I didnt realize polyurethane foam has been around for 50 years. That seems like a really long time. I wonder why it hasn’t caught on more than it already has. Reply
Seriously, what bird would want to eat foam? I haven’t heard that one before, it seems a bit ridiculous. Reply
Even a birds brain is smart enough to realize that foam is both lightweight and has great insulating qualities (e.g. for a nest). lol Reply
I own a restaurant if Florida. I had a foam roof applied to my building, which had a 7 year warranty. A couple years later I found about 30 quarter-size holes in the foam. They didn’t go all the way thru the foam – they were about 1/8 inch deep. They looked like where a bubble had formed and the top flaked off. The contractor would not repair the roof under the warranty, claiming that birds had caused they damage. I knew that he was lying and reading your website only confirms my suspicion. It is obvious that the material was not applied correctly or the roof was not properly prepped. Reply
John, based on your description, those sound like they may be small foam bubbles. Bubbles often occur if even a small amount of moisture gets caught between layers of foam during the installation process. Those 30 bubble could have been caused by 30 beads of sweat fallen from the installation crew. Fortunately, bubbles rarely result in a leak. After all, they hold air pressure! Anyway, you can fix them by trimming away the separated material and filling the void with any high quality polyurethane sealant. Reply
I have a 50 y/o Cape Cod. I replaced the slate with shingles 18mths ago. The underdecking was pristine tounge and groove boards. I intend to use closed cell spray on the underdecking.. Will the closed cell foam rot my roof? Reply
Foam is plastic based, mold resistant, water-proof, and vapor trapping. Properly installed foam would never cause anything to ‘rot’. Just be sure to hire a reputable, experienced contractor with a good BBB rating (and few or no complaints); then I’m sure things will work out for you. Reply
I am looking at an old mobile home to buy and it has white foam on the roof. It looks bumpy. What do I need to know about this, and does a foam roof need a coating of something to protect from UV? Reply
I have been told that spray on roofs can not be applied to residential gambrel and gabel roof systems. Is this true? And if so why? Reply
Foam roofing has taken a long time to become popular i feel because the equipment is expensive . You have a major investment in the equipment need. I did a test on birds eating foam .I put a tarp on the ground in my back yard i put 100 chip of foam on it and bird seed my conclusion is the birds ate every bit of bird seed and did not eat one piece of foam. Reply
I am waiting for my contractor to have mine done. I pray it works for me. Finding this process might have been a God send. But I am still scared. I really have little money and really extending myself to do this. I have a 30×40 100 year old flat roof. It has only had tarpaper on it so far. The roof is reall bad. The stucture is not great. I just can not afford to tear it all off and build a new roof or even just new decking. The roof could never handle much more weight. Am I right in thinking this will be good for me and be my seviour? Reply
I am absolutely amazed that the foam roof was created prior to WWII and after the Great Depression. now that is history. We’ve had our foam roof for nearly 10 years, and not one leak, cracks etc, and we live in Phoenix. The roof has out lasted extreme heat 117, to major hail storm, and the latest 5 hour rain storm. A fabulous product. Oh my neighbor has a shingle roof and she lost 15 tiles and major leaks… Reply
Somewhere i saw an article about emergency housing formed by making a tent-like structure with a frame and tarpaper, and then spraying it with PE Foam that formed both an unsulated roof and prided strength to what is a very basic structure. The reflective tar paper interior provides added insulation ans is largely resistant to catching fire when lamps/lanterns are used internally. There was an option of covering the foam with silvered tar paper externally and although extremely basic accommodation it gave good protection from snow etc in remote areas such as Nepal. Has anybody else heard of this emergency housing method, and are there any links to related sites. The issue is that the system is so cheap that nobody can make money out of it… Reply
Birds dont eat the foam, they just peck at it. Like a dog chesing on something, a horse chewing bark off of a tree, bears scratching trees, -birds like to peck. Reply
In the Top 10 Foam Roofing Myths section, it mentioned to maintain a foam roof we may need to periodically adding re-coats to protect the roof from prolonged UV exposure. Does anyone know if this recoating work must be done by the professionals or it is a DIY work. Reply
We’ve always just painted the foam roof ourselves. Simple to do and does not require anything difficult. We do this about every 5 or 6 years. But use the correct paint! Silicone, UV protection. It is a DIY project. Reply
It’s possible as a DIY as long as all the right methods and materials are used and give a BIG HIGH FIVE to those who do it successfully! I’ve seen a number of DIY roofs develop adhesion issues where vital steps were missed or performed incorrectly. Reply
Yes, foam roofing will work on pitched roofs as long as they are not too steep. The foam technician needs to be able to walk across the roof surface while spraying a smooth pattern. At pitches steeper than 4″/12″, walking freely without slipping and smooth foam application tends to become too difficult form most foam technicians. Reply
Great post. Blog is informative for the consumer’s point of view, they have more options for the roofing and their roofing contractor. Reply
Had a contractor talk me into applying elastomeric over my hot tar roof he said someday I can have the roof foamed, True? Reply
Yes, spray foam can be applied over the elastomeric coating. The foam contractor should thoroughly scrub the existing asphalt/elastomeric surface to assure any loose elastomeric material is removed prior to foam roof installation. Reply
All the myths are valuable. For repairing there is only one myth what works. Leaks could also be through with a repair of easy steps one is review for leaks and second is cure them with RV Roof Repair. Reply
I live in Texas with a 2level high-pitched roof and need a second new roof to replace the one we just got two years ago! The constant hail here is a big problem and I am thinking this might be a solution! Although I am not sure my HOA will allow it. Can you tell me if the foam would hold up and out-perform a shingled roof in our intense Texas heat, large hail, and constant tornadoes? Do you have any pictures as to what it would look like on a residential home with pitched roofs? Reply
