Roof Coatings in WI

Elmer's Roofing Service

Hortonville, WI

920-779-9690 

My name is Elmer Dowling from WI. I have been in the roofing business since 1976 and in the last 38 years I have installed most of the roofing systems available in the industry to date. I was introduced to the Conklin roof coating business in 2006 and have been building my roof coatings business ever since.

A job I recently did for a client

This is an old client of mine, we shingled her roof about 5 years ago.
At that time her flat roof needed help but she said her grandson was going to fix it for her, then she said he had some silver coating stuff he was using, I told her she was wasting her money but her grandson has done roofing in the past and she trusted him. Well we see where that got her!!
It started leaking two years ago and her grandson kept telling her he would fix it. Again we see where that went!
So finally she called me to see if I could do something to help her out.
Yup sure can and could of 5 years ago but you know how family can be! So now she has a roofing system that will ease her mind and keep her water tight!

Here is a short video of that roof job

Fabric Reinforced (Ply) System

Conklin revolotionized the commercial roofing industry when we introduced white acrylic Fabric Reinforced Coating Systems some thirty years ago. Even back then we knew that white roof surfaces reflect more of the sun's heat rays than darker ones do. So white roofs stay naturally cooler - saving building owners up to 30% in cooling costs annually! 

 There's Nothing GREENER Than Conklin's WHITE!

Contact us today for your next roofing project!
Elmer's Roofing Service
Hortonville, WI
920-779-9690
Visit my website for more info

Elmers Roofing Service

Elmer's Roofing Service

Hortonville, WI

My name is Elmer Dowling from WI. I have been in the roofing business since 1976 and in the last 38 years I have installed most of the roofing systems available in the industry to date. I was introduced to the Conklin roof coating business in 2006 and have been building my roof coatings business ever since.

I started out like most do, with shingles (3-tab, t-locks, Dutch lap, and architecturals) then learned how to install cedar shakes and metal roofing. From there I went on to learn commercial roofing which includes BUR (hot tar) single plys (EPDM, Mod-Bit,TPO's and PVC roofs) and most recently Elastomeric Roof Coatings.

 I am a Trained Conklin Contractor trained in how to correctly install the different coating systems Conklin has to offer.

I choose to install Conklin's Roofing Systems for a couple reasons:
First, they offered training so I would understand what I would be doing. Second they simply manufacture a quality product that has a proven track record for the last 40 years!

Conklin Roofing Systems have been applied to over 2 billion square feet of roofing throughout the United States since 1977.
The Conklin Company provides innovative roofing systems for a wide variety of roofing applications. 

Let me inspect your roof to see how I can
help you with your roofing needs! 

You can contact me here 

 

Or call...... 920-779-9690

Options for coating asphalt roof systems

If you spend more money on cooling than on heating your commercial building, you can cut this coming summer's air conditioning bills significantly by investing in a reflective roof coating system.

The primary options for coating an asphalt roof are white polymers (like those manufactured by Conklin Roofing Systems and asphalt-like resins with reflective aluminum flakes. Both are reasonably priced, and offer a quick payback.

Why install a reflective roof coating?

Flat asphalt roofs can reach up to 200 degrees, absorbing up to 70% of the solar heat. By contrast, the best reflective roof coatings reflect up to 80% of solar heat, and can reduce roof surface temperatures by 80 degrees.

Reflecting a significant amount of solar heat can cut internal building temperatures by up to 10 degrees, increasing the effectiveness of the roof insulation and cutting cooling costs by 25-70%. It also makes the building more comfortable in areas that are not air conditioned, and the roof will last longer without the heat-related cracking and deterioration, which saves you money on labor and materials in the long run.

About white reflective roof coatings

High-quality white roof coatings like those from Conklin are made with acrylics or similar materials mixed with an opaque, white and reflective pigments. They are the most effective reflective coating for the majority of asphalt roof systems. There are also polymeric coatings that are tinted for aesthetic reasons, but they are less reflective and won't save as much on energy consumption.

Tests at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have consistently demonstrated that white elastomeric coatings offer about 60% solar reflectance, leaving the roof temperature only 36 degrees higher than the ambient air temperature - a much smaller difference than the surface temperatures on a black asphalt roof. All roof coatings must be chosen and applied carefully, particularly on rough asphalt roofs.

