Los Angeles County, California

Roof Coatings and Restoration in Los Angeles

A silicone or acrylic coating can extend a low-slope roof that still works, but only over a roof that is dry and sound underneath. We look at what is under the membrane before anyone talks about coating. The inspection is free, with a written quote.

Tell us about your roof Call (310) 857-2520

Free roof inspection
We come out, get on the roof, and tell you what we find.
The price in writing
A written quote before anyone starts, with nothing to sign on the spot.
Licensed roofers
Our roofer who comes out holds a current California license.
Across Los Angeles County
From the Valley and the foothills to the Westside and the South Bay.

A coating goes on last. The roof gets surveyed, dried out, repaired and prepared first, and the membrane covers the finished work.

The cured film becomes the roof's first layer of UV and waterproofing protection. A coating will not find your leak, so the leak gets identified and repaired before anything is sprayed.

Tell us what the roof is doing and our licensed roofer will come out and look at it. There is no obligation to go ahead.

What it isA liquid membrane over a low-slope roof that still works
When it is wrongWet insulation, failed seams, or a deck that has gone
Order of workSurvey, dry out, repair, prepare, adhesion test, then coat
The warrantyThe coating manufacturer issues it, and only to applicators on its list

Silicone or acrylic

In this county the choice turns on whether water sits at the drains after the winter rain, and on how much dirt the coating carries through the dry months, since dirt takes down the reflectance the energy code asks about.

Acrylic goes on as a seamless, fully adhered elastomeric membrane at 15 to 30 mils. It is not a paint.

Silicone and water.Silicone is the usual choice where water sits at the drains after the rain.
Silicone and dirt.Silicone picks up dirt as it ages, dirt cuts reflectance, and Los Angeles goes months with no rain to wash it off.
Silicone is a commitment.Once a roof is siliconed, every recoat after it has to be silicone too.
Acrylic and water.Acrylic is water-based, and standing water can speed up its breakdown. The question to ask is wet adhesion, meaning how well the coating sticks to a substrate that has been wet.

When a coating is the wrong answer

A coating will not perform as intended on a roof that is too badly deteriorated or wet inside, or where the deck is rotted or badly corroded.

The order of work is fixed: moisture survey, replace wet insulation, repair sheet metal, repair flashings, prepare the surface, adhesion tests, then the membrane. A scan only marks where to cut, and the test cuts confirm it.

Wet insulation comes out before anything is sprayed, and the roof has to be clear of standing water when the work starts. Ask the bidder which spec they are working to and what its thresholds are, because that decides how much insulation leaves the roof. Drainage correction comes first, priced on the costs page.

Preparation decides whether it sticks

The roof gets surveyed, dried and repaired before any of this goes on. A coating over a wet or dirty membrane peels.

Every coating spec makes the roof pass an adhesion test before the membrane goes on. Wash pressure and drying time come off the manufacturer's spec, and the roof has to be dry before the test. In Los Angeles the marine layer decides that window, since a roof that looks dry can still be holding fog water from overnight.

What it isA liquid membrane over a low-slope roof that still worksThe inspection is free, and the price for your roof comes in writing.

Get a price for your roof

Manufacturer warranties are written in mils

Manufacturers tie the warranty term to the thickness of the film, so a longer term means more coating on the roof. Ask the bidder what mil thickness sits behind the term quoted, and get that number on the proposal instead of the term alone.

A coating warranty covers the coating failing, not the roof underneath it. The coating manufacturer issues that warranty. We do not. A manufacturer will only issue one when the company spraying the roof is on its own approved list, so ask any bidder to show you their approval before counting on it.

Get the ponding language on the warranty itself. Some coatings are built to stand ponding conditions and some are not, so the product named on it and the exclusion have to match before the order goes in. More on the commercial roofing page.

Title 24 asks for the aged number

Data sheets publish two reflectance numbers. Title 24 asks for the three-year aged reflectance, the lower of the two, and that number carries through to the compliance paperwork. Thresholds are on the replacement page.

What changes the price

There is no published price band for coating work. What moves the number is roof size and access, the substrate, how much wet insulation comes out, the seam and flashing repair on the list, and the mil thickness the manufacturer requires for the term it will warrant. Drains lowered or added fall under a different license classification and get priced separately. More on the costs page.

Common questions

What gets repaired before the coating goes on?

Failed seams get taped, backed-out fasteners get replaced, and split flashings get rebuilt. More on roof repair.

How many years does a coating buy?

RCMA's figure is that a properly applied coating extends roof life "up to 10 years or more." The manufacturer terms are warranty lengths tied to mil thickness. They do not say how long the coating will last. More coating can go on later.

Is a coating a cheaper replacement?

NRCA lists field-applied coatings as a surfacing option and as maintenance and repair work. See commercial roof replacement for when the roof is past that.

The offer

$500 off a new roof, 10% off any repair

Send your request online from this page and the offer is attached, with nothing to remember.

We get on the roof, and into the attic if that is where the answer is
You get photographs of whatever we find
The price in writing, with nothing to sign on the spot

Claim it on a free inspection

ReflectanceTitle 24 asks for the three-year aged number, not the one on the front of the data sheet.
What is underneathCoating over wet board buys a season and hides the damage.
Seams firstFailed seams get taped and repaired before anything is sprayed over them.