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About the materials and their use in roof repair

Elastomeric coatings (Snowroof™ & others) seem like a great idea. A new chemistry that promises to both seal your roof and stop leaks while it reflects sunlight and lowers your air conditioning bill. The home owner can apply it themselves with a paint roller and long handled extension, without ever having to climb around on the roof.

It's too bad, but in my experience, it seldom works this way. The products stick well to bare metal and maintain their reflective qualities. I don't think they hold up well where they have been applied over other patching material.While they have some ability to stretch (that's why they are called elastomeric) I don't think they have the strength to cover gaps that flex with thermal expansion and/or wind motion. I don't have any scientific studies to back up this opinion; I do see many people frequently re-coating their roofs.

If you choose to try these products you will want to make sure your roof is clean with no loose material from previous patches.You may want to apply asphalt based products with mesh around vents and other roof penetrations before coating the roof with an elastomeric product. If you do that, give these repair a few weeks to set before you try covering them with the elastomeric coating.

If wind noise has been a problem this would be a good time to consider rumble buttons.

Elastomeric coatings are applied with a roller. You can do that from a ladder alongside the house if you have a long roller handle. That is probably safer (for both you and the roof) than crawling around on the roof with a short handled roller.If you are going to crawl on the roof, read my safety page and invest in a good pair of knee pads. Blisters on your knees from kneeling unprotected on a hot roof are no fun.