KEMPER ROOFING SYSTEM
Has anyone ever installed a KEMPER ROOFING SYSTEM? http://www.kemper-system.com/US/eng/applications/ It’s a liquid-applied roof so it doesn’t have seams (and doesn’t use overlapping “rolls†of material that have to be glued down). Any information, experiences, anecdotes or cost/performance history would be appreciated. Thanks.
Has anyone ever installed a KEMPER ROOFING SYSTEM?
http://www.kemper-system.com/US/eng/applications/
It’s a liquid-applied roof so it doesn’t have seams (and doesn’t use overlapping “rolls†of material that have to be glued down).
Any information, experiences, anecdotes or cost/performance history would be appreciated.
Thanks.
There are comparable products to Kemper. Many contractors prefer Liquid Plastics and Siplast over Kemper for less labor intensive application. I assume this is due to the surface preparation requirements of Kemper.
Kemper usually require the substrate to be scarified. They enforce their requirements with site visits. While other manufacturers follow similar rituals, their product has less stringent requirements, that can be applied to variety of surfaces.
Hey Matt,
Glad to hear you had a good experience with your Kemper Roof. I agree with you, Kemper should not be anywhere near $50 per square foot if the right applicator is pricing it…I would guess you could do a Kemper roof and an entire green roof assembly over it for less than that!
Also, for those of you who do not know too much about the Kemper System, although the needle punched polyester fabric reinforcement overlaps in the field…the liquid resin cures thru the reinforcment creating a completely monolithic membrane edge to edge with no seams. Also, another unique feature is that unlike some of the sheet goods referred to above, the Kemper System membrane has no clamps, no termination bars, no caulks and no mechanical fasteners of any kind. These items are typically weak spots in a commodity system. It is my experience that a typical installed price in NYC could be between $16 – $20 psf. Also, the UK thing is not accurate either as NYC is currently the 2nd largest market for Kemper System Worldwide only behind Germany where these systems were invented over 50 years ago. The website is pretty comprehensive, http://www.kempersystem.net, and aside from their 6 technical field representatives in New York, they also have 4 sales associates (2 for architectural / engineering and 2 for contractors). My guess is City Skyline will price your job competitively without breaking the bank…good luck! Brian
Amazing advice – thank you all. I called City Skyline. Let’s hope it doesn’t break the bank.
Kemper roofing was developed in Germany. The first roof covered with it 40+ years ago is still in stellar condition.
We used Kemper on our own roof and I sleep better at night. One of the best decisions we made. Even though we are architects and in the trade, we did not pay anywhere near $50 sf.
You can call our roofer, whom we have highly recommended many times, and they will gladly come by to give you a free estimate. They are certified Kemper installers.
City Skyline Inc.
http://www.cityskylineinc.com
Speak with Arek Kwapinski. One of the nicest guys in the roofing industry. Tell him Matthew recommended you to him.
Honestly, i think it’s used more in Europe just because they tend to be more forward thinking in their building practices IN GENERAL. I always find resistance from contractors in the states to trying something new, even if it is vastly superior. The cost is certainly higher, and your estimate for a townhouse roof is accurate (the roof i administered was in the $45,000 range), but the only way the cost is ever coming down is for it to become more widely used. It’s just WAY better, plain and simple, and costs more because it requires a specialist and your everyday roofer wants to lay down their asphalt and call it a day.
If it’s too much, take a look at Sika Sarnafil. As i mentioned, the seams are heat cured thermoplastic, so it is about as close to liquid applied as you can get without going all-in on Kemper. It also comes in white, so you don’t have the heat sink you get with black membranes, asphalt, etc.
Thanks for the detailed answers. Yes, when I said “seamless†I meant “monolithic†in the sense that you do not have roll joint seams, etc. in the finished surface coat.
$25/sf – $50/sf eh?! That’s like $22,000 – $45,000 for a standard townhouse roof! But I guess if it lasts 25 years+ and you have lots of roof penetrations you’re concerned about – could be worth it.
It seems to be used more in Europe (UK especially) than in the US for some reason. Still can’t figure that out.
Anyway, thanks for the info.
I specified and monitored install of a Kemper roof (Kemperol 2K PUR) on a townhouse a few years back. As with other liquid applied products, it is in the luxury category as far as roofing goes. One of it’s biggest benefits is that it is monolithic. While it does, technically, have seams as mentioned above, it is a liquid-to-liquid joint, so while the felt map is modular, the end result is monolithic (if this makes sense). Because of this, liquid applied is the best for a complex roof with many penetrations, since you can just run the liquid right up any penetration (drains, vents, curbs, whatever) and it becomes part of the whole, avoiding one of the prime points of failure for a roll-applied product (even a high-end thermoplastic roll-applied such as Sarnafil, or similar which do allow you to meld seams together with heat).
The downside, also mentioned above, is cost. Kemper is expensive (although not the most expensive liquid applied), in the $50 per sf range, but comes with a 25 year warrantee if installed by a certified Kemper installer. Kemper will actually send a rep to monitor install and provide a certificate of warrantee. Additionally, it can be used as a membrane in a green roof system (if you are so inclined) as, once cured, it acts as a root barrier, whereas standard bitumen roof membranes do not. Lastly, they also offer other products, such as Kemcoat, that work in concert with Kemperol an can add an custom colored outer layer – this can be nice as the Kemper CAN be a finished, walkable surface. Long and the short – highly recommended, but pricey. I’d say if you can’t afford liquid-applied, in my experience, Sika Sarnafil is the next best as at least the seams can be joined with a heat gun making it quasi-monolithic.
Feel free to email me if you have more specific questions.
Timothy Lock, RA
tim@swisloc.com
Kemper does have seams. It is a liquid applied to and absorbed by a 3′ wide felt map. It is very good and very, very expensive. They make several different products and only a few are sold without being a certified Kemper installer. At least that was true a couple of years ago. Allied may still sell it. It’s not too hard to install if you have some roofing experience. If you have a certified installer do it be prepared to spend over $25 a sq ft, the materials cost about $7 sq ft. If properly done it is almost bullet proof and sticks to anything.