ponds? That is one of the things it is genuinely good at, because thickness can be varied to build slope towards the drain. Drains themselves have to be sorted out separately.
Does the old roof have to come off? Not if it is dry and sound. If there is trapped moisture it does, because spraying over wet material seals the water in.
How does it cope with snow sitting on it all winter? A seamless adhered surface has no laps for meltwater to track into, which is its main advantage in a climate where the roof is inaccessible for months.
Does it need maintenance? The coating over the foam is the wearing surface and is renewed periodically. That is a planned item rather than a repair.
How much does spray foam roofing cost in Westlock? It prices per board foot of applied foam plus the coating, so the roof area, the depth needed to create slope and the condition of what is underneath set the scope. A tear-off, where one is needed, is separate.
How do I choose a spray foam roofing contractor in Westlock? Ask how they will test whether the existing roof is dry, and how they intend to build slope to the drains. Both answers should come before any price.
Size the assembly with the R-value calculator, then get a free Westlock quote. More on Spray Foam Roofing Alberta province-wide.