Blocking sun/heat from roof?

C

cmantis

Guest
We have installed a 24k btu AC in the top floor but during the day gets hot and it cant keep up. One reason I think is the balcony was converted to living space and has low ceiling and not insulated as it gets really hot. Was thinking some sort of second roof or awning might help block some of this heat. Any ideas or suggestions on who to contact for such a project? Thanks in advance.
 
M

monfongo

Guest
studs, insulation, and sheet rock is about all you can do ,and maybe double pane windows if you can get them here. You have to keep the cool air inside the house.
 
J

JDJones

Guest
Bare minimum would be to pressure clean the roof and paint it white to reflect the heat.

If you're not worried about looks, you could install a second "roof" with corrugated zinc or plastic on top of spaced 2 x 6 fastened on their side to create a barrier against the sun while letting a breeze flow between the roof and the zinc.
 
U

Uzin

Guest
JDJones said:
Bare minimum would be to pressure clean the roof and paint it white to reflect the heat.

If you're not worried about looks, you could install a second "roof" with corrugated zinc or plastic on top of spaced 2 x 6 fastened on their side to create a barrier against the sun while letting a breeze flow between the roof and the zinc.
Click to expand...

We have the same issue with our roof, the first option (white paint) has been tried and I can report had near zero effect - just too much and too many hours of sun...(you can touch the ceiling in the codo at 4pm and you can feel the hot temperature, that's how bad it is.)

I heard putting rocks might help, but this is not my place to do what I like, no idea how good that is - probably economical though....

The other option of putting a second roof I think is the most effective, just pin it down hard so wind and storms don't take it off, and for hurricanes, well, get a price for a second one so you have a good deal for after that... !
 
C

Cdn_Gringo

Guest
Sheets of thick Styrofoam insulation, water/vapor barrier then covered with your 2nd roofing material.

If constructing consider insulation on both sides of exterior walls and ceilings. If you have an attic (airspace between roof and inner ceilings, consider installing ventilation fans and/or ducts to move the trapped heat back outside more efficiently.

I have seen lawn sprinklers attached to a garden hose and a water timer up on the roof to wet it down for 3 minutes every half hour. Owner reported a 4 C drop in interior temp.

But in the end, it's all about insulation - keeping the heat out and the cool in. Concrete and terracotta are big heat sinks that release the heat very slowly even after the sun goes down. This is why your house is still stifling at midnight.
 
L

lifeisgreat

Guest
Install clay roof ,only way to go ,made big difference at my place... my roof is concrete Bermuda roof under clay tiles ..
 
W

william webster

Guest
think of it this way

Would you leave your car out in the hot sun all day --??
or park it in a garage ?

Simple
 
U

USA DOC

Guest
...I was lucky with my house...The sun blockers were already there..2 avocado trees and one large mango tree...they cover most of the roof and do a excellent job, you do need to remove leaves at times...don't have any advise on how to grow them fast... and in the front of the house by the sidewalk 2 more large trees, not sure what kind, but all the neighbors park under them...….Doc......
 
Z

zoomzx11

Guest
lifeisgreat said:
Install clay roof ,only way to go ,made big difference at my place... my roof is concrete Bermuda roof under clay tiles ..
Click to expand...

Wife wanted to tile over our roof with the reddish ceramic tiles.

She wanted it for looks and I stood my ground in direct opposition for at least 15 minutes.
Our new tile over made a difference in cooling the house.
Its not exactly chilly but it made a difference and the wife is much less chilly.
 
D

Derfish

Guest
zoomzx11 said:
Wife wanted to tile over our roof with the reddish ceramic tiles.

She wanted it for looks and I stood my ground in direct opposition for at least 15 minutes.
Our new tile over made a difference in cooling the house.
Its not exactly chilly but it made a difference and the wife is much less chilly.
Click to expand...

Did you insulate as you put on the red?
 
J

johnnj2000

Guest
There is a product they sell here in the United States at Lowe's and Home Depot. This material is like a white rubber base paint like coating that they use on commercial type roofs along with Flat pitched typed roofs that absorbs and reflects the heat really good. I have used it on my home's flat pitched roof that has a rubber roof that is heat flashed at the seams and this material has cooled down the roof significantly! Along with protecting the rubber from the elements
 
C

Cdn_Gringo

Guest
That'll be great if Lowe's opens a store here in the DR. Got a name for this miracle spread?
 
Z

zoomzx11

Guest
Derfish said:
Did you insulate as you put on the red?
Click to expand...

