How Long Do Spray Roofs Last?

Given proper care and maintenance, a spray polyurethane foam roof can last over 30 years. Sustainable spray foam reduces the need for future roof replacement, not to mention it significantly reduces utility bills by lowering energy consumption, which saves money every month.

SPF roofing systems have provided significant, documented energy savings for many institutions and large companies.

According to an article written by spray foam expert Mason Knowles, Arizona State University Professor Dean Kashiwagi surveyed and documented the performance of more than 1,600 SPF roofing systems between 1983 and 1996. In 1998, Rene Dupuis published results of his inspection and evaluation of more than 160 SPF roofing systems in six different climates of the United States. The surveys conducted by Dupuis and Kashiwagi are very similar in their conclusions: SPF roofing systems are highly sustainable.

In Kashiwagi’s 1996 report, the oldest performing SPF roofs were more than 26 years old. Of the roofs he surveyed, 97.6 percent did not leak and 93 percent had less than one-percent deterioration— pretty good statistics considering 55 percent of those roofs were never maintained. Kashiwagi and Dupuis also noted the physical properties of SPF did not diminish over time, and more than 70 percent of the roofs were applied over existing roofing systems.

After studying millions of square feet of roofing, Oregon A&M University concluded that their energy savings alone paid for the cost of SPF retrofits within just 3-4 years.

Case in point: Oregon A&M University studied millions of square feet of roofing after an SPF application and its research concluded that the cost of SPF retrofits was paid on energy savings alone after 3-4 years.

Energy costs are kept low with spray polyurethane foam because: an SPF installation is not applied on the roof deck, but above it; thermal bridging is either significantly reduced or completely eliminated; the R-value that SPF provides is high; and reflective and light-colored coatings are usually applied on top of SPF.

In terms of sustainability, SPF roofing systems have demonstrated to be renewable, have a long life, and add durability to the building structures to which they are installed.