A silicone coating is often the right answer for an aging roof that still has structural life left in it but has lost its reflectivity, developed minor leaks, or started ponding water after our heavier summer thunderstorms. It's a maintenance and extension tool, not a substitute for a roof that's genuinely at the end of its service life.
Flat industrial and warehouse roofs around Evansville frequently have drainage that was adequate when installed but has since developed low spots from structural settling or added rooftop equipment. When summer storms drop heavy rain in a short window, those low spots hold standing water for hours or days afterward. Silicone coatings resist that standing water far better than acrylic coatings, which can soften or lose adhesion under prolonged ponding. On any roof where we know drainage isn't perfect, silicone is the coating we recommend.
Acrylic still has its place on roofs with good, consistent drainage where the lower material cost makes more sense, but we don't recommend it where ponding is a known issue.
An aged TPO, EPDM, or modified bitumen roof loses reflectivity over years of UV exposure and dirt accumulation, which raises rooftop surface temperatures during our humid, sun-heavy summer stretch. A fresh silicone coating restores a highly reflective surface, cutting that heat gain back down and taking pressure off the building's cooling system during the hottest months.
The coating also adds a fresh UV-resistant wear layer over the existing membrane, which slows the rate of further degradation and buys years of additional service life on a roof that would otherwise be heading toward replacement.
Coating works well on a roof with sound structural integrity, minor surface wear, and isolated small leaks. It's not a fix for a roof with widespread seam failure, saturated insulation, or membrane that's shrunk and pulled away from flashings. We inspect and often core-sample a roof before recommending a coating project, because coating over a wet substrate traps moisture and speeds up the roof's failure rather than preventing it.
A coating is only as good as the surface it goes over. We powerwash and dry the entire roof, repair every seam and flashing defect first, and let the substrate dry fully before any coating goes down. Skipping prep to save time is the single most common reason coating projects fail early, and it's not a step we shortcut regardless of schedule pressure.
Where hail or plant exhaust residue has left surface damage across the field, we address those areas individually before the general coating application rather than coating over unresolved problems.
A properly installed silicone coating on a sound substrate typically adds 10 to 15 years of service life, depending on the coating thickness and the underlying membrane's remaining condition. For an owner weighing a six-figure tear-off and replacement against a coating project at a fraction of the cost, that math often makes the coating the better near-term decision, with replacement pushed out to a point where it's genuinely necessary.
Coating manufacturers publish minimum dry-film thickness requirements tied to their warranty terms, and applying below that threshold to save material cost is one of the more common ways a coating warranty gets denied later. We measure wet-mil thickness during application, not only at the end of the job, since it's much easier to add a second pass while the crew is still mobilized than to discover a thin spot after the fact.
Warranty terms on coating projects run shorter than a full replacement warranty, generally in a range tied to the coating thickness applied, and we walk owners through exactly what that warranty does and doesn't cover before the project starts. It typically covers the coating itself, not pre-existing conditions in the membrane underneath that weren't part of the original scope.
Thickness depends on the substrate and the manufacturer's specification, generally applied to a measured wet-mil thickness to achieve a consistent dry-film target across the roof.
A coating can address minor surface leaks and pinholes as part of the overall system, but active leaks from failed seams or saturated insulation need to be repaired first, not painted over.
Coating work generally moves faster than a full tear-off and replacement since there's no membrane removal or deck work involved, though exact timelines depend on roof size and prep needs.
Yes, silicone coatings are commonly used on metal roofs to address seam and fastener leaks and extend service life, using a different prep and priming process than membrane roof coating.
We recommend the same regular inspection schedule as any roof, watching specifically for coating wear in high-traffic areas and around drains where ponding recurs.