Calculate your potential savings from installing a white roof coating

The federal government does not offer energy saving rebates for reflective roof coatings (although some states do), but you can look for Energy Star-rated roof coatings, which guarantee a minimum level of reflectance.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory also have a roof savings calculator that uses weather data and your building information to estimate the cost of a new roofing system or coating and the potential energy savings. After you plug in data, the lab will email you results.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Which type of coating is best for your existing roof system?

Once you determine the function of a roof coating, you must also consider the type of roof system you have that is going to be coated. Roof coating suppliers and manufacturers (like Conklin) generally offer two types of coatings: all-purpose, which are suitable for a range of substrates, and application-specific which tailored to one type or a limited range of substrates.

It is important to know that different substrates require different roof coatings. For example, it is more difficult for coatings to adhere to hard, smooth, chemically-inert surfaces, and much easier on rough, irregular, chemically-active surfaces.

Roof coating adhesion to a particular substrate improves when the installer applies a primer or base coat. Manufacturers like Conklin recommend very specific base coats (or primers) to match a specific top coat with a specific substrate. The installing roofing contractor should use only the base coat or primer specified by the coating manufacturer.

Coating primers and base coats for built-up roofs offer some very good examples. Manufacturers have designed products specifically to work on these surfaces - they work well on these often-hot surfaces by bonding to the asphalt and preventing it from bleeding into the white topcoat.

Enhancing the sustainability of a coated roof requires re-coating periodically to extend its service life. Most roof coatings are field-applied, and success depends on real-world conditions as well as the skill of the installer. To ensure proper curing, an experienced roofing contractor should pay careful attention to consistent application and changing weather conditions.

If you are considering a roof coating for your home or commercial building, make sure to ask the contractor why they are specifying the coating(s) being quoted and if that particular material is best suited for your roof.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

How roofing manufacturers classify roof coatings

Roof coating systems are available for a variety of roofing systems. Manufacturers like Conklin are introducing new formulas to keep up with changing needs and roofing materials with water-based urethanes, bio-based materials, 100% solids silicones, and low volatile-organic-compound asphalt cutbacks currently in the pipeline. Also on the horizon are self-cross-linking water-based coatings, faster-setting water-based coatings, and a basecoat primers suitable for literally every roofing membrane on the market.

Manufacturers classify roof coatings according to the specific binder and carrier type, which also determine application methods and compatibility with existing roof surfaces.

A coating’s binder (or resin) is the basic matrix material - the part that actually adheres to an existing roof surface. Manufacturers use different binder chemistries to meet price and performance criteria, as well as to match specific roof substrates. The binder type dictates most of a coating’s primary physical properties including elongation, tensile strength, adhesion to a substrate material, permeance, water swelling, and low-temperature flexibility. They typically range from asphalts to a variety of elastomers (acrylics, urethanes, silicones, thermoset rubbers and various block polymers), as well as blends of these materials.

A coating’s carrier is the liquid that combines with the binder to reduce viscosity to a workable level. The carrier generally evaporates during curing. It also generally dictates a coating’s installation process and cure time. Manufacturers now more often use water as a carrier, in which case the binder is suspended in water as an emulsion though traditionally coating binders used a solvent as the carrier. Solvent-based coatings cure in a broader range of weather conditions and might be the best (or only) choice in freezing or wet conditions.

A coating’s cure rate varies greatly because it reacts to ambient humidity, temperature and sunlight. This reaction is especially true of water-based coatings. Coating installers must allow coatings to cure sufficiently to ensure they are waterproof.

Manufacturers can add pigments and fibers to binders to control physical properties and increase reflectivity. Because reflectivity and emittance are defining properties of cool roofs, organizations such as the Energy Star program and the Cool Roof Rating Council in California monitor and measure these coatings.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Why white roof coatings for low-slope roofs?

Reflective roof coatings like the ones manufactured by Conklin Roofing Systems are the fastest-growing product segment in the fluid-applied roofing market. White roof coatings lower a building's energy use and meet the more stringentperformance requirements for cool roofing in the building codes of many states. As if that wasn't enought, they also restore, protect and beautify most existing waterproofing systems and prolong the life of almost any low-slope roof system (including metal, concrete, EPDM, built-up, and many more).

