Northmen Roofing, as a “specialty” roofing contractor, prioritizes mastering multiple skillsets/trades, researching latest products and techniques, and honing our craft of waterproofing. Tackling the most difficult challenges is in our DNA and this is likely the most apparent in our Balcony & Terrace Waterproofing specialty.
Northmen Roofing provides a “one stop shop” for balcony waterproofing which requires roofing, framing, material science, siding, door installation, custom metal fabrication, project management to coordinate the effort and that’s before you even install the liquid coating system.
Our exclusive partner and material provider for our Balcony & Terrace Waterproofing projects is Pedestrian Coatings (PUMA) products from Tremco.
Tremco Vulkem is a composite waterproofing system comprised of tough-curing liquid polyurethane. It cures to form a rubber membrane surface that provides a lasting and easy-to-clean coating. The topcoat can be smooth or textured using a colored aggregate-laden top membrane to aid in wear and slip resistance. This system may be used to apply a seamless, monolithic waterproof membrane to concrete, plywood, and primed metal surfaces.
Tremco is the same company and product line that provides the coatings for roof top pools and parking garage floors, for example. If this product can keep 1000’s of gallons of water in a pool and handle vehicle traffic it can certainly keep water out of your attic and handle years of foot traffic!
Moving on to our practical example, this waterproof balcony project took place in Longwood, FL in the summer with the bulk of the waterproofing complete within a few days.
Anatomy of this system:
- ¾” Plywood decking
- Tremco Dymonic 100 (seams)
- Tremco Vulkem 350/351 System
- No metal flashings, liquid is brought up roof deck, siding and transitions like exterior doors
Prep work included pulling back the shingle roofing products from the sides, removing a few courses of siding, remove back door, remove screen/railings and to clean the balcony surface. From here planning and preparation are key as these materials dry quickly, have exact requirements for thickness and usage and the team must operate in a coordinated manner. The Dymonic 100 is used on the seams, Vulkem base coat is applied to the balcony deck and up the roof/wall transitions to create “metal free flashings”. We install custom door pans creates in our metal shop to install at the appropriate time. The topcoat can be customized to install tile over, remain smooth in various colors or have a sanded appearance as seen in this example.
Once the waterproofing products from Tremco are installed and dry the roof deck, siding, rear door, railings, and screen are all re-installed with some finishing touches and the project is complete.
