Federal, state and local codes are rapidly changing to keep up with evolving commercial building technologies that deal with: energy efficient design, thermal resistant materials and operational protocols. The technologies influence everything from lighting, to electric motors, monitoring sensors, filtration systems, insulating materials, roof and wall systems, transportation, manufacturing processes, heating and cooling, etc.
The Energy Efficient Design of New Buildings and the Retrofitting of Old Buildings are now being defined by a myriad of private, institutional and academic organizations who have great influence with federal, state and local codes. This is not necessarily bad unless the research and laboratory results published and incorporated into building code do not coincide with reality.
Code regulations as well as the prevailing thought process of building design and construction professionals can and often do dictate the configuration of commercial building envelopes with the purpose of energy optimization and conservation in mind. However, the byproduct of the latest and greatest prevailing technologies and code requirements, if they fail to deliver as advertised, can be severe.
Fundamentally, it is the objective of commercial roofing systems to maintain a protective, watertight barrier, from harsh exterior atmospheric elements for the purpose of preserving valuable assets that reside within the structure. And the function of the underlying insulation system is to maintain a sufficient thermal resistance (R) rating that will attenuate energy flow into and out of the building. The integrity of both these systems is interdependent and critical for long life. Failure or degradation of one system will negatively impact the other.
When considering energy related enhancements recommended or dictated by code to your building envelope take time to research the benefits as well as the potential negative ramifications that may not be well publicized or thoroughly understood.
Installing new or additional, innovative & state of the art thermal insulating systems may yield a positive ROI when evaluated for “life cycle costs”. However, if the new insulating system introduces new moisture related variables into the equation the calculated life cycle may be forfeited. Similarly, if you are restoring an old & weathered roof system or installing a new roof system it is possible that this action could negatively influence the totality of the roof / insulation system effectiveness and introduce moisture transport issues.
If the two systems do not work in tandem and integrity the result can be significantly reduced thermal insulating capacity and premature deterioration of roof panels.
National Roof Coater professionals can perform an evaluation of your current roof and wall system configurations that will assist in making data driven decisions.