Because this type of material offers great protection against water penetration and leaks, it does require some prep work like removing any damaged materials (leaving clean surfaces), removing dirt/grime from the material using a solvent based cleaner if necessary, and then applying a waterproof coating (but only when used over existing flat roofs) . It comes with a limited warranty from the manufacturer should you experience any issues during its lifespan.
This particular type of product is made out of an organic material similar to felt; which means it will absorb moisture if ventilation beneath your commercial flat roof isn't properly managed. This could lead to problems further down the line, so make sure that when using this product, you properly ventilate and waterproof the roof.
Commercial roofing liquid applied membrane products are a unique class of commercial roofing materials. They consist primarily of water-based, emulsified or encapsulated resins that meet ASTM C1048 Type I and III designations. As the name implies, they are more akin to a paint than a traditional liquid applied membrane system in which the polymer systems take major part of forming layers on deck and substrate—with resin content usually over 50% by weight.
One segment is considered as “deposition” type (also called “sparadrap”). The other segment is considered “self-support” type (also referred to as "membrane" or "liner"). Other names used in the industry are “liquid membrane” or “water-based roofing system”. The terminology used can be confusing because the class of materials includes both the water-based emulsified and encapsulated systems, as well as those that contain non-emulsified resins or polymers where the resin content is relatively low (3% - 8%) by weight.
The commercial liquid applied membrane products market represents a large segment of application area in roofing where it is estimated at over 70 million square metres / year globally. This application includes large
home projects, and involves primarily metal and concrete substrates, with limited use on wood or masonry substrates. Asphalt shingle roofs represent a smaller share for this product type. Some manufacturers even produce a “shingle-grade” material to be used on asphalt shingle roofs. This application segment is considered as separate from the traditional, more established liquid applied membrane market which uses polymer systems based on either
styrene-butadiene or
acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) elastomer binders. For this reason some manufacturers have started to refer to the water-based emulsified and encapsulated resins as "commercial latex roofing membranes".