I had always thought how ridiculous that most roofs in warm climates are not white. A recent article discussing this topic got me to thinking about how to convert my roof to a “cool roof”. I guess I could rip off the existing composition shingle and start fresh, but then I saw a “roll on mobile home roofing rubberized product”.
I am quite sure that applying this material would make my roof look like a disaster. In addition, I would think that having a “cool roof” would be more efficient than installing pv solar panels over the same area. The savings from the reflected sunshine/heat, would greatly outweigh the electricity generated from the panels. Obviously cool roofs would be less efficient the farther north you go, but in hot climates, that would be the way to go.
Has anyone “painted” their composition shingles with: http://doitbest.com/Roof+coatings+and+sealants-KST+Coatings+Snow+Roof-model-MC-1-doitbest-sku-112038.dib, and if so, how does it look?
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About like you imagine it would, pretty bad. Lumpy, and uneven, mildews quickly and generally looks terrible.
Hi Jim,
Better choice would be..... http://www.decra.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=95&Itemid=110
It can go down over an existing layer of fiberglass shingles and reflects the majority of the suns infrared heat and looks good.......costs more than the roll on stuff though
Pedro the Mule - Keepin' the sun off my back
I used something similar (in a darker color) to stretch out the life of a cracking roof by about 18 months. IMO, it's something to consider over an old roof (if you don't mind the looks), but would probably actually shorten the life of a new roof.
Though I do recall seeing something similar rolled onto the roofs of houses in Florida many years back. It's been so long, though, I can't recall if it was over shingles or some sort of sheet roofing.
Check out this stuff. Company in Jacksonville, FL that makes a coating that increases the reflectivity of asphalt shingles w/out changing the color. It does make them a little shiny.
http://www.shieldproducts.com/
The website is thin on roof related information. Just call the office for more info.
They are considering marketing the product for heat gain reduction and increased life.
They contacted me to get my opinion. If you do try it out please let me know how it works. You can email me through my profile.
MG
I small snake oil.The section on roofing does not give a single detail other than they give a certificate for the tax credit.Would like to see a copy of that certificate.Many manufactures you can download it from their site.And they label the product R20. Which would imply to many people that it is rated as having an insulation value of R20. And radiant barriers are not rated by R values.But lets assume that it is actually an R20. Well R values are thermal resistance per inch. And I suspect that the coating might be few 10's of thousands.Thus the insulating value of it would be well less than 1..
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe
Your caution is sound advice. The whole website is weak and they are not putting any information regarding roofs on it. My website is weak too so I wouldn't knock them for that. From what I can tell in the information I got from them, not all their produces are even listed on the website. And don't let the R20 throw you off track. The sample shingles they sent have product listings of 50804 Basecoat and 20059VCF Topcoat - no R in there. I'm certainly not standing behind the product but offered the information as something to check out. Over the years I've found some hidden gems (materials and tools) from companies that initially seem bush-league and have unprofessional appearances. This company may (or may not) be onto something but I think it is worth looking into - with the same skepticism you recommend.
Don't know where you live but here in the SE USA we don't use white roofs because the black crud - mold/mildew/alge would have it looking like doggie dew in not too many years. As a matter of fact all shingles that are installed on my houses are AR (alge resistant).
Don't know about that product. Once used something similar on a mobile home roof for a church project. As far as I'm concerned that is where that kind of stuff belongs - on a mobile home...
GAF has a cool roof product. It costs double and it has a two month backorder because they aren't producing any of it. They don't sell much...did I mention that it costs about double.
I used to coat my decks with that stuff on our old boat. Had to recoat about every two years. Held up pretty good, never had any leaks or any mold issues. Stayed nice and cool to walk on in the Sacramento Delta heat.
Mike
Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, big wheel turn by the grace of god.
Color is not as important as the emissivity/reflectivity of the product.
And they don't give that information.
Florida Solar Institute has done a lot of research on solar gain from roofs. And they have lots of data on it include color and type of roofing materials.
William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe