Phoenix, AZ. “I never cease to be amazed at how such a thin layer of only 30 mils of veggie-plastic coating can add up to 25 years on a flat roof’s lifespan,” commented Castagra Products Inc. CEO, Peter Roosen.
“Building owners and managers want to put off, indefinitely, what actually used to be inevitable, re-roofing, which is extremely costly. Now, with some modern membranes and coatings such as ours, flat roofs can, with low cost inspection regimes, last for the life of the building itself.
“Most recently, one of our leading applicators, San Diego Roofing, provided a 25-year warranty on the Ecodur coating they did for a commercial building that was suffering pretty significant leaking through its tar and gravel roof.
“We have coatings we did 25 years ago on roofs that, recent inspections, have shown are, with the exception of some cosmetic weathering, as good today as they were then with total integrity of the substrate,” continued Roosen.
“Our Ecodur is, essentially, a polymerized soft rock. It has nearly triple the adhesion of most conventional epoxy coatings and totally waterproofs with superb resistance to the effects of UV. Importantly, it also permanently retains its flexibility and ability to re-bond molecularly to original Ecodur coats should repair work be required.”
Roosen said Ecodur works with all substrates, including cementitious and asphalt. As a primer, it provides cool roof acrylic and silicone coatings with a near perfect base to adhere to.
“With high-investment solar installations continuing to rise, along with cool roofs, green roofs and now water runoff mitigating blue roofs, there has never been a more important time for creating maximum longevity and integrity for flat roofs.”
Castagra’s Ecodur is made from renewable castor oil and potentially recyclable gypsum mineral. It is VOC-free, BPA-free, solvent-free, certified for use in contact with drinking water and Class A flame retardant.
“Typically, our applicators manually apply it, but it can also be sprayed on with a our specially designed spray technology which can handle the high gypsum content. It can also be foamed which is becoming increasingly popular. For all practical purposes, there is no limit to the thickness that can be applied, but, typically, the average is 30 mils.”
Roosen added that as good as Ecodur is, the application site should be inspected carefully on an annual or semi-annual basis.
“A coating or membrane is only effective if it has been professionally and perfectly applied and no anomalies such as cracks or holes are missed. Generally, we are very fortunate in that self-leveling Ecodur has the ability to seep into the smallest cracks and holes and it is especially good at filling major ones as we have done at a major US stadium. Once in the anomaly, it is there like a soft rock plug for life.”
Castagra Products Inc., has its registered office in Reno, Nevada, USA, and headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. It has its main toll production facility in Houston in Texas. The company is focussed on providing ultra-protective VOC-free, BPA-free, non-toxic coatings for roofing, floors, water and waste water industries and oil, gas, frac production water storage tanks and pipes.
