Silver Roof Paint Questions
I own a 2 family wood frame house in Bushwick. I recently had half of my roof recovered with white sbs modified bitumen, to repar some leaks. The other half is torch down rubber, which was put down less than 2 years ago. (probably illegally, but before I owned the house). The rubber is dark,…
I own a 2 family wood frame house in Bushwick. I recently had half of my roof recovered with white sbs modified bitumen, to repar some leaks. The other half is torch down rubber, which was put down less than 2 years ago. (probably illegally, but before I owned the house).
The rubber is dark, and I want to paint it to reduce heat in the upstairs apartment, as well as protect it, and I’m wondering if the Karnak aluminum paint found in home depot is the right stuff.
There is one with fiber and the another without, I was wondering the purpose of the fiber, and which is best.
Also, it says on the label to machine mix it, does home depot do that, or do I need to deal with that myself.
The other thing is, should I paint the sbs portion of the roof as well, or is it not necessary because it’s white, and is there a danger of damaging it with the silver paint?
Thanks
BTW the roofer I used was recommended to me by Nick @ Leakmaster; John Mastroianni, I’m very happy with his work and price.
Aluminum coated SBS have better ratings than it does in white, but it is unclear how long the aluminum coating lasts. The Sure Coat Roof System is a solid core of the same coating that has 81% solar reflectance after 3 years aged and dirty. Cleaning the Sure Coat membrane will increase these values.
The main purpose of the fibers is to span voids or small crevices in the roofing material so that the covering doesn’t sag to the point that it creates a puddling area, or splits, allowing water to get under the coating and potentially delaminate. The fibers are lighter than the asphalt/aluminum coating, so they float towards the surface, the coating bonds to the fibers as well as seeping underneath, so you get a relatively level surface. The coating with fiber is not as important on a really well applied new roof that’s all the same material. On an older roof, or one that is two different materials as described in this scenario, I would go with the fiber included one. Not only will it span the crevices better, but it will handle different contraction/expansion rates between the two materials better.
I’m not sure if Home Depot will mix it for you, I’ve never asked. I’m not sure if a vibrating paint mixer would do the trick anyway, it’s so thick. If I had a half inch drill, I would just pick up a cheap paint paddle and mix it myself. You could probably do it with a 3/8 drill, but be careful not to run the drill continuously for long periods or you run the risk of burning out the drill.
I’m so glad you’re postage this. I have all the same questions, except my roof is the regular tar (I think). I was going to call Nick and see if he paints roofs silver. Did you ask either fellow?
I suspected the fiber is better, but not sure what it does.
I have a flat roof, so I plan on doing it myself.
I’d probably hire a roofer to do a sloped roof, since they know how to get around and be safe up there.
I’d give Nick or John a call, they seem reasonable, though I don’t know if painting would be up their alley, maybe they’d give a recommendation.
From reading posts on here, I believe the fiber is better. I also want to know the answers to your other questions.
Are you going to do this yourself? If not, who are you hiring to do this? I need to find someone – not quite brave enough to do it myself on a sloped roof.
Thanks.