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.

The Belzona approach

The roof was not torn off. The whole surface was cleaned down to a sound, contaminant-free substrate so the membrane would bond, and the roof was treated as one job instead of a string of patches. Every seam, flashing, and penetration was detailed first, reinforcing those weak points so they move with the roof instead of cracking, and the concrete and the expansion joints where the leaks had started were rebuilt and sealed. With the detail work done, a liquid membrane was rolled 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 leaksA walk of the roof finds the failing seams, flashings, penetrations, and joints and traces where the water is actually getting in.
2. Clean and prepare the surfaceThe full roof is cleaned down to a sound, dry, contaminant-free substrate so the membrane and the detail coats will bond.
3. Detail the seams and penetrationsEvery seam, flashing, and penetration is reinforced and sealed, and the concrete and the expansion joints where the leaks began are repaired and sealed.
4. Lay the continuous membraneA liquid membrane is applied across the whole roof so the field and the detailed points cure into one continuous weatherproof film.
5. Inspect and hand backThe membrane and the detail points are checked for full coverage and the roof goes back in service with the equipment underneath protected.