Containment Roof and Membrane Weatherproofing

The challenge

A plant roof over critical equipment was leaking at the seams, the flashings, and around the penetrations, and patch repairs kept failing as soon as the weather turned. Water that gets past a roof does not stay at the roof. It runs down into the building and onto the equipment underneath, where it drives corrosion, fouls electrical gear, and forces unplanned downtime to dry things out and clean up. The owner had been chasing the same leaks for a while, and each patch held only until the next storm worked the joint open again, because the failures were at the detail points where any single patch has nothing continuous to tie into.

Our approach

We did not tear the roof off. We cleaned the whole surface down to a sound, contaminant-free substrate so the membrane would bond, then we treated the roof as one job instead of a string of patches. We detailed every seam, flashing, and penetration first, reinforcing those weak points so they move with the roof instead of cracking, and we rebuilt and sealed the concrete and the expansion joints where the leaks had started. With the detail work done, we rolled a liquid membrane across the entire roof so the field and the details became one continuous, weatherproof film. That ties the surface together, keeps the water out, and leaves the equipment underneath dry.

1. Assess and map the leaksWe walk the roof to find the failing seams, flashings, penetrations, and joints and trace where the water is actually getting in.
2. Clean and prepare the surfaceWe clean the full roof down to a sound, dry, contaminant-free substrate so the membrane and the detail coats will bond.
3. Detail the seams and penetrationsWe reinforce and seal every seam, flashing, and penetration, and we repair and seal the concrete and the expansion joints where the leaks began.
4. Lay the continuous membraneWe apply a liquid membrane across the whole roof so the field and the detailed points cure into one continuous weatherproof film.
5. Inspect and hand backWe check the membrane and the detail points for full coverage and hand the roof back in service with the equipment underneath protected.