Roof Coating Contractors:
How to Vet, Compare
& Hire the Right One

Choosing between roof coating contractors is harder than choosing the coating. The same silicone, acrylic or polyurea that lasts a decade on one roof peels in two years on another, and the difference is almost always prep, thickness and whether the roof should have been coated at all. We manufacture spray polyurea, polyurethane and spray foam roofing systems and train the certified applicators who install them, so we see both the good jobs and the ones we are called to fix. This guide is how we would hire a roof coating contractor for our own building: what kinds of contractors do the work, how to vet them, what a complete bid includes, the red flags, and two tools to score a contractor and compare bids on equal terms.

How to vet roof coating contractors

1. Check license and insurance yourself

   Look the license up on your state or local licensing site if your area requires one for roofing. Ask for certificates of general liability and workers' compensation insurance sent directly from the insurance agent, naming you as certificate holder.

2. Confirm manufacturer approval

   If you want a manufacturer warranty, the contractor usually has to be approved by that manufacturer. Call the manufacturer to confirm. RCMA also suggests asking the coating manufacturer and NRCA for contractor referrals.

3. See roofs they coated years ago

   A new coating always looks good. Ask for addresses or contacts for roofs they coated three or more years ago, ideally the same chemistry on the same type of roof as yours.

4. Make them diagnose before they quote

   A serious contractor walks the roof, checks drains and flashings, and proposes a moisture survey or core cuts. Infrared surveys under ASTM C1153 find wet insulation that must be replaced before coating.

5. Ask how they prove adhesion and thickness

   Ask whether they do adhesion tests (ASTM D4541 pull-off testing is the method on metal) and how they will measure or document thickness: wet film gauge readings, gallons used per area, or both.

6. Get it in writing

   Scope, products, thickness, repairs, schedule, payment terms, cleanup and warranty, all in the contract. If it is not written down, it is not in the price.

What a complete roof coating bid includes

Two bids for "coating the roof" can describe completely different jobs. Before you compare prices, make sure every bid answers the same questions:

• Products by name and specification. The primer, base coat, top coat and seam materials, with the ASTM standard they meet: D6083 for acrylic roof coatings, D6694 for silicone and D6947 for moisture-cured polyurethane over spray foam.
• Thickness. Dry film thickness in mils or a coverage rate in gallons per 100 square feet, per coat. Thickness is what you are buying. A bid without it cannot be compared.
• Moisture testing and wet insulation. How wet areas will be found and how they will be priced when found, as a unit price per square foot.
• Prep. Cleaning method, rust treatment, primer, and what happens to blisters, loose seams and old patches.
• Repairs and details. Flashings, penetrations, drains, seams and fasteners, each listed, plus reinforcement fabric where used.
• Ponding. How standing water will be handled. NRCA treats water still there 48 hours after rain in drying weather as ponding, and many warranties exclude damage from poor drainage.
• Weather and schedule. Minimum temperatures and dry-time windows for the product. For water-borne coatings, RCMA's rule is 50°F and rising with no rain for 24 hours.
• Warranty. Material only, or labor and material; who issues it; length; transferability; and the inspections or maintenance it requires.

Coating types and what contractors charge

Use these ranges to sanity-check bids. A bid far below the range usually means thinner coating, less prep or no repairs; one far above should come with a reason, such as heavy repairs, difficult access or foam. Click a heading to sort.

Finding an ArmorThane roof coating applicator

We do not coat roofs ourselves. We manufacture the materials, build and supply the spray equipment, and train a network of independent certified applicators who install ArmorThane polyurea, polyurethane and spray foam roofing systems. They are not franchisees, and they are local businesses that choose our materials for their work.

We do not publish a public list of contractors. To find a certified applicator who coats roofs in your area, use our applicator search or contact our team, and we will connect you with someone who does your type of roof. Then vet them exactly as this guide describes; a good applicator will welcome the questions.

Know what you are shopping for first: our roof coating guide, spray-on roof coating, silicone roof coating and spray foam roofing pages compare the systems. If the roof is leaking now, start with commercial roof leak repair or metal roof leak repair, because the leaks have to be fixed before any coating goes on.