Architects, legislators and property owners & managers are embracing the idea that building design has a significant impact on energy consumption and sustainability. They are also recognizing that reflective coatings offer huge benefits with few (if any) draw-backs. Energy reduction initiatives promote the use of cool roof materials, and some building codes are now requiring the installation of reflective roof systems.

Lowering energy consumption isn't the sole benefit of white roof coatings. They extend the life expectancy of several commercial roof systems by eliminating extreme roof surface temperatures resulting in extended exposure to the sun. Heavily insulated roof systems (like many in northern states) block radiation from penetrating the building as heat, but in summer months convective heat transfer to the surrounding air and radiant heat transfer are inefficient. The heat has nowhere to go, and roof surface temperatures can soar. Coatings also prevent premature roof deterioration by providing a “sacrificial” layer to take the punishment of weather extremes and events.

Cold weather climates can benefit from roof coatings as well. The NYC Dept of Buildings launched the volunteer-based NYC Cool Roofs Program in the spring of 2010 to install white coatings on 1 million square feet of roofs in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 30% by 2030. NYC.gov states: “a cool roof absorbs 80% less heat than traditional dark colored roofs and can lower roof temperatures by up to 60 degrees and indoor temperatures by 10-20 degrees on hot days.”

Coatings also waterproof and extend the lives of older roofs, protecting the integrity of a roof by reducing thermal-shock roof damage. A cool roof coating moderates the excessive thermal expansion and contraction that otherwise could lead to fastener and seal failures.


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ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Infrared-reflective architectural metal cool roofing

Infrared-reflective pigments are being incorporated into architectural metal roofing products to allow them to achieve higher reflectivity values, even in darker colors such as black and brown.

The improved reflectivity (for example, black changes from 0.07 with normal pigments to 0.32 with infrared-reflective pigments) can mean a much cooler surface temperature and greater energy savings for the building, allowing building owners and managers to select a sustainable roof without sacrificing aesthetic color choices.

To get 1 point for Sustainable Sites Credit 7.2: Heat Island Effect, the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system specifies Energy Star requirements, adding a 0.9 emissivity standard.

For steep-sloped roofs, those with a rise-to-run ratio of 3:12 or greater, a 0.25 initial solar reflectance is required. In most cases, coated metal roofs can easily surpass the reflectivity requirement, and in some cases they can achieve 0.9 emissivity. More often they only achieve an emissivity of 0.85, thereby eliminating them from achieving the LEED point. For low-sloped roofs, those below 3:12, and flat roofs, the LEED reflectivity requirement is raised to 0.65, and the 0.9 emissivity standard is the same.

The Cool Metal Roofing Coalition, an organization comprised of metal industry trade associations, is providing commentary and data to USGBC requesting consideration for a reduction of the emissivity standard to around 0.7, contending that in addition to metal roofing’s energy efficiency when the reflective pigments are incorporated into a system’s design, metal’s long term ability to retain its reflective properties and a low life-cycle cost justify reducing the standard. The 0.9 standard “restricts a building owner’s ability to apply a suitable, long-term roof,” says Greg Crawford, executive director of the Coalition. The emissivity standard of 0.9 “is somewhat arbitrary,” says Andre Desjarlais, program manager for the Building Envelope research program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a supporting member of the Coalition. The 0.9 standard “is not defensible, but neither is eliminating emissivity altogether. We’re searching for middle ground.”

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ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Concordia University professor advocates cool roofing to fight climate change

Hashem Akbari, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) believes a significant part of the of global-warming solution has to do with roofing. Something as simple as the color of roofs in a urban area can contribute significantly to combating global warming, saving homeowners and building owners energy costs in the process. Akbari says that installing a white, or "cool" roof would not absorb as much heat as a standard dark roof is a key element to fighting global warming.

"Cool roofs save you energy if your building is air-conditioned. If the building needs air conditioning, installing a cool roof may actually solve your problem and you may not need it," he said. "This all would be done at zero cost because you basically do that at the time you are changing your roof. At that time... you just select a white roof or light roof. If you do that then you also improve the ambient air quality within the city and you cool the globe."

Scientists sketched a vision of converting the world's cities into giant sunlight reflectors to help fight global warming. Gradually replacing traditional urban roofs and roads with white or lighter-coloured materials would yield a cooling benefit that, over 50 years, would be the equivalent of a reduction of between 25-150 billion tons of carbon dioxide. At the top end of the scale, this equals the emissions of all the world's cars over the same period, their study published in Britain's Institute of Physics' journal Environmental Research Letters stated.

