Protecting us against the elements, and delivering sustenance from the sky, the Bermuda roof is an important element in what makes the island unique.
Our roofs also keep us cool in the summer and look pretty on a postcard – but it’s their ability to withstand even the harshest of storms that makes them particularly worth celebrating at this time of year.
The Bermuda TrueRoof system, a product of Bermuda Paint Company Ltd, is a popular alternative to the traditional slate roof that has long been a feature of the island’s buildings.
The BTR system consists of an interlocking series of 1.5-inch expanded polystyrene foam panels imported from Nova Scotia. The “type two” panels, denser than the type one panels sometimes used in roofs of this type, are attached as 4.25-square-foot interlocking pieces.
Richard