Roof restoration gains ground with contractor-focused solutions

By Jesse Sanchez. 

This manufacturer provides quality fluid-applied coatings, education and start-to-finish guidance for contractors. 

At the Carolinas Roofing Contractors Show, BITEC®, spoke about a trend gaining traction in the roofing sector: restoration over replacement. A company that began in 1986 as a modified bitumen membrane manufacturer, BITEC has evolved into a one-stop shop for roofing solutions, expanding its offerings under the “BITEC 2.0” initiative to meet the diverse needs of contractors. 

“We just needed to diversify our line a little bit and make sure we had products for all the different [roofing needs] to help contractors,” BITEC said. Today, BITEC’s portfolio includes the Stormbreaker™ line of fluid-applied coatings, acrylic, silicone, SEBS and urethane, each tailored for different substrates and performance requirements. 

Part of the BITEC 2.0 initiative is education, which is key to preventing costly failures. According to BITEC, “A common misconception is that a fluid-applied coating can be a miracle in a bucket and it’s really not. The existing roof substrate has to be in sound and structurally safe condition.” 

The benefits of restoration can be significant not just for the building owner, but also for contractors. In addition to extending service life and reducing landfill waste, reflective coatings help mitigate extreme heat, a growing concern across the U.S. “You’re keeping your existing roof in place, so that’s saving a lot of cost and waste,” BITEC stated, which also minimizes noise and disruption for building occupants. BITEC differentiates itself by working directly with contractors from evaluation to installation. This hands-on approach includes adhesion testing and job-specific product recommendations, avoiding the pitfalls of mismatched materials. BITEC said, “We want to make sure that we’re working with our contractors up front... ensuring that it’s the appropriate solution for the problem and that it will extend the service life of the existing roof” 

From modified bitumen and single-ply membranes to high-performance coatings, BITEC’s expanding range allows contractors to match the right solution to each project, without juggling multiple manufacturers. And with BITEC 2.0, contractors have access to the products they need, proper education and hands-on help from start to finish. For BITEC, that breadth is part of the company’s appeal: “We can be a one-stop shop to help contractors build their business.” 

This interview only scratches the surface, be sure to look deeper into product selection strategies, real-world challenges and the future of roof restoration!