Thursday 5 June 2008

Money Saving Residential and Business Foam Roof Insulation

My husband and I own a mid-century modern home. We love the look of our modern home, but we hate the flat roof. It often leaked and caused us problems inside our home. However, once we had foam roof insulation installed instead of replacing our conventional roof, our problems were solved.


We didn't know about spray roof insulation until we saw it being applied to a business in our town. We were able to talk with the business owner who told us why he had chosen to have an SPF or sprayed in place polyurethane foam roofing system installed. Like us, he had many issues with a flat roof.


He said after much investigation he decided on using foam roof insulation due to it's insulative and seamless nature. Apparently sprayed polyurethane foam has been used as a roofing material for thirty years, so the technology is proven.


Once the sprayed polyurethane foam is applied a protective cover is applied over it. These protective coatings can be silicone, urethane, cementious or acrylic. The coatings give increased fire resistance, waterproofing, UV protection and add more resistance to impact and abrasions to the SPF surface. Once the foam roof insulation and protective coating is dry added protective walkways can be placed in areas where necessary.


After talking with the business owner we decided to look into using this technology on our home. We called a foam roof insulation specialist to our home. He explained how the polyurethane foam creates a lightweight and permanent seamless covering that is Energy Star Compliant. He explained due to the expanding nature of the foam the system is self flashing and how it adheres to any type of substrait. He explained how the coatings give extra protection from water and sun, damage and corrosion. He showed us before and after pictures of sprayed polyurethane roofs. We really like the looks of the foam roof insulation.


We returned a few weeks later to the business where we first saw this foam roofing insulation. The owner took us up onto the roof so we could see it firsthand. We were very impressed with the finished product. It was easy to see how well the foam had adhered to every surface and had expanded fully around the pipes and fittings on the roof. He said that he expected to get at a minimum 25 years of life out of the foam roof. He expected it would need an occasion re application of the protective coating. He also said he expected to save at least 30% on the cost of energy for his business. That was all we needed to hear.


Today, we're enjoying a totally carefree foam roof. It's the best investment we've made in our home to date.