Silicone roof coatings are a time-tested solution to preserving your roof. Since it is nonpermeable to UV radiation and water and highly flexible it offers the following benefits:
- Protects the interior of your structure.
- It is moisture cured, so humid environments aid the curing process.
- The need for a primer coat can be eliminated by many silicone roof coatings.
- They can be applied to a wide variety of commercial roofing substrates including metal, modified bitumen, single-ply, EPDM, TPO, built-up roofs, concrete roof decks, and spray polyurethane foam.
- The absence of UV radiation maintains the interior of the structure at ambient temperatures thereby reducing the heat load on a building.
- Temporary water ponding on a roof is no longer a problem.
- With proper maintenance, Silicone maintains its elasticity over time which preserves its protection for long periods of time.
- Silicone roofs can be warrantied for many years depending on the applied thickness of the coatings.
- Warranties can be easily extended by adding an additional coatings layer without any need to remove the under-lying material.
- Modern silicones are manufactured with a high solids content which allows desired dry mil thickness to be achieved in a single pass application.
- Physical damage can be easily repaired with a silicone sealant.
(Silicone Technical Notes. Coatings Pro 11/2/2020)
Silicone is made with a silicon-oxygen chemical backbone instead of the carbon-carbon linkage associated with most other rubber types. Furthermore, the silicone-oxygen-silicone bond is inherently much more flexible and has a higher “bond” length than the carbon-carbon linkages.
It is this fundamental difference that gives silicone its unique combination of outstanding properties: ultraviolet (UV) stability, low-temperature flexibility, high-temperature stability, seismic-capable flexibility, durability, and flammability resistance. These were all among the properties that led to silicone becoming the material chosen for the boots worn on the maiden moon landing.
Products made from silicone, which is derived from the inorganic element silicon, are ideal candidates for exterior-facing construction applications such as joint sealants, coatings, and structural glazing adhesives due to their excellent long-term resistance to weathering and their ability to maintain their properties for very long periods of time. There are numerous real-world uses of silicones in exterior applications that are still performing more than 40 years after installation.