Cool roof contractor: save on energy bills

White roofing can make a difference in the mid-Atlantic area due to extremely warm summers.  A grey, black or other dark tinted roof over a home may heat up to 180°F. At that temperature, not even your bare hand can touch the roof comfortably.

Not true for a white roof surface. With a white, acrylic coating, only 20% of the sunlight is absorbed into the roofing. This observation means you could comfortably lie down on a white roof on a hot summer afternoon. These roofs are popularly called Cool Roofs.


Large metal cool roof

Commercial white metal roof

Commercial metal roof with ten year warranty against leakage

White commercial metal roofing has been accepted by business owners since the 1980s when acrylic first appeared in formulations for roof coating. Contractors, like myself, have long found these roofing surfaces natural candidates for acrylic/elastomeric related repairs.


Cool roof over stone surface--no tearoff

Flat roof with stone removed

Cool roof on flat surface formerly covered with stones

A flat roof with stone is usually a costly project for a industry business owner--tearoff costs, stone removal, new insulation, etc. There is an alternative that results in a Cool Roof.

Since the 1980s we have worked on flat roofs covered with aggregate/stone offering the following advantages:
1. No tearoff costs since the basic roof is left
2. Removal of loose stone since the stone only prevented the roof's exposure to sunlight
3. Installation of a Cool Roof which is maintainable for the building's lifetime


Foam roof maintenance coating project

White maintenance coating

White acrylic over aging foam roof


Flat roof project

commercial cool roof

Cool roof on flat surface

White roofs exhibit two other advantages over darker roofs in addition to the savings in energy costs:

Cool roofs tend to last longer. The reason is changing temperatures cause a roof to expand and contract. Since white roofs expand less in summer time, the roofing product is worn less
These roofs are maintainable. As needed, a white, acrylic reroof can be recoated with additional white acrylic applications, which eliminates tearoff costs over the lifetime of a building


Baltimore row house cool roofing

Row house project with cool roofing

Cool roof over Baltimore row house

Recently the heat island effects in large cities has become well known. We roofers have participated in the earliest row house projects in Baltimore, cooperating with the city on a series of projects, reflecting the sun. In 2007, the Civic Works organization, located in the Clifton Mansion, has begun to apply Cool Roofs to row houses.