How this works, and who does what
Florida Coating Solutions is a coatings and restoration specialist. Where a flat roof is genuinely past the point either of those can help, we carry out the evaluation, write the replacement specification, take it to licensed roofing contractors and manage the project on your behalf. The replacement itself is performed by those licensed roofing contractors — that is their trade and their license.
The value in that arrangement is independence. The party telling a building owner they need a new roof is usually the party selling it, and that is an uncomfortable position to make a six-figure decision from. Because we would rather have coated the roof, our incentive runs the other way, and a conclusion that replacement is genuinely necessary carries more weight for exactly that reason.
It also means the specification is written around your building rather than around a contractor's preferred assembly. Roofing crews are fastest and cheapest with the system they install every week, which is not always the system your roof, your drainage and your budget should get.
- Independent condition assessment. Documented evidence of why the roof is finished, rather than an assertion from the party quoting.
- Specification written for the building. Assembly, insulation value, drainage correction and detailing decided on your roof's needs.
- Like-for-like bidding. One specification issued to licensed contractors, so the bids you compare describe the same work.
- Drainage corrected at the right moment. A replacement is the one opportunity to fix slope and drainage properly. It is routinely missed.
- Oversight during the work. The project is monitored against the specification while the licensed contractor carries it out.
What our involvement covers
Evaluation and documentation
We walk the roof, assess deck, insulation, drainage and moisture, and document the condition that justifies replacement. If that evidence does not support replacement, you will hear that instead.
Writing the specification
Assembly type, insulation value, slope and drainage corrections, edge and penetration detailing, and warranty requirements — set out in a document that can go to several contractors.
Contractor selection support
The specification goes to licensed roofing contractors so the bids are comparable. Three quotes describing three different scopes is the usual reason owners cannot tell which is better value.
Project oversight
We monitor the work against the specification as the licensed contractor performs it, and keep you informed rather than leaving you to interpret progress from the parking lot.
Protecting the new roof
Once the replacement is complete, a maintenance program is what stops the new assembly repeating the history of the old one.
Why building owners choose us for this
Our incentive runs the other way
We would rather have coated it. That makes a replacement recommendation from us worth something.
Specification independent of installer
Written for your building, not for the assembly a particular crew installs fastest.
Comparable bids
One specification means the quotes describe the same work, which is the only way to compare them honestly.
The drainage gets fixed
Replacement is the one chance to correct slope properly, and it is the thing most often left as it was.
Flat Roof Replacement Questions
No. We carry out the evaluation, write the specification and manage the project. The replacement work is performed by licensed roofing contractors. That division is deliberate and we would rather state it plainly than blur it.
Moisture through the assembly is the main one — saturated insulation cannot be dried from above, and coating over it seals the problem in. Beyond that: deteriorated or corroded deck, membrane failure across the whole field rather than at identifiable points, and drainage that was designed wrong from the start and can only be fixed by re-sloping.
Almost always because they describe different work. Different assemblies, different insulation values, different amounts of tear-off, different drainage provision, different warranties. Without a common specification the cheapest number usually reflects the smallest scope rather than better value, and that is the specific problem an independent specification solves.
Yes, and it is the single best opportunity you will get. Tapered insulation can add slope, drains can be relocated or added, and overflow provision brought up to standard. It is also the element most often skipped, because it adds cost to a bid and its absence is invisible until the first heavy storm.
It depends on area, the assembly specified, how much tear-off is required and the weather window. What we can do is make the program explicit up front and hold the contractor to it, rather than leaving you to work out from the parking lot whether the job is on schedule.
Then that is what the report says, and it is a good outcome. A fair proportion of the buildings we are called to about replacement turn out to be restoration and coating candidates instead. The evaluation is free, so finding that out costs you nothing.