Step By Step Guide: How To Seal My New York Flat Roof

admin | October 26, 2021 | | No Comments

Sealing your flat roof makes your roof last longer and makes it irresistible to weather and damages. While it is good to seal your roof, sealing it by yourself can be stressful especially, if you want to seal an old installed roof.

But it will become easier and less stressful if you follow the processes and the recommendations in this article. In this article, you will learn the prerequisites and the step-by-step process to seal your roof effectively.

Before Applying The Roof Coating/Sealant

To ensure that the roof coating is quite effective after its application, you must adhere to some procedures.

Before delving further, you should make sure that the weather is and will be fine for 24 hours, or preferably, 48 hours, before embarking on the journey of sealing your roof. Your roof can incur more damages if rain falls shortly before applying it or during/after application. You wouldn't want your labor and money to be washed down the drain, would you?

Materials/Tools For Appling Roof Sealant

  • Water
  • Soapy water
  • Broom
  • Dustpan
  • Scraper
  • Caulking gun
  • Master applicator gum
  • Self-adhesive tape
  • Roofing cement
  • Bucket
  • Trowel
  • Coating/sealant
  • Stirrer
  • Electric power drill
  • Long brush
  • Roller
  • Alcohol-based cleaner

Things To Consider Before Applying A Roof Sealant

  • Cleaning

To make your work easier, cleaner, clearer, faster, and more effective, you need to clean your roof. Get a broom and dustpan and sweep every dirt from your roof.

  • Inspection

After sweeping, you have to assume the position of an inspector. Check out all the possible areas for leaks, tears, etc., using a scraper. Signs that your roof has issues can be dark brown patches, tears, or splits.

So, you've got to track down all the problems. If you don't do this, your roof will still develop other issues even after you've applied the roof sealant.

Now, after you've done your thorough research and found out every  aspect that is leaking or needs repairs, then you can move on to the next level

  • Repairing The Leaks

You want to make sure that you repair the observed cases before thinking of applying the sealants.

You can use caulking gum to seal and patch the membranes together. If a small part of the membrane is torn, you should remove it, put a new part, and fix it with a caulking gun.

You can also use a master applicator gun coupled with sealant and self-adhesive tape to patch repair damaged parts of the roof. And lastly, you can use roofing cement and a trowel to solve the problems.

However, you can use any of the methods above repair your roof before applying your roof sealant, depending on your flat roof material.

  • Preparing Your Roof

Many roofers might skip this process and tell you to apply your sealant directly, but this is also important. Little steps like this make your roof prepared and makes your sealant last better

After you have repaired all the damaged parts, clean your roof properly with soapy water and a broom. And then rinse it with clean water. After that, you might have to come down so you can allow it to dry. It will dry faster when you have good weather conditions.

  • Primer And Detailer

After the water, you need an underlayment that will balance and hold the sealant coming. So, in this regard, you apply a primer and a detailer. You can apply them using your brush or roller. Apply it to all parts of your roof and then wait 2-3 hours for it to dry.

Applying Your Sealant

After the prerequisites, it's time to apply the sealant on your roof and make your roof last longer.

  1. Get your preferred roof sealant from the available store. But make sure it is quality and then recommended by your roofing contractor
  2. Open and mix your sealant using your stirrer or electric power drill. Generally, aside from quality, the thickness of your sealant will determine its longevity. So, if you want your roof sealant to last for a longer time, you have to increase its viscosity, and of course, it will cost you more money.
  3. Apply your sealant using a long brush or roller and then spread it to every part of the roof. You can also pour the sealant on the roof and use the brush to apply it effectively.

Roofing cement can serve as an alternative for roofing sealant. All you have to do is mix and batter the roofing cement and then apply it on your roof with a trowel.

After application,

Wait for it to dry. Not every sealant requires a long waiting time. Always read the manufacturer's direction to know if the sealant product you're using requires waiting after it has been applied and for how long you have to wait.

Apply an alcohol-based cleaner on your roof. Apply it on all parts of your roof. After that, seal it with roofing tape.

Agreeably, this is easier said than done. The processes, as mentioned earlier, seem easy, but it's quite hard in practice. You have to be diligent and apply your wit. While it's okay for you to know how to do it yourself, most times, it wouldn't come off nice if you should do it yourself.

Getting a professional roofer near you will help ease your stress and also deliver a more satisfying job. While you can successfully seal your roof by yourself without the help of anybody, thanks to the above information, but if you should be faced with any situation that is novel to you, how are you going to fix that?

Not doing it well can cost you the price of repairing your roof again or a total roof replacement. Yes, we know doing it by yourself will save more but letting a professional do it for you will also save you from paying for any mistakes that may arise later due to your unprofessional work.

We can help you get the best value roof sealant solution for your flat roof. For more details or consultation, you can reach us at 1274 5th Ave New York, NY 10029 (212) 457-1324 https://bestroofingnyc.com/.

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