This question can be difficult to answer without seeing the specific roof. However, Four Seasons can share a general set of guidelines and is happy to meet with your business to evaluate your particular needs. A general guideline for how long different types of roofs last, in addition to some specific reasons for their deterioration:

• BUR or hot tar lasts about 15-30 years and breaks down from UV rays, no energy savings
• EPDM lasts about 10-20 years, shrinks about 3 - 4 inches per year, and tears easily with little energy savings
• Metal lasts about 15-50 years and the older metal roofs can rust, seams split due to thermal shock, and washers disintegrate
• Shingles last 15-30 years and have no energy savings
• Cedar lasts about 20-40 years and requires high maintenance

Repairing a roof works if the problem is minor (only one or two small spots) and temporary (will not occur again once fixed). However, many times, repairs are a regular occurrence, especially in the types of roofs mentioned above. Your business may find itself being ‘nickeled and dimed’ constantly for repair materials and labor because the roof is already failing and will only get worse. Additionally, some repairs may disrupt or require you to close down your business during the repair.

Replacing a roof is better if the roof is failing in major ways such as leakage, shrinkage, splitting seams, UV deterioration, bubbles, rusting caps, parapets pulling, ponding water. While this may appear to be a larger cost to your business, Four Seasons often finds that businesses save time and money in the long run by replacing their roof rather than paying for multiple repairs. And if possible (if existing roof isn't saturated and structure is sound), it's best to do an overlay on the existing roof, which is cheaper, faster, less disruptive, and more environmentally friendly, as it prevents roofing materials going into the landfills.

Although in recent years, roofing manufacturers have been creating products that are recyclable, a sad fact is that a large portion of landfill waste consists of roofing materials which aren’t recyclable.

Four Seasons understands the value that many commercial businesses are placing on the environment, and prides itself in being environmentally conscious. Four Seasons takes steps to protect the natural world while completing a project, such as recycling all possible materials including cardboard boxes, plastic, pallets, paper, Styrofoam insulation, and stones from ballasted roofing. When working on a project with The Duro-Last Roofing System, Four Seasons creates less waste going into landfills, as it can be installed over 90% of all roofs. That way, multi-millions of tons of roofing material waste does not go to landfills.

Photovoltaics, or PV for short, is a technology that converts light directly into electricity. Photovoltaics is best known as a method for generating solar power by using solar cells packaged in photovoltaic modules, often electrically connected in multiples as solar photovoltaic arrays to convert energy from the sun into electricity. To explain the photovoltaic solar panel more simply, photons from sunlight knock electrons into a higher state of energy, creating electricity. Photovoltaics are usually installed as a grid type system where the energy is “sold” or "feeds into" the energy company. With the grid system, the building owner “sells” or "feeds" the energy created by his/her photovoltaics to his/her power company such as Xcel Energy and then receives a payment from his/her energy company. These credits and pricing are county dependent. Call us or check with your particular energy company for your area on the rebates and cost incentives.

A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and soil, or a growing medium, planted over a waterproof membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems. The term “green roof” may also be used to indicate roofs that utilize some form of “green” technology, such as solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Other names for green roofs are: eco-roofs, vegetated/vegetation roofs, and living roofs.

Green roofs can:

• Reduce heating (act as an insulator) and cooling (through evaporative cooling) building costs, especially if it is encased in glass so that it acts as a terrarium and passive solar heat reservoir
• Reduces noise pollution
• Provide amenity space for building users such as replacing a yard or patio
• Grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers
• Diverts waste to landfills
• Reduce the urban heat island effect
• Filter pollutants and heavy metals out of rainwater
• Reduce storm water run off
• Increase wildlife habitat in built-up areas
• Increase roof life span
• Filter pollutants and CO2 out of the air
• Blocks electromagnetic radiation

Green roofs continue to evolve. This field has already seen some major changes in the last few years such as lighter tray systems, innovations in system design and irrigation systems, and improved soil and plant composition.

The cost of a green roof varies considerably depending on the type and factors such as the size of installation, depth of growing medium, use of irrigation, selected plants, and whether they are to be accessible or inaccessible – intensive, semi-extensive or extensive. Intensive green roofs typically require greater investment but are accessible.

An installed extensive green roof with root repellant/waterproof membranes may be installed for $10-$25 US per square foot. While green roofs are often more expensive than most roofing (about two to five times), they can extend the life of the roof membrane and reduce the heating and cooling costs of your building. Green roofs are the "coolest" roofs in energy-efficiency and in appearance.

For more information…
…about Duro-Last® Roofing
…about Energy Star Ratings
…about Calculating Energy Savings