Light-colored materials like those manufactured by Conklin Roofing Systems help reflect the sun's rays rather than absorb and convert them into heat (a phenomenon known as albedo).

Pavements and roofs make up more than 60% of urban surfaces. By trapping solar energy, they are largely to blame for heat islands, where cities or metropolitan areas become local hot spots. Urban heat islands consume massive energy in air conditioning and inflict significant health costs through smog.

Akbari - also founder and executive vice-chair of the Global Cool Cities Alliance - said in cooler places that require more heat in the winter, but also require air conditioning in the summer the net savings will still benefit the consumer. He said the savings a light roof would achieve in the summer months by keeping the home cool would more than offset the additional need for heat in the winter. "This is a measure that saves everybody throughout the world, uniformly, in terms of energy saving," noting that the idea is not a fix-all for climate issues. "It improves the ambient comfort and it cools the globe. There is absolutely no negative impact for this."

Mr. Akbari also states "There's not going to be a silver bullet or one single technology that solves the global warming problem. If there was, we would have already done it."

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

How much money can you save from installing a white roof coating system?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conducted several studies that demonstrate that in hot sunny conditions, a black roof surface is 70 degrees or more hotter than a white reflective roof surfaces. Across the country, this translates to approximately $750,000,000 every year in reduced energy consumption simply by replacing existing black roofs with Energy Star rated white reflective roof coatings like the ones manufactured by Conklin Roofing Systems.

Reflective roof coatings can be made from a variety of materials that comply with building code standards for cool roofing. Installers of coating systems can either roll-on or spray-on roof coatings over existing spray polyurethane foam (SPF), metal, concrete, weathered asphalt, composite, modified bitumen, EPDM, TPO, PVC, and built-up roofing systems.

How much a particular building owner or manager will save from installing a white reflective roof coating depends on climate, existing insulation, the roofing system being coated, utility rates, the particular materials being used, installation method by the contractor, and other factors. There are tools available to calculate your specific savings potential such as the Department of Energy Cool Roof Calculator and the Roof Savings Calculator.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

The benefits and controversy of white roofing

Much has been made in recent years about the benefits of installing white or “cool” roofs like those from Conklin. The idea is that light-colored materials reflect heat, while dark roofs (such as those made of asphalt and tar) absorb heat and drive up air-conditioning consumption in order to offset it. In other words, installing a roof that is white or “reflective” helps save energy and money.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu has pressed Americans to install cool roofs on their homes and business, even committing his own department to making all its new roofs white, but is the hype about cool roofs legitimate? Should you consider one for your home or commercial building?

The net energy savings generated by white roofs compared with dark roofs depends partly on where you’re located. White roofs seem like no-brainers in warm climates like Phoenix, Las Vegas and Miami, where they can keep air-conditioning bills in check year-round. States like California even now mandate white roofs on commercial buildings. But in cooler climates like Detroit or Toronto, the issue is less straightforward.

While white roofs may shave electric bills in hot summer months, some studies suggest they increase winter heating bills. The question is by just how much. Some scientists say white roofs can increase heating costs more than they save on A/C costs, although scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory dispute this - saying the electricity savings of air-conditioning has found to outweigh any negatives, even in cool cities like Minneapolis.

If you do decide to install a white roof on your business or home, make sure you do some research about costs and options in your area and get at least a few bids from different professional roofing contractors who specialize in cool roofing. There are several different types of reflective roofing materials, and there is a right way and a wrong way to install them.

Also look into incentives available to you. Some states offer rebates for installing white roofs, as do some electric utilities. You can look up incentives online at DSIRE.

Find a Contractor here
 

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Benefits of Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF) roof systems [+ video]

Foam roofing systems provide many benefits to home and building owners, including waterproofing, insulation value, superior strength, light weight, durability, uplift wind resistance, and longevity.

Spray Polyurethane Foam, or "SPF", has been around for over 40 years. It is applied as a liquid using plural-component spray equipment and expands 30 times its original liquid volume to form a hard, closed-cell monolithic roof surface. Polyurethane foam dries within seconds after it is applied to the roof surface, resulting in a weather-tight roofing membrane that is fully adhered to the substrate.

