Scarifying a Roof Equals a Satisfied Condominium

By Dean Visaggio / Published February 2023

Palm Beach Landings is a condominium association located in Fort Myers. The association had a spray polyurethane roof (SPF) that required repairs due to blisters that had started to appear as well as ponding issues. The ponding issues were caused by the lack of any slope being built on the roof, and it was not allowing water to drain properly. 

     If the blisters were not fixed, then the foam underneath the SPF coating would become saturated, which could cause water to leak into the units below. Ultimately not fixing the blisters would necessitate tearing the foam roof off and installing a new roof.

     Historically once a foam roof is no longer under warranty or is in bad condition, the entire roof will be torn off. In part this is because few contractors have the ability to properly apply the SPF, and a roof overlay is not an option.

     However, there is a better and more effective solution, which is a process known as scarification. When scarifying a roof, the top one-half to one inch of the top surface layer of polyurethane foam and the coating membrane are removed. The scarifying of the existing SPF roof allows for a new application of SPF and the coating membrane. Additionally, SPF can be applied to a variety of roof systems such as a built-up roof (BUR), modified, wood, or concrete. The SPF system is less invasive as well as more cost effective.

Palm Beach Landings—After

     Before Unicoat started on the project, a pre-job walkthrough was scheduled to make sure the staging areas, designated places for the roofing equipment and materials, were ready to go. Time was also set aside to make certain everyone was on the same page. 

     One of the challenging elements to this project was the fact that Palm Beach Landings is a seven-story condominium complex. The building’s height meant it was vital to be aware of weather conditions, especially the wind when applying the SPF. The roof foreman routinely checked the weather and made sure there was no overspray in order to protect the condominium property as well as the many residents’ cars in this active complex. If it was determined that a certain day was too windy, this was communicated to the property manager, and work on the roof was resumed the next day.

     The Unicoat crew came in and scarified the spray foam roof; then they removed any wet areas and primed the scarified foam. After this was done, two rounds of Gaco closed-cell spray foam, GacoRoofFoam 2733, were applied. After the first pass, the foreman made certain to spray any low spots where ponding water was spotted in order to promote slope so the water would drain off properly. After spraying the foam, a GacoFlex S20 series silicone roof coating was applied at an average rate of 2.5 gallons per 100 square feet to obtain a wet film thickness (WFT) of 40 mils and a dry film thickness (DFT) of 38 mils.

     Roy Maloney, property manger for Palm Beach Landings, comments about the work, “Unicoat was professional and did an excellent job restoring our roof.” It’s good to see that the scarifying process led to a satisfied community association.

Dean Visaggio

Regional Sales Manager, Unicoat Industrial Roofing Corporation

     Dean Visaggio is regional sales manager at Unicoat Industrial Roofing Corporation in Bradenton, FL. Call 800-510-7661 for a free inspection and analysis, email freeinspection@unicoatroof.com, or visit  www.unicoatroof.com.