January 16, 2014

There are several brands of roof coatings on the market and many of these brands have multiple asphalt roof coatings to choose from - How do you know which one to pick? There are several factors to consider: How long has the coating manufacturer’s product successfully been on the market? Can they provide you with credentials and ratings for their products from established roofing organizations? Compare the ingredients listed in the coating you are choosing against other roof coatings.  Arma Coatings of Wichita, Inc has been working with key suppliers of coatings that have been proven in the field on existing roofs.  We only work with the best of the best and do not skimp on materials.

 Let’s dive in and take the first factor into consideration – How long has the coating manufacturer’s product successfully been on the market? Track record is very important. Poor performing products do not last long in any industry; therefore, it’s good to find out how many years the product has successfully worked for others.  Does the coating of bleed blocking properties?  This is an important factor to consider if the coating is to maintain its ability to be a cool roof.

Credentials and ratings are extremely important when comparing products because they deliver unbiased information while using identical tests to provide accurate results. There are several organizations in the roofing industry that set rigorous standards such as ASTM, AIA, FM, ICC-ES, UL, Energy Star, CRRC, Miami-Dade County, and LEED.  It is important that the suppliers coatings materials meets all of these standards and is an excellent high performance asphalt roof coating that provides longevity and brightness with superior dirt pick-up resistance and protection against biological attack such as algae and mold.  If your roof located in a geographical area with large temperature swings it will be important to look for materials with exceptional tensile strength, elongation, and wet adhesion.

Lastly, we want to discuss the importance of the amounts of ingredients used in the asphalt roof coating. There are manufactures that will skimp on the raw materials of the coating in order to provide their coatings at a lower price point.  It is important to compare ingredients carefully.  The manufacturer should offer premium roof coating products with high levels of ingredients to provide the finest and best roof coating products available. The ingredients that lower the price point of coating will directly affect the coatings performance and could affect the coatings ability to meet the industry standards outlined above. What this means is the manufacturer is substituting some of the amounts of its key ingredients with cheap filler materials.  These filler materials could reflect the coatings reflectivity, emissivity, flexibility, elasticity, or any one of many of the coatings cured properties. By using these cheap fillers in a roof coating your roof fails sooner, leaking faster and resulting in the need to repair, recoat or replace your roof much earlier than if you had chosen a durable, highly reflective coating with proper amounts of the proper ingredients.  

As you can see, it is important to know the ingredient content of the product you choose as it can adversely affect your roof. It is also great to do a little research and make sure the product has passed standards and tests set by the roofing industry. Lastly, remember the longer the history of success, the greater likelihood you will be satisfied with your choice.

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Testimonials

Kevin C.

We recently built a new house in the Wichita area.  Doing research for energy efficient products, we came across Arma Coatings of Wichita, Inc.