Once the SPF has been applied to the proper thickness and finish specifications, a protective layer of elastomeric, acrylic, silicone, or polyurethane coating or granule is applied. This protective layer produces a durable, weather-resistant surface and that can be walked on for normal maintenance.

If a white roof coating is chosen, further energy efficiency and sustainability benefits will be realized over the life of the roof as well.

Spray polyurethane foam roofing systems have good adhesion to a variety of substrates, including metal, wood, concrete, modified bitumen, asphalt shingle, clay tile, and built-up, so in many cases this is a viable alternative to re-roofing.

With facilities budgets being more carefully managed in today's economy, there is a growing desire by roofing contractors to provide owners with durable, long-lasting yet affordable roofing systems that combine high energy performance with low maintenance costs.

Under suitable environmental conditions, a relatively small crew can install large jobs and tear-off is usually not required, which keeps costs and project durations low. Although SPF may be a good fit for your building, it does take an experienced, certified contractor to specify, install, or maintain these systems correctly.

How long do foam roofing systems last? Multiple studies conducted by the National Roofing Foundation found that SPF roofs have an effective service life of more than 30 years, assuming proper and regular inspections, cleaning and maintenance are performed. SPF roofing systems typically are re-coated every 10-15 years to maximize the life of the roof system.

SPF roofing systems vary widely in cost depending on the foam thickness required, the type and thickness of the coating or covering, the degree of substrate preparation, availability of contractors in a specific region, and other factors. As with other roofing systems there are both high-end and low-end material.

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ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

White roofs cool cities more than trees do

Cities are hot spots. Their paved surfaces and dark rooftops absorb energy from the sun, which creates localized areas of high temperatures. These hot roofs and blacktops collectively create a blanket of retained warmth in a city, raising temperatures an annual average of about 2-5 degrees Fahrenheit. This phenomenon (known as the urban heat island effect) can have huge impacts on energy use and even health in the warm months, almost like wearing a city-sized sweater on a hot day in July.

As cities become focused on reducing energy use and costs, this inherent increase in temperature is seen as an important target. Combating the urban heat island effect has become an official imperative in cities across the county and all over the world. There are various approaches to fighting the problem, but the primary methods are to plant more trees and make roofs reflect rather than absorb heat.

"Million Tree" campaigns have been launched in cities like New York and Los Angeles, and Phoenix recently approved a Tree and Shade Master Plan to increase the city’s tree canopy to cover 25% of the city over the next two decades. And while trees can help bring down temperatures, new research suggests that it might make more sense to invest in white roof coatings.

In a study recently published in the journal Building and Environment, researchers from Yale University show that the cooling effect of tree cover and other vegetated areas is far outpaced by the cooling achieved through reflective roofing. By analyzing satellite imagery of the city of Chicago from around 1995 and 2009, the researchers found that the parts of the city that had increased their reflectivity show greater reductions in temperature than areas that increased their vegetation.

"That might be contrary to the established view the field has," says Chris Mackey, lead author of the report who started the research as an undergrad studying architecture at Yale. That’s not to say planting trees is a bad method - it’s just not as good as making a rooftop more reflective.

These findings, co-produced by Mackey and a team of researchers at Yale’s Center for Earth Observation, add extra validation to efforts by Chicago, which in 2008 implemented an ordinance requiring most new roofs and roof renovations to be constructed using reflective materials. The program is implemented through the city’s energy conservation code, which passed in the early 2000's.

This study offers at least some data on how well that program is working. The city’s Department of Buildings doesn’t have any hard figures on how many reflective roofs have been built or installed, but Mackey says the satellite imagery he used shows parts of the city with huge swathes of white. One neighborhood had an estimated 80% conversion from black tar roofs to reflective surfaces, and Mackey says the observed temperatures in that area dropped at least 38 degrees. Another collection of warehouses with reflective roofs saw drops of at least 41 degrees.

What conspicuously did not show any significant signs of cooling are the city’s famous green roofs. Because the vegetation of these gardens is at such a low density, it hardly registered in Mackey’s analysis. Not even the well-known City Hall green roof exhibited cooling power.

"The green roof is barely doing anything in comparison to the tree, and the tree is barely doing anything in comparison to painting a warehouse roof white," Mackey says. "I don’t want to discredit green roofs as not potentially a good thing at all. But it would take a lot of money and effort to get a high enough density of vegetation to start cooling things down."

