LM Opts For Elastomeric Waterproofing on our Flat Roofs
In mid-June, SCT Reserves, a certified California firm that conducts independent analyses of the adequacy of condominium Reserves, conducted a two-day, on-site inspection at Las Mañanitas. One of the items they inspected was how we sealed our roofs against long-term damage.
As any homeowner knows, roofs don't last forever. And they are very expensive to replace or re-surface. So prudence dictates that we save a significant amount of money every year to pay for this when the time comes.
The inspector from SCT was pleased to see the strategy that Community Manager David Alanis and the prior HOA boards put into place regarding waterproofing the Phase II roof last year and the Phase III roof this year. Instead of patch-patch-patch and suffering many leaks over the years, they installed an elastomeric coating. An elastomeric roof coating is a liquid-applied roofing layer made from acrylic or silicone that cures to form a seamless membrane when applied over the entire roof area.
So long as it's painted with a special paint every five years, it should basically last for the life of the roof itself.
In order to prepare the roof for the elastomeric coating, David moved all pipes and wire/conduits up and off the roof, attaching them to the side walls, like this. Further, he added a metal frame between the air conditioning units and the holes in the roof where the ducts are. That way, the "special paint" can be applied under the AC units without having to move them.
This is a classic example of doing preventative maintenance and improving the buildings in a way that is more expensive now but much less expensive in the medium and long term.
The same strategy was applied to the Phase III roof in 2023. It is a very complex project involving several vendors and all Owners in Phase III. But it was successfully concluded on time and on budget before May 1. Congratulations to David and Diana!
Before And After
Here are some pictures from
Before
Note how materials lay on the roof directly.
Click to enlarge any image.
After
All the conduits and AC unit were removed, the roof stripped down to the base and the elastomere applied. The conduits, pipes, wires, etc. were moved to the side walls.
Here area some pictures after the elsatomere waterproofing had been applied:
And here are some shots of the final results:
