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Coating The Roof

There have been several studies on the color and coating of paint, and its effects on roofs. It is a growing belief that dark colored roofs, like the color of cement or asphalt, seem to absorb the heat of the sun. This seems to warm the house in a “green house” like effect, causing air conditioning bills to sky-rocket to keep up with the constant flow of heated air. In the northern hemisphere, and generally in cooler climates overall, this is usually not too big of an issue. Yet such roofing in a warm climate can add thousands of dollars to an electricity bill to the lifetime of a house.

A solution to this is white-reflective coating. Just as the black coating absorbs the suns heat, the white coating seems to do the opposite. Also, with some of the newer styles of paint, some of these coatings, and their additives, seem to be able to do amazing things in term of longetivity and reflecting the sun’s rays.

The problem with all of this is that its very hard to predict if one pail of roof coating will perform better than another. Anything short of trusting word of mouth and actual trial tests can not give you a definite answer. Combine that with ever improving technology, and it can make any home-owner nervous on deciding which type of paint to use for his roof. One way to check this is to look for label markings on the side of the paint can. Even though not definite in the result of the product, if the paint seems to meet the standards set by the American Society for Testing and Materials, then you should feel more comfortable purchasing that paint.

The job of paint is not only to reflect ultra-violet rays from the sun, but also to provide a water proof barrier. An excellent coating will prevent erosion and damage from things such as rain, hail, and melting snow. The ability of this coating to stand up to the elements mainly depends on the quality of the paint, and expertise of the workman applying the paint. Workmanship is very important when applying the paint. If the paint is improperly applied, you could be setting up your roof for failure.

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