What takes less money and effort is the reflective roof approach. The EPA estimates that "cool roof" coatings and membranes like those from Conklin cost about 5-20 cents more per square foot when compared to traditional roofing methods. A 10,000 square foot roof might cost about $4,500 to coat with reflective roofing, while a similarly sized green roof could cost upwards of $150,000.

"If you were trying to develop a heat island strategy, reflective roofs would be the easiest and most effective," Mackey says.

Green roofs and planting shouldn’t be ignored, but Mackey suggests that the reflective roof approach would be a good way to make dramatic changes quickly. "Once you reach that capacity, then you could start to focus on vegetation increases," he says.


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ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

The long history (and future) of white roofs

Unlike high-technology solutions to reduce energy use like light-emitting diodes (LED's) in lamp fixtures, white roofs have a long and humble history. Houses in hot climates around the world have been whitewashed literally for centuries now.

From a U.S. perspective, before the advent of central air-conditioning in the mid-20th-century, white and cream-colored houses with reflective tin roofs were the norm in places like South Florida. Then central air-conditioning arrived, along with dark roofs whose basic ingredients were often asphalt, tar and bitumen, or asphalt-based shingles. These materials absorb as much as 90% of the sun’s heat energy — often useful in New England, but less so in places like Texas. By contrast, a white roof can absorb as little as 10-15%.

"Relative newcomers to the West and South brought a lot of habits and products from the Northeast,” said Joe Reilly, the president of American Rooftile Coatings, a supplier. “What you see happening now is common sense.”

Around the country, roof makers are racing to develop products like those from Conklin in the hope of profiting as the movement spreads from the flat roofs of the country’s malls to the sloped roofs of its suburbs.

Years of detailed work by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory have provided the roof makers with a rainbow of colors, showing the amount of light that each hue reflects and the amount of heat it re-emits. White is not always a buyer’s first choice of color, so manufacturers like Conklin and others have used federal color charts to create “cool” but traditional colors, like cream, sienna and gray, that yield savings (though less than what purely white roofs do).

In an experiment, the National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, had two kinds of terra-cotta-colored cement tiles installed on four new homes at the Fort Irwin Army base in California. One kind was covered with a special paint and reflected 45% of the sun’s rays — nearly twice as much as the other kind. The two homes with roofs of highly reflective paint used 35% less electricity last summer than the two with less reflective paint.

Hashem Akbari of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory says he is unsure how long it will take cool roofs to truly catch on. But he points out that most roofs, whether tile or asphalt-shingle, have a life span of 20-25 years. If the roughly 5% of all roofs that are replaced each year were given cool colors, he said, the country’s transformation would be complete in just two decades.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

White roofs catch on as energy cost-cutters

Returning to their ranch-style house in Sacramento after a long summer workday, Jon and Kim Waldrep were routinely met by a wall of heat. “We’d come home in the summer, and the house would be 115 degrees, stifling,” said Mr. Waldrep, a regional manager for a national company.

He or his wife would race to the thermostat and turn on the air-conditioning as their four small children, just picked up from day care, awaited relief. But all that changed last month. “Now we come home on days when it’s over 100 degrees outside, and the house is at 80 degrees,” Mr. Waldrep said. Their solution was a new roof - a shiny plasticized white covering that experts say is not only an energy saver, but also a way to help cool the planet.

Relying on the centuries-old principle that white objects absorb less heat than dark ones, homeowners like the Waldreps are in the vanguard of a movement embracing “cool roofs” as one of the most affordable weapons against climate change. Studies show that white roofs reduce air-conditioning costs by 20% or more in hot, sunny weather. Lower energy consumption also means fewer of the carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. What is more, a white roof can cost as little as 15 percent more than its dark counterpart, depending on the materials used, while slashing electricity bills.

Art Rosenfeld, a member of the California Energy Commission who has been campaigning for cool roofs since the 1980s, argues that turning all of the world’s roofs “light” over the next 20 years could save the equivalent of 24 billion metric tons in carbon dioxide emissions. “That is what the whole world emitted last year,” Mr. Rosenfeld said. “So, in a sense, it’s like turning off the world for a year.”

