Commercial Roof Coatings & Waterproofing
A commercial roof coating is a treatment applied over an existing roof to add a protective layer across its surface and details. GoodVans Roofing coats existing commercial and industrial roofs across Metro Vancouver, treating roofs that are still serviceable rather than standing in for a new roof.
The idea behind this page is that a coating is a treatment for a roof that first has to be suitable for treatment. The useful question is not whether a coating can physically be put on a roof. It is whether the existing roof is in a condition where coating is an appropriate scope of work.
A Coating Is Not a New Roof
The existing roof: with a coating, stays in place and is treated; with a new roofing system or replacement, how much remains or is removed depends on the replacement scope and existing assembly.
What the result depends on: with a coating, the condition and compatibility of the roof beneath; with a new roofing system or replacement, the design and installation of the new system.
Scope: with a coating, the prepared surface and its details; with a new roofing system or replacement, the whole roof assembly.
Suits: with a coating, a roof that is still serviceable; with a new roofing system or replacement, a roof whose condition calls for more than a treatment.
Coating may suit an existing roof that remains suitable for treatment; replacement becomes a different consideration when the required scope goes beyond what a coating can reasonably address.
What Makes a Roof Suitable for Coating
Whether a roof is a candidate depends on its condition and compatibility, and GoodVans Roofing begins by inspecting the roof rather than assuming it is suitable. That inspection looks at cracks and leaks, and the approach follows from what it finds. The questions it answers include:
The existing roof type: the coating has to be compatible with the surface it will sit on.
Whether the roofing is still serviceable: a coating depends on the existing roofing remaining suitable for treatment; conditions beyond that scope may require different roof work.
The surface itself: it has to be able to take the coating and retain it.
Local damage: defects in specific areas may need correcting before any treatment.
Past repairs and older coatings: the new coating has to be compatible with whatever is already on the surface.
Moisture in the roof: water already within the assembly is not something a surface treatment resolves.
Details: penetrations, curbs, edges, transitions and outlets have to be treated, not only open areas.
Coat, Repair First, or Choose Other Work
Coating suits a roof where the existing roofing is serviceable, compatible and suitable for treatment as it is.
Local repair, then coating suits a roof where limited defects can reasonably be corrected so that the roof becomes a suitable candidate.
Broader roof work instead suits a roof where deterioration, moisture or incompatibility is too extensive for a treatment-level scope.
These directions follow the roof's condition. Coating is not presented as a way to add a fixed number of years to a roof.
Torch-On Roofs and Coatings
A torch-on roof can potentially be coated, provided the existing membrane and its surface are in suitable condition and compatible with the proposed treatment.
Being torch-on does not decide the question either way; condition and compatibility do. Where the concern is really the torch-on membrane itself, such as repair or replacement, that belongs on the Torch-On page.
Preparation and Details
Preparation is carried out so the coating is not undermined early by the surface it is applied to. What it involves depends on the roof: the existing system, its condition and whatever the inspection identified. This is not a single standard routine, and the details matter as much as the open areas. Seams, joints, penetrations, curbs, edges and outlets are part of the coating scope, because a treatment that covers the field but leaves the details untouched is incomplete.
The completed coating is checked before the job is finished.
What a Coating Will Not Fix
A coating should not be treated as a way to cover an unresolved roof problem. It does not, on its own, correct roofing that is damaged, loose or separating from what is beneath it; moisture that has already entered the roof assembly; deterioration spread across large parts of the roof; a surface the chosen coating is not compatible with; or water entry whose source lies somewhere other than the roof surface.
Where conditions like these are present, they need to be addressed first, or a different scope of work is the better choice. Existing defects may need to be corrected before treatment; they are not resolved by covering them.
- Loose or separating roofing
- Trapped moisture
- Widespread deterioration
- Incompatible surface
When Another Commercial Service Fits
The underlying low-slope roof system rather than a treatment: Low-Slope Roof Systems
Torch-on membrane condition, repair or replacement: Torch-On Roofing
Keeping records and planning work over time: Roof Asset Management Plans
How a warehouse operation affects the work: Warehouse Roofing
How production or plant equipment affects the work: Factory & Plant Roofing
How hotel guests and operations affect the work: Hotel Roofs & Maintenance
See Commercial & Industrial Roofing for the complete set of services.
Coating Services in Metro Vancouver
Commercial roof coating work from GoodVans Roofing covers Metro Vancouver, plus selected Fraser Valley locations.
Coating & Waterproofing Questions
What is the difference between roof coating and waterproofing?
A roof coating is the treatment applied to the roof surface. Waterproofing describes the purpose of the work: improving the roof's resistance to water entry at suitable surfaces and details. GoodVans Roofing offers them together as one service, and neither term means the roof is guaranteed never to leak.
Is torch-on a suitable base for a coating?
It can be. Suitability rests on the state of the torch-on membrane now on the roof and on whether it is compatible with the proposed coating, not on the system type alone.
What happens to roof details when a roof is coated?
They are included in the scope. Penetrations, curbs, edges, transitions and outlets are treated along with the open roof area, because leaving them out would leave the most complicated parts of the roof unprotected.
Is an estimate provided before coating work is agreed?
Yes. After seeing the property, GoodVans Roofing recommends a course of action and gives an estimate ahead of any work.
Is your roof a candidate for coating?
An assessment checks condition, compatibility and details first, then recommends coating, repair first, or other work.
