What Roof Coating do I use for a Flat Roof?

martinpiter85

I reside in a 15 year old flat roof covering 1400 sq. ft. of my house. The roof covering is a black rubber membrane.It has never been kept up with so there is cracking and some leaking. I already went up and patched spots with a fibered roof cement, but now that it is getting decently warm I want
to coat the whole thing to seal it all off.

What particular kind of coating do I use?
I read somewhere that the roof should be "sealed" every couple of years. Well this have never been sealed.
Thanks Peter

Maintenance 6

You should not coat a rubber roof with any sort of asphalt based material. Nor should you patch with asphalt. Fibered roof coatings are asphalt based. The oils in the asphalt will attack the rubber. Cracks or tears in rubber are repaired with more rubber and cement. You need to find a coating that is compatible with the base material of the roof.

PoleCat

Sounds like a new membrane is in order to me.

jklingel

I've had a roof membrane on an addition to my house for over 28 yrs, and not one issue w/ it. It is real Firestone rubber, not a vinyl-type. I just rolled it back a tad this summer to add yet another roof extension, and it looks like new. Supple, no cracks, etc. If that can last up here for that long, I suspect yours will last a long time too. BTW: I have pea gravel on mine, to hold it down, and that may help w/ the UV rays not beating it up. That said, the edges are fully exposed, one even on the S side, and they all look fine, too. If possible, buy a big chunk of the stuff, roll it out, and lock it down.