Of course not.
My wife is Dominican, they never heard of insulation.
Once I tossed in the towel and agreed to the job she and her brothers took over the whole thing and I just watched.
Looks nice and appearance is all that matters.
I get warm I turn on the Chinese room a/c but that was back in the day when we were Class A power grid.
Now I am not coming down in the hot weather.

Can you imagine trying to explain insulation and what it does to a Dominican wife?
You lose her the second she realizes this thing called insulation cost money.
The mind just snaps closed and nothing more gets in.
Now we have a much better looking roof that the neighbors and she is very happy.
In the US it was keeping up with the Jones's, here its getting over on the Martinez's.

I have been very happily married quite a while and that is way more important than some old roof.
Every so often I tell her how beautiful the roof looks and how the neighbors roof cannot compare.
I plan on milking this roof business for a long time.
 
M

malko

Guest
johnnj2000 said:
There is a product they sell here in the United States at Lowe's and Home Depot. This material is like a white rubber base paint like coating that they use on commercial type roofs along with Flat pitched typed roofs that absorbs and reflects the heat really good. I have used it on my home's flat pitched roof that has a rubber roof that is heat flashed at the seams and this material has cooled down the roof significantly! Along with protecting the rubber from the elements
Click to expand...

Agreed. I painted my flat concrete roof with a sealer ( to replace tar ) and it works wonders in reflecting the sun/heat.
Applies like paint, but dries into a rubber sheet kind of thingy.
My primary concern was sealing, but it was a nice side-effect.
 
E

etolw

Guest
johnnj2000 said:
There is a product they sell here in the United States at Lowe's and Home Depot. This material is like a white rubber base paint like coating that they use on commercial type roofs along with Flat pitched typed roofs that absorbs and reflects the heat really good. I have used it on my home's flat pitched roof that has a rubber roof that is heat flashed at the seams and this material has cooled down the roof significantly! Along with protecting the rubber from the elements
Click to expand...


Cdn_Gringo said:
That'll be great if Lowe's opens a store here in the DR. Got a name for this miracle spread?
Click to expand...

Flex seal?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Flex-Seal-128-fl-oz-White-Dip-Rubberized-Coating/1000097850
 
C

cmantis

Guest
Cdn_Gringo said:
That'll be great if Lowe's opens a store here in the DR. Got a name for this miracle spread?
Click to expand...

Polysint Sun Reflect or Polyver Super White (2nd actually has SRI of 106 vs 105 for first). I was told can buy at Osco Dominicana (can see on their IG). I just wonder if will work as another person responded doesnt help much. We rent so dont wanna go crazy. Was thinking the second (raised) roof option would be ideal.
 
C

cmantis

Guest
I had the velarias people out thinking could do that but price was REALLY high.
 
U

Uzin

Guest
etolw said:
Flex seal?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Flex-Seal-128-fl-oz-White-Dip-Rubberized-Coating/1000097850
Click to expand...

This looks an easy job, but reading the product info it does not mention anything about insulation characteristics or if it can help reduce heat or temperature...!

Almost every to years the admin re-coat our condo roof - but this is mainly to prevent water leak, no idea what paint they use, the insulation and heat protection is the last thing on their mind, but it's white though.... !

I was interested about clay roof, that sounds fairly easy to do, so they just put a layer of clay something (maybe tiles) flat on top of the concrete roof... !? It won't leak through that and then through concrete after a while.... !? (I could suggest that to the admin !)

My condo also has one side completely exposed, so I get the heat from top and west side (used to be a large tree protecting the side, but it was cut down, and my place temperature subsequently went up by a few degrees after that...:hurt:) - the clay option could be used for the side too !? I wonder... (but these are all ideas, condo admins just do not care much about these things even if they charge for it later).
 
C

cobraboy

Guest
Clay tiles reflect 35% of sun rays, which is superior to most other roofing materials. This is why it is used so frequently in sunny climates. But spendy to buy and spendy to install.

Modern installations use refractory cement, another heat insulator.

High ceilings with ventilation are also common. It is amazing what a difference a 9' ceiling makes vs 8'. 10' even more so.

It is often the design of the structure not capturing the constant breeze that causes a lot of heat build up and not just the roof.

Some folks here do a roof-over with "designer" faux-tile aluminum panels with an airspace between the panels and roof, but that has to be spendy, and frankly looks cheesy to my eyes.

Quality bright white roof paint may be the best bang-for-the-buck solution for heat reflection.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom