Hey! Can You Spray My Roof?


By Jessica A. Baris

“Always give it your best because you never know who’s in the audience.” That’s a well-known piece of advice for performers on stage, but it’s just as true off-stage as well, as Jeff White of Penguin’s Coat Foam Insulation learned. For White, the job site is his “stage,” the place where he performs his best spray polyurethane foam (SPF) work. Earlier this year, White was working alongside Jay Webber, a mechanical contractor, on a new Colorado restaurant’s roof and walls. The spray foam caught Webber’s attention, and he went right up to White to ask him about it.

“He thought it was a great product and asked us to do his house,” says White.
Webber hired White to fortify his Colorado home with an SPF roof system. And that was the beginning of a business partnership between the two contractors.

An Old Roof Deck That Has Seen Better Days
When White arrived at Webber’s home, he inspected the old wood roof deck and saw why Webber was having problems with leaks. The joints in the plywood were too wide—some had gaps of 1/8 inch or larger. But they couldn’t start right away. Rainy weather delayed the project by a week.
“Anytime you get a hard date for an SPF roof job, it rains,” laughed White.
Once the rain subsided, White caulked the gaps in the plywood and primed it with 15 gallons of SWD Quik-Shield 1000 primer, using an Ultra Max II 695 pump by Graco.

The four-man crew then sprayed 3 inches of SWD Quik-Shield 125 closed-cell roofing foam on the 1,000-square-foot wooden roof deck to a thermal index of R-20. They worked with Graco’s spray equipment, including the P2 spray gun with an O2 spray tip. White said that it is important for the R-value to be correct.

“Many people are not aware of this, but in the ICC code book and the 2009 IRC, under code section ‘Unvented Attic Assemblies’ in r806.4, there is a table there that lists the minimum requirement for R value by climate zone,” he explains. “We were in climate zone 5 for this job. So the table tells us it needed to be R-20.”

The roof got a total of 600 pounds of foam. Next up, White moved on to the base coat.

“We put down another layer of the same primer. It’s a dark gray color. It’s required in our SWD specs to apply it because it serves as a bonding agent between the top coat and the foam. And it becomes a visual gauge for inspecting whether you need a new top coat or not. If you’re inspecting a roof and you see dark patches, it needs a new top coat. It’s an easy visual inspection.”

Next, using Graco’s Ultra Max II 695 electric airless sprayer, White applied SWD’s Quik-Shield 1929F elastomeric top coat to reflect the sun’s heat. White explained the phenomenon of city rooftops that absorb the heat and cause the buildings to be hotter than they normally would be. This can be avoided by using a reflective top coat. The high reflectivity coat White used for Webber’s roof has a solar reflectance index of 103 percent. Now, Webber’s roof is a “cool roof” that will be protected from harsh climates and ultraviolet exposure. The top coat also provides rust inhibitors and fire and mildew retardants, according to SWD’s spec sheet.

White’s crew broadcasted granules into the top coat to finish it off. “They help to protect the whole system, but it’s mostly for aesthetics,” White says.

More Business on the Way
After Webber began to experience the SPF roof’s high performance, he started referring White’s business left and right.

“Jay has had rain since we finished the job, but no leaks. That was no surprise to us,” says White, with confidence in his spray crew’s work and the quality of the foam roof system. “He’s super excited. He’s referring us to other businesses that they’re working on.”

Webber’s reaction to the foam roof is one of many reasons why White is glad to be in the spray foam business.

“I enjoy spraying foam because SPF is by far the best insulation material that we have in our world,” White says. “We are learning how important air barriers are. SPF manages moisture, vapor, and sound all in one shot. Our nation’s energy crisis is about our buildings, not about our automobiles, which generate the most carbon dioxide. If we can adopt more technology and enforce it on our building codes, we can cut our energy demand in half. Penguin’s Coat is passionate about energy savings, and I like to apply foam and see energy demands reduce by 50-70 percent.”

The job was completed in three days, but the roof—and the business partnership—will last much longer. That’s what happens when you put your best foot forward, on and off stage!

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