This month the Waldreps’ three-bedroom house is consuming 10% less electricity than it did a year ago (the savings would be greater if the family ran its central air during the workday).

From Dubai to New Delhi to Osaka, Japan, reflective roofs have been embraced by local officials seeking to rein in energy costs. In the United States, they have been standard equipment for a decade at new Wal-Mart stores. More than 75% of the chain’s 4,268 outlets in the United States have them.

California, Florida and Georgia have adopted building codes that encourage white roof installations for commercial buildings. Drawing on federal stimulus dollars earmarked for energy-efficiency projects, state energy offices and local utilities often offer financing for cool roofs. The roofs can qualify for tax credits if the roofing materials pass muster with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program. Still, the ardor of the cool-roof advocates has prompted a bit of a backlash.

For most types of construction, light roofs yield significant net benefits as far north as New York or Chicago. Although those cities have cold winters, they are heat islands in the summer with hundreds of thousands of square feet of roof surface absorbing energy.

The physics behind cool roofs is simple. Solar energy delivers both light and heat, and the heat from sunlight is readily absorbed by dark colors (an asphalt roof in New York can rise to 180 degrees on a hot summer day). Lighter colors, however, reflect back a sizable fraction of the radiation, helping to keep a building — and, more broadly, the city and Earth — cooler. They also re-emit some of the heat they absorb.

Find a Contractor here

ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!

Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

Elmer's Roofing Service talks roof coatings on BBB Straight Talk

Elmer Dowling of Elmer's Roofing Service in Hortonville, Wisconsin discusses white reflective elastomeric roof coatings on BBB Straight Talk. Elmer can be reached at (920) 841-2314 or via email at elmer.1@att.net. You can find Elmer's Roofing on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ElmersRoofing.

The discussion included the following topics:

• About Elmer's Roofing
• What are roof coatings?
• How long have roof coatings been around, and why were they developed?
• What kind of a roofs are coatings best suited for?
• Can you coat asphalt shingles?
• How long do roof coatings last?
• Commercial and residential roofing
• No tear-off required with roof coatings
• How do you install coatings around roof penetrations?
• Advantages and benefits of roof coatings
• Roof coatings are generally white
• Are there advantages of a black roof during winter?
• Can you install roof coatings on new construction?
• You can install coatings on flat and sloped roofs
• How long does it take to install roof coatings?
• How big of a crew do you need to install roof coatings?
• Homeowner considerations and questions to ask a roofing contractor
• How and why did Elmer's Roofing begin focusing on roof coatings?
• Hiring a trained, certified installer vs. DIY
• Free estimates and roof evaluations
• Elmer's Roofing service area
• The future of embracing and mandating cool roofs

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ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com

When should you have your roof inspected?

You want to have your roof inspected once before the season with the most severe weather and once after. In the northern climates, the severe weather is winter where the cold, storms and precipitation contributes more to the demise of the roof. However, where hot weather rules, summer is the severe season - the solar UV radiation is higher, and the roof is subjected to high heat and to thermal shock due to sudden cooling during summer rains. You want to check the roof before the severe season to prepare the roof for its ordeal to come and once after it has weathered the season to repair any problems that happened during.

Periodically, a formal moisture survey should be done in addition to the normal visual survey. There are three major types of moisture survey systems used, none of which actually measures water. All of them measure properties of the roof materials that change when there is water present.

• An infrared scan measures the amount of heat retained or lost through the insulation. Wet insulation transmits heat better than dry materials. Thus, the infrared camera will pick up the higher levels of heat radiated by wet materials.
• Nuclear isotopic meters work by sending hydrogen ions into the roof system and counting the number that bounce back. Because water has two hydrogen ions in every molecule, the number of ions counted increases significantly when water is present in the roof.
• Electrical capacitance and resistance meters measure the ability of roof materials to conduct electricity. They work on the principle that wet materials conduct electricity better than dry ones do.

Each of these testing methods has limitations that need to be discussed with a roofing expert to determine their applicability to a particular roof before they are used. It is worthwhile to have a formal moisture survey done at least once every five years. If a roof is found to be in marginal condition at any time, a survey should be used at that point to help formulate a course of action.


Find a Contractor here


ROOFING CONTRACTORS NEEDED IN MULTIPLE STATES!
Patton Services | (309) 303-3128 | rpatton55@comcast.net | http://www.whiteroofingsystems.com