Why Clear Coat?

These are two questions that many Florida home owners ask much to often. When your tile roof was new it came with a factory clear coat that sealed all the pores in the concrete and protected the color. This clear coat contains a mold and algae inhibitor, this inhibitor will keep the roof looking good for about 5 years after being installed. Over time this clear coat will dry out and allow the pores in the concrete to collect dirt that the mold and algae feed off of.

This is about the time most home owners will think about cleaning the roof, how it is cleaned is crucial to how the roof wears in the years to come. If a harsh bleach is used to clean the tile it will remove the some of the color and dry out any clear coat left on the roof. If to high of a water pressure is used it can remove the some of the color coating from the tile dull the natural color. So what is the proper way to clean a tile roof? The way the manufactures suggest, a low pressure, high water volume water spray with a light detergent to clean the roof without damaging the tile.

At this time a layer of factory clear coat should be reapplied to the tile to renew the mold and algae inhibitor and to protect the color of the tile. If the roof is only cleaned there is nothing to inhibit the growth of mold and algae, the more times it is washed without being sealed the more porous it will become and the faster it will return to being dirty. The clear coat will seal the tile and will keep you from having to wash the roof as frequently, which means less foot traffic on your roof and less damage.

A tile roof is an extremely expensive thing to replace on your home, concrete tile will last a lifetime if maintained properly. Have your roof maintained by a properly trained and licensed Florida roofer, Roof Tile Renovation strives to keep you roof looking like the day it was put on!

When your tile was manufactured it came with a coating on it to protect the color of the tile. Tile come in one of two ways from the factory, color through or slurry coat. A color through tile has a color mixed in to the concrete when it is being mixed up to be extruded, once the tile is dry then a clear sealer is put on the tile to protect the color. A slurry coated tile has the color painted on then when dry a clear sealer is put on the tile to protect the color. There is no problem with placing a new color coat on a concrete tile as long as it's a product designed to hold up to the wear and tear a roof has put on it. A quality roof coating will be 100% acrylic latex and will be extremely thick compared to an exterior home paint. Just like there is no problem painting exterior concrete siding such as stucco, there is no problem coating and waterproofing a roof tile as long it is done by a licensed Florida roofer with products that are designed for roofs.

We clean our roofs the way the manufacturer of the tile states to clean your tile roof. We use a low pressure, high water volume spray with a light detergent to kill off any left over mold and algae. The low pressure, high volume water spray takes off 99% of the dirt and mold then the detergent kills off anything that's left.

The reason this is the way the manufacturer states to clean the tile is because a harsh chemical will deteriorate the color coating and break down the underlayment not to mention its hard on plant life around the home. High pressure water spray is also bad because it will take off the color coating and pit the concrete which allow's the tile to hold dirt and get dirty quicker.

Recoating your tile roof is environmentally friendly for many reasons.

1) Coating your roof will lower your AC costs, and the lighter the color you coat your roof the cooler your roof will stay. This will lower your carbon foot print because you will be reducing your use of electric. Even if you don't believe in global warming you can believe in saving money on your electric bill!

2) When you recoat your tile roof you also lengthen the life of your roof. Instead of tearing off your roof and having it dumped in a land fill, you are gaining more years of life. Getting a better return on your original roof investment! Recoating your roof is a fraction of the cost of a new roof, thousands of people each year remove and replace their tile roof each year when it has many years of life left in it. Concrete will last a very long time and is very environmentally friendly because of that, but it does need maintenance to keep it looking good. A tile roof requires maintenance but it will out last most other styles of roof making it a very green option.