Foam and Elastomeric coats over existing BUR ????

sunguy65

We have a 10 year old built up roof put on our flat roof after a complete teardown here in Phoenix, AZ. Our roof has no leaks but had some hail damage so the insurance company is paying for a new roof. We are wanting to go with SPF (Foam) roof here in the desert climate. Got 4 bids from A+ roofers. 2 said best to tear off existing built up roof and apply the foam and then 2 or 3 coats of Elastomeric. The other 2 said its ok to apply the foam over the existing roof without doing a teardown. Very confusing and we need to make a decision in the next few days. 1) Are we better off to do a complete tearoff of the existing BUR roof system and then Foam with 2 or 3 coats of Elastomeric coating ? OR 2) Are we better to keep the existing BUR system and foam over it then use 2 or 3 coats of Elastomeric? The existing roof has no leaks, basically dried and they say it probably has a year or 2 left but we want to go ahead and go with Foam and 2 or 3 coats of Elastomeric EITHER over the existing BUR OR go with Foam and 2 or 3 coats of Elastomeric after a complete tearoff of the the existing BUR. HELP! Any advice and direction would be very much appreciated!
Can write me direct or post here. Thanks so much. azdon2@cox.net

rodeo

my old BUR roof had a foam roof laid over it without tearing it off.

I noticed that the foam layer did not adhere very well to the old BUR roof perhaps because it wasnt clean or the stone ballast - this seemed especially noticeable along the edges where the weather might more easily penetrate.

1985gt

If it were me I wouldnt put a foam roof on. I would tear the old roof off, new PolyISO insulation and a white TPO or PVC. The polyiso insulation has the same R value as a foam roof, and the TPO and PVC are reflective. Spray foam over a bur is bad in a couple of ways, if you ever have to tear it off then it gets expensive, and you have a thin coating to be the protection for it. Birds love to pick at it and tear up your new roof. Did they say how often you have to recoat it? Most are 2-5 years, so you have to figure that in too. You do not have to coat the TPO or PVC roofs. The foam doesnt stick to a bur roof if they do not prep it right. Hope this helps. Is this the only type roof your insurance will pay for?