Typically, shingles are best on roof that have a high pitch. I’ve been in some of those Texas hail storms and the are HUGE! You should look for a style of shingle that does not break or crack when faced with large hail stones. Foam roofing is a solution geared toward low-slope roofs that require a continuous barrier with no laps or seams. All that said, foam roofing can perform well in hail storms because of its resilient surface. Reply
I have a steep roof pitch. I have little money and my roof needs to be replaced. Is there no way a foam roof will work for my home. Reply
If it’s possible to walk comfortably on your roof, the pitch is likely within acceptable constraints for a foam roof application. However, shingle style roofing is typically recommended for roofs of 4/12 pitch or steeper. Reply
Is it possible to install solar panels over a sprayed foam roof? If yes, will the mounting structure holes cause leaks later on? Reply
Yes! We have installed thousands of solar supports in Dura-Foam roof systems without failure. Interestingly, the interface between solar support and foam roof system is where the materials are thickest and strongest! Reply
I did not know before that you can walk on a foam roof. My brother recently bought a home with a foam roof and got his Frisbee stuck on top of it, but he didn’t retrieve it because he thought that the roof would collapse. I’ll be sure to let him know about this. Reply
I am awaiting a quote for a foam roof, (new roof on existing home). I believe there are 2 additional layers which will be placed over the foam itself, with the top being a UV resistant layer. Another contractor, who I am asking to quote some interior re-modeling is telling me NOT to do a foam roof but to do a rubber membrane one. I want this to be a GOOD roof that should stand me in good stead for a # of years. I’m now unsure of what to do. Advice? Reply
With the plethora of different roof materials out there, you are guaranteed to get varying opinions from each person you ask. You have two key variables: 1) Roof Material and 2) Roof Contractor. As a material, foam roofing is a proven product. However, it is very important to select a foam roofing contractor with a strong track record and history of honoring their guarantees. For example, Dura-Foam has specialized only in foam roofing under the same name for almost four decades. Whether you are rolling-out rubber membranes and welding miles of seams or spray applying polyurethane foam, skill and diligence of the contractor is of utmost importance to assure that the material performs according to specification. After identifying the best contractors, investigating the trade-offs between different materials will lead toward an educated decision. Reply
My sister wants to make sure that her roof is properly insulated for her home to be warm this winter. It was discussed here that foam roofing is not as expensive and as she thought it would be. Furthermore, it’s recommended to hire a professional foam insulation technician for quality care. Reply
Finally, polyurethane foam is a yellow type of foam for roofing, insulation, refrigeration warehouses, and foam boards. Foam Roofing is New Although the ground work for polyurethane foam was done by Otto Bayer and his team in 1937, polyurethane foam would not become available until much later. For latest repair epdmcoatings is better than best. Reply
Thanks for explaining that a foam roof can support the weight of a person. Recently, our home has had some leaks in the roof and it’s causing some problems inside the house. I’ll have to look further into spray foam roofing. Reply
It’s good to know that replacing a coating will prevent birds from pecking at your foam roof. My sister wants to make sure that her home is protected from the elements in the coming weeks. I’ll share this information with her so that she can look into her options for roofing professionals who can help her with this. Reply
My kids had a new roof installed on a 1966 flat roof home in June. We had a huge storm yesterday and a decent sized limb fell and made some punctures which we knew was a possibility with the foam. They didn’t go all the way through but until they can get their SPF contractor out there to make repairs, should they put some kind of roof coating on the exposed punctures? We live on a houseboat and use a rubber roof coating on our roof. Would that be suitable if they do need to put something up there? Reply
Hi Christina – to self-perform a temporary repair of the tree damage you described, you could use a high quality “polyurethane sealant”. This type of material is typically applied with a caulking gun. Clean-up the area the best you can by shaving-off a minimal amount of the damaged polyurethane foam exposing a solid clean surface. Also, clean-up the adjacent roof surface the best you can. Water with a scrub brush or rag typically works well. Assure that no air is entrapped under the sealant by working it into the area of damage using a spatula or rubber scraper. After the polyurethane sealant cures, apply a UV-resistant elastomeric coating in case the polyurethane sealant is UV-sensitive. Reply
Hi! We are thinking of puttimg foam roofing on our warehouse roof due to the many benefits like reduced heat absorption and arresting water leaks. But our main reason is sound insulation from rain. Our contractor claims that SPF roofing can do the latter. Would you have any experience with this? And will a 1-inch layer with elastomeric paint do the trick? Thanks in advance! Reply
Hi Erick, Foam roofing helps a lot with general noises such as traffic and airplane engines. However, the sound of water droplets splattering on the roof surface may be something you need to test if you need a specific level of sound dampening. For example, install foam roofing on a test area. Then, simulate rain drops with a spray hose while measuring inside noise at the test area vs. existing roof area using a decible meter. Adding a layer of Densdeck (fiber reinforced, gypsum based roof substrate) over the plywood sheathing prior to installing a foam roof system will provide additional sound dampening. Densdeck has a secondary benefit of an improved fire rating as it is a non-combustible substrate. Lastly, increasing the thickness of the spray foam layer can also increase sound dampening. Reply
You could confirm manufacturer specs, but offhand I believe you will find that SPF is generally not recommended for below-grade applications where the product would be under hydrostatic pressure for extended durations. Reply
Can you use foam on a deck to construct a pitch for water to flow off? And after applying foam for the pitch could I place a layer of roofing finish material or tile on the foam? The deck has polyglas and a hot tar application. Now needs to be pitch to get water to flow off the deck Reply
