Phoenix, AZ., July 18, 2018 - “When it comes to cool roofs, Mother Nature wins hands down with the vegetated ones in the US which, generally, do not get above 30 degrees Centigrade because of their natural evaporative processes,” commented Castagra Products CEO, Peter Roosen.
“However, with our natural ingredients of castor oil and gypsum, I like to think our Ecodur with its superb performance in supporting the latest cool top coat technology for roofing, especially the silicone and acrylic formulas, makes us next best to Nature, and overall best choice as a flat roof primer.”
Roosen said that, aside from performance and longevity considerations, cost factors still rule overall which is why change is coming slowly in the flat roof coating and membrane marketplace.
Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TOP*) remains the low-slope leader with some 40% share of the new construction market and 30% in re-roofing, with EPDM at just over half that figure in new construction and 26% in re-roofing.
“The ideal solution is the one where a roof is coated seamlessly with very high adhesion and longevity. Creeping in now especially in hotter areas is the growing requirements for higher solar reflectance and the consequent gains in lowered HVAC costs.
“Cool coatings actually go back many centuries. You only have to see, for example, the ancient whitewashed villages in Andalusia, Spain where they understood the cooling effect of white during daytime temperatures that can reach reach 40 C. It was only in the 1970’s that the Germans started taking a technological lead with their infra-red reflective pigments which were later adopted by the Australians.
“Then, came nano ceramic materials and further chemistry developments that have led to a new generation of infra-red reflective pigments which offer a pleasing variety of colorful shades including beiges, tans, grays, reds, greens, blues, yellows, mauves, browns and terracotta,” commented Roosen.
“Total Solar Reflectance (TSR) for whites average over 80%. With these new specialty cool shades, you are still getting from 34% to over 70% TSR depending upon the color chosen. One company I have seen makes a claim for one of its acrylic cool coatings of 84.9% reflectance.
“I think green roofs will always have a niche and play an important part in helping modify the heat sink effect of dense urban areas, but, long term, I think it will be the new generation of cool coating technologies that will eventually dominate which is exciting for us because Ecodur is the total top and bottom solution, binding and protecting the substrate and binding and holding the cap coat.”
Roosen said that VOC-free Ecodur, when applied over old coatings and roof materials which have existing anomalies such as holes and cracks, seals and generally arrests or radically slows down any further substrate deterioration.
“That’s the beauty of Ecodur, not only does it provide a waterproof, tough seal, it also retains its flexibility absorbing the small stresses that naturally occur during temperature fluctuations and harsh weather such as hail storms and torrential rain. Having an outstanding primer such as Ecodur to properly protect the substrate of the roof is exactly what these new cool top coats should have. Mother Nature deserves it too,” concluded Roosen.
*A 2015-2016 NRCA Market Survey shows TPO as the low-slope market leader, garnering a 40 percent share of the new construction market and 30 percent of the re-roofing market. EPDM follows next, capturing 22 percent of market share for new construction and 26 percent of the re-roofing market. In third place is Mod Bit at 12.4 percent of the new construction market and 14 percent of the re-roofing market.
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, water, waste water industries and oil, gas, frac production water storage tanks and pipes.
