Roofing expert explains why not to use acrylics on flat roofs!

[@Danny-fs1hk]

I recently went to the Roofing Process Conference in Orlando and it was outstanding! Thank you Dmitry. Appreciate the ongoing support and content.

[@80pinoyboy]

I used acrylic when applying fabric ,like on the field and on penetrations because it’s easier to apply on fabric then silicone and then we used silicone for top coat and it’s been doing well ,never had a problem 10 years ago

[@ToddBizCoach]

And is this on sloped roofs with no ponding? What kind of warranty is given, by manufacturer or you? Is your process covered by a manufacturer warranty?

[@SEEK2FLY]

Duro-last fixed all my problems bro

[@onaygonzalez8410]

I have a clay tile flat roof that was contaminated with a previous torch-on membrane waterproofing. I was thinking on waterproofing it with rubber liquid and geotextile but after watching your video i don't know what to do in order to repair that leaky roof. Do you have any suggestions?

[@ToddBizCoach]

That was a great description. The more actual pictures you can show with close ups the better. This is a great business to business video for plant managers and general contractor engineers to see.

[@RoofingInsights3.0]

Thank you

[@warrenyutzy2788]

Photos of trees growing in spray foam roofs instead of rolled roofing would also be great. Or any photos of acrylic roof photos would have been a good visual!

[@warrenyutzy2788]

5:58 is not a spray foam roof.

[@roofingtips]

What do you think about urethane systems with silicone top coats?

[@johnbeechy2913]

Well, my comment on polling is you will have to open up the existing roof and either put iso board foam to get rid of the pooling and then coatings will be fine because yes, ponding is never good on any roof. I do mostly metal residential, but also a little bit of acrylics..

[@YetiRoofing]

What type of fluid applied fabric systems does he use/ recommend?

[@glickroofingsystems]

I believe Dmitry will be doing a video on that soon! -Ephraim

[@YetiRoofing]

@@glickroofingsystemswhat does your company use?

[@jamesmiller1576]

?

[@buterdhams]

So what then do you put on a flat roof ?

[@larryh4310]

If a roof is completely flat where these bird baths and ponding water are seen why is anyone even talking about installing a system on it without first fixing those areas, idk what his whole point is and I do agree with some of those situations however I think he’s talking about the wrong issue. The issue at hand is fixing roofs like that first and then most systems will hold up great if installed correctly. Also there’s a difference between (flat)and low slope and flat roofs are not ok with any system period

[@jesselambright1005]

What do you do on a 100,000 + sf. Roof that's completely flat without re-engineering it?

[@ToddBizCoach]

@@jesselambright1005 you use engineered,sloped iso.

[@ashtonmmton1554]

​@@jesselambright1005 what you do is put on a new roof not coat it. In some cases tapered iso could never work on huge roofs that are structurally sloped.

[@warrenyutzy2788]

There is much more to this story, I totally and openly disagree with 90% of statements made in this video. 99% of reason why acrylics fail on “flat” roofs is because of applicator error due to the lack of training and/or poor workmanship. Our family has more than 100 flat roofs coated with acrylic in Wisconsin, missouri and Kansas that range from 25-1 years old. I would be very open to walking those roofs with anyone including Ephraim. If the statements made in this video were true, approximately 50% of “Conklin” roofs would fail/would have failed. Conklin has been successfully installing acrylics on flat roofs for 47 years. Ephraim to my knowledge first installed coatings 5 years ago.

[@glickroofingsystems]

Warren, while I have much respect for you and appreciate your opinion the length of time someone has installed roofing systems does not reflect the truth of the matter in my experience. Conklin is the company who taught me how to install these roof systems and I can assure you neither me or my team has ever installed one outside of the specs Conklin asks for and Conklin has warranted every roof we ever did like that. So in our case it was not application error. I shared my "opinion" because I got so many calls and still get them from building owners with failing roofs that were done before my "5 years" of running my own company and they are unhappy with the results. Sadly for your point every single roof I spoke about in this video with acrylics and foam were done with the Conklin acrylic and or acrylic and fabric roofing system including the one with trees growing out of it. And none of them were installed by me or my team. I would love to see roofs that are performing well and I welcome any opposition to my knowledge of the industry I have shared here. This has just been our experience and for that reason I stand behind my thoughts on this and unless a roof has a slope on it we will not install it and I believe that is best for my company and our reputation. Because for every Conklin acrylic roofing system on a flat roof we are fixing these days from other contractors usually these contractors have already gone out of business and that's why we are called in to do a single ply or EPDM system to repair the damage. And for anyone who thinks this video is a Conklin bashing video that's not my intent. I strongly believe Conklin manufactures the best Acrylic for metal roofing systems and I have cases and studies in real time on that so I love the Conklin roofing products. Just not on flat roofs. - Ephraim

[@ToddBizCoach]

Mr Yutzy, the presenter did not mention Conklin by name or inference. Why did you think the video applied to you? “Me thinks you doth protest too much”. Use acrylic on sloped metal NOT “flat” roofs.

[@AKZboy2]

Hey man I thought of you while watching this 😉 I wondered what you thought about. Thanks for the clarification.

[@jamesmiller1576]

Acrylics are not the problem! Ponding water is the problem. I’ve seen a lot of flat roofing systems fail under ponding water! For example the primer & adhesive that you use on your epdm seams. Or do you make sure all your seams are on a high point?😂 instead of addressing the situation at hand? This video was not created to educate!

[@ToddBizCoach]

@@jamesmiller1576 you wouldn’t be saying acrylics are not the problem if it were not for the fact you install acrylics. Ponding water less than an inch comes and goes. Epdm and TPO holds up to fluctuations of ponding water, acrylics do not.

[@bryanvazquez8049]

I hate flat roofs. Lots of them are poorly designed and have little to no slope. I know we call them flat roofs but in theory every roof is supposed to have a bit of a gradient. For my company, I no longer service it do any flat roofs with no pitch. Best business decision I have ever made.

[@ToddBizCoach]

Agree, unless you apply sloped iso you will always have problem with ponding water.

[@ashtonmmton1554]

If your just a coatings guy thats a great decision. Single-ply such as pvc, epdm, fibertite and others can hold up under standing water. Not saying ponding water is ok and it should be dealt with if possible.

[@shieldroofingsystems]

I noticed you made a passing comment about silicone coatings. Is it your stance that silicone coatings do not hold up either? It seemed your justification for not using acrylic is because it's water based which breaks down when exposed to ponding water and the elements over time. So what about silicon? Silicon is solvent based and should in theory stand up to ponding water. If you don't support the use of silicon, what fluid applied coatings do you recommend, if any? While I agree with some comments on here about the design of the roof being the real issue, complete reengineering and rebuilding is not often with in the reasonable consideration for most commercial clients. This is where I believe these coating fit in the market. It comes down to client expectations and contractors just being honest about what they are providing. It's difficult to justify to a client that their roof designs sucks, when most of them do, and that their only true recourse is a do-over. Fluid applied membranes offer a reasonable solution, in my opinion, when the "best" solution is not with-in reach. This is why these coating are offered as a restoration of sorts, not a permanent, comprehensive solution.

[@ashtonmmton1554]

Silicone would be the better option for low slope roofs but in most cases why not do an overlay with a new single-ply. I think it really comes down to what the manufacturer of the product says. If the install follows there specs and they back it up with a good warranty then it will probably work. Acrylic coatings manufacturers will not pass an install where the is bad ponding water.

[@shieldroofingsystems]

@@ashtonmmton1554 Cost is likely the #1 one reason. Coatings are cheaper and faster for the same warranty and they have no seams, which is the biggest failure point of any other available solution.

[@ashtonmmton1554]

@@shieldroofingsystems those are the common talking points of a roofer that sells coatings. Any experienced roofer know that seam failure is not the biggest issue on single-ply. In fact heat welded applications such as pvc and tpo the seams are the toughest and last thing that would ever fail. Also a coating system that actually offers a 20 year ndl manufacturer warranty on a flat roof is not cheaper then an overlay with a 50 mil single-ply and isnt necessarily faster depending on the experience of the contractor.

[@SamRutherford92]

Finally! Thanks.

[@samtroyer1457]

In what world is ponding ok on any roof? Not sure why this is even a conversation?

[@RoofingInsights3.0]

Many buildings will have ponding water unless it’s rebuild, so manufacturers allow ponding water up to 3 days… because they need sales…

[@bryanvazquez8049]

If it ponds, it’s gonna leak. In those situations, I turn down the jobs. Too many headaches.

[@RoofingInsights3.0]

Just learn from the pool guys 😂😂😂 they don’t turn down ponding water jobs

[@bryanvazquez8049]

@@RoofingInsights3.0 Pools don’t have A/C units, vents, solar panels, among other penetrations. Flat roofs are a very poor design. That type of roof should be eradicated from construction.

[@ToddBizCoach]

@@bryanvazquez8049 but the buildings exist now and ponding exists. This video is about the here and now.

[@larryh4310]

So five years of coating roofs suddenly makes him an expert, I believe your title should be “why flat roofs with ponding water fail” because believe me I’ve seen all kinds of failures with any systems if there’s ponding water on your roof. This video is pretty ignorant overall

[@ashtonmmton1554]

Well the fact is very low slope roofs that have an epdm that has been there for over 20 years and then some roofer comes along and coats it with acrylic and it fails in 5 years. This is a fact.

[@misterrodriguez9947]

Me gustaría escucharlo en español.

[@ToddBizCoach]

Buy Babbel

[@RoofingInsights3.0]

Ephreim Glick's company: www.midsouthcommercialroofing.com 🛠 ROOFERS: grow your business roofing-school.com 👉 JOIN us at the annual Roofing Process Conference: roofconference.com 📈 CONSULT directly with Dmitry Lipinskiy dmitrylipinskiy.com/ 🏠 HOMEOWNERS: find your next contractor w/$20k guarantee directorii.com