Roof Systems

A tank farm control building, a school gym and a grocery dock sit under the same Gulf sun, and each asks its roof to do a different job. The membrane over the control building has to tolerate contaminants. The one over the gym has to dry in during a short summer window. The one over the dock has to take foot traffic from refrigeration technicians all year. Choosing a system for Pasadena, TX starts with those jobs, and the product name comes last.

Match the Sheet to What Lands on the Roof

Single-ply membranes are the usual choice on low-slope roofs. White TPO roofing reflects heat and welds into one continuous surface, which suits plain storage and office buildings. PVC roofing and KEE-modified sheets stand up to grease, oils and chemical fallout, so they fit restaurant exhaust and plant buildings. EPDM roofing is a rubber sheet that works well on long, simple school and warehouse runs. Summer 2023 pushed Houston to 109 F, and dark surfaces absorb that heat and UV hardest.

Stack Plies Where the Roof Gets Walked On

Modified bitumen roofing and built-up roofing layer plies and surfacings into a thick, redundant assembly. That thickness tolerates the technician traffic that comes with rooftop equipment and the occasional dropped tool. Near the refineries along the Pasadena Freeway and SH 225 corridor, the installation method matters as much as the membrane, because open flame requires a hot work permit and a fire watch, and some plants will not allow it at all. Cold-applied and self-adhered options then enter the plan.

Use Metal Where Wind and Water Need to Shed Fast

Standing seam metal roofing drains quickly and resists uplift when panel length, clips and perimeter securement are right, which counts east of State Highway 146 where windstorm inspection applies. A metal roof retrofit goes over an aging roof without a full tear-off, so the people under it keep working. Fastener corrosion in humid bay-side air is the detail we watch longest.

Restore Sound Roofs With Foam or Coatings

Spray polyurethane foam roofing adds insulation and a continuous surface in one pass. Silicone roof coatings handle ponding water better than most, and acrylic coatings reflect heat on roofs that drain well. Rain falls on about 104 days a year in Houston, some 50 inches in all, so the drainage already on the roof decides which coating is safe to apply. Where heat has already cracked a surface, heat and UV damage repair comes before any coating goes down.

Commercial Roofing Questions

What roof conditions have to be right for a recover?

Sometimes. A recover needs dry insulation and a sound deck, and an infrared scan or core sample answers that before anyone orders material. If water is trapped, the new sheet only seals it in.

Which system holds up best under heavy rooftop equipment traffic?

Thicker assemblies and protected walk paths take technician traffic better, and the flashing at each unit matters more than the field sheet. We trace the service routes first and place the protection along them.

How does coastal exposure change a metal roof inspection?

Salt-bearing air can accelerate corrosion at cut edges, fasteners and dissimilar-metal connections. The inspection looks closely at those details and checks whether drainage carries residue away from the panel laps.

When can a coating be used over an existing membrane?

Only when the surface is compatible, the insulation is dry and the seams can be prepared for adhesion. Moisture readings and a test area come before the product is ordered.