UV Exposure

Protective Coating Layer Shields Foam Roofing from UV Rays

Rigid polyurethane foam is an expanded plastic. Under a microscope, polyurethane foam’s closed cell structure becomes apparent. Microscopic thin walled cells stack tightly on top of one anther in such a way that water cannot travel between the cells. Polyurethane foam’s closed cell structure allows Foam Roofing to insulate and waterproof at the same time.

Foam Roofing Degrades With Prolonged UV Exposure

If exposed to UV rays, the cells of a Foam Roofing System will gradually degrade one layer of microscopic polyurethane cells at a time. For this reason, Dura-Foam roofs include two layers of acrylic-based elastomeric coating to protect the polyurethane foam roofing system from UV exposure. This coating has a 20-year design life, and is engineered to endure heavy foot traffic as well as exposure to dirt, wind rain, and UV.

Elastomeric coating is applied to protect the underlying polyurethane foam from otherwise degrading ultraviolet rays.

What Happens When Foam Roofing Is Neglected?

When a foam roof is neglected and the protective coating layer is allowed to wear out, UV rays will begin to degrade the underlying polyurethane foam. When exposed to direct sunlight, foam typically degrades at a rate of about 3/32″ per year. This type of damage usually results in pitting; small pits in the foam start to form in spots where the coating has completely worn out. It would take many years of neglect and exposure for the foam to wear away enough cells for the roof to leak because the foam is a minimum of 1″ thick.

Get 45 years of roof life with only TWO recoats!

Foam Roofing: Protect Your Investment by Recoating

A Dura-Foam roof will last 20-30 years with no maintenance. However, the Dura-Foam Roof System will last a lifetime with periodic coating upgrades. The elastomeric coating at the surface of your foam roof functions analogously to the finish on a hardwood floor. The time to resurface a hard-wood floor is before the protective coating has worn away and allowed the wood to suffer. As with applying finish to hard wood floors, delaying a recoat curtails the roof’s total life expectancy. The key to a renewable foam roofing system is to never allow degradation of the underlying polyurethane foam layer. See the maintenance schedule to see how often your foam roof should get recoated.