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Caviar!

It is water. It is on a flat roof. The edge of the material you see is roofing material.

Wow, you are very brave sticking your finger in it then asking what it is. I don't know about that being water, but it could be. Taste it let us know. Anyway, do you have a wider view photo show the rest of the roof?

I do, and I will upload it soon. I didn't mean this photo to be such a small view, but it started out at 2.2 megawhatevers and I had to crop it several times to get it to 500 something bit things to make it fit here on catadjuster.org.

It is water, from after heavy rains. To get that photo I had to wiggle my finger real fast at the same time I took the photo with my other hand and used a flash even though it was bright daylight. Because it is a little hole about 1 1/2" across I needed the flash to get the light inside there otherwise you would be able to see that it was water. By wiggling my finger real fast i made some bubbling that reflected the light and made it more obvious that it was water.

(Photographers call that a "fill in flash" when you use it in daylight. When something is in shadow you can use your flash to wipe out the shadow)

how do i stick another photo in? i need a teenager to stop texting and help me...

it seems to work much easier on the first post. Somebody help. I can email you the photo and you can stick it in.

Man, I must be getting old...

 

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Here's another picture of a bubble (blister) on the same roof, this one is not perforated

Leland,

Can't say for sure but it looks like you may have a deteriorated spray foam roof with an elastomeric coating.

That's what I was thinking but you said it better. I knew the paint was "elastomeric" but I wasn't sure what the name for the foam was. It looks very similar to the expanding foam that is used to insulation.

So somebody tell me: what do these roofs cost? XM8 code? how long do they last? why does it make blisters? Can the blisters be cut and patched- with the same material? can it be recoated with the elastomeric paint? Is this a good roof (when new)?

I appreciate any comments that will educate me.

does it have insulating value?

This comes from my days selling insulation...

 

I beleive you are looking at a closed-cell foam insulating product, which can be used on a roof.  I'm thinking an R-Value of around 5 / inch, but cant be sure.

 

The thing to rememebr is that closed-cell foams deteriorate in sunlight, thus the reason for the coating.  If the coating wears out, teh foam will deteriorate.

 

The exception to teh foam deteriorating is an "open-cell" foam, which would not be used on a roof.

 

Hope that helps.

so this kind of roof requires a periodic recoating ie maintenance? is that true? If so, how often does it need to be recoated?

Remember, my replies are coming from the "foam" side of the business and not the "roofing" side of the business; however i would expect it would regularly need to be recoated, and if I were guessing, I would suspect the 6-9 year range.

I would bet that most experienced commercial roofing contractors will know exactly what you are talking about if you would call them up and ask about a spray-foam roof.

OK, I found this on the internet:

Spray Foam Roofing

SPF Roofing Systems provide many benefits to building owners. The two most prominent benefits are waterproofing/leak prevention and insulation value. Many additional benefits also exist such as superior compressive strength, lightweight, self-flashing, durable and long lasting.

Benefits of Spray Foam Roof Systems

* Leak free monolithic seal over your entire roof deck
* Self flashing
* High insulation value / Rapid payback with energy savings
* Strong adhesion and wind uplift resistance
* Weather resistant
* Lightweight and high strength
* UL and FM approved systems

foam roofing application

Sprayed Polyurethane Foam is applied as a liquid using plural-component spray equipment to fill cracks and crevices. It then expands approximately 30 times its original liquid volume to form a hard, closed cell monolithic roof surface. The Polyurethane Foam dries within seconds after applied to the roof surface. Its expansion results in a weather tight roofing membrane that is fully adhered to the substrate. Because of polyurethane's lightweight it adds little additional weight to the structure and is often used in remedial applications. Polyurethane Foam has a history of more than 35 years as a maintainable roofing medium. Polyurethane Foam adds excellent insulation value to the structure and utility bills can reflect the difference.

Once the SPF has been applied to the proper thickness and finish specifications, a protective layer of elastomeric coating or gravel is applied. This protective layer produces a durable weather resistant surface and that can be walked on for normal maintenance.


Protective Coatings for SPF Roofs

SPF requires protection from the sun's ultra-violet radiation, moisture and foot traffic. This coating helps to protect and seal the foam from any damage from these or other elements.

Once the SPF has been applied to the proper thickness and finish specifications, a protective layer of elastomeric coating, or gravel is applied. This protective layer produces a durable weather resistant surface and that can be walked on for normal maintenance.

The most common cool roof coatings used over sprayed polyurethane foam (SPF) and other roof deck surfaces are light/white colored. The most common types are:

Some suppliers and contractors use a thin layer of gravel spread over the foam. This system has been used very successfully, however, elastomeric coatings are more common. The coatings are spray applied as single component, or plural component system and can be silicone, acrylic, butyl rubber, polyurea, and different urethanes. The various materials all have different physical properties and vary in cost. Check with your supplier for more details.

Coatings are usually installed in two stages: a base coat, and a final top coat. Granules are often embedded into the final coat and offer added protection against mechanical ultra-violet damage.

In time, these coatings will require maintenance, or replacement, but just like paint on your house, they can be removed and re-applied to keep your SPF roof system in peak performance for decades.

An SPF roof, like most other systems, will expand and contract during different climate conditions. It is very important that the protective coating is able to expand and contract with the SPF or serious damage can result in the form of cracks or delamination. This physical characteristic is called elongation and is something your materials suppliers can help you with to properly match the SPF and coating system to roof system and climate.

* Acrylic
* Silicone
* Urethanes
* Polyurea

Leland - I think the info you found sums it up. In my opinion, you are looking at a degraded protective coating that caused the SPF to degrade and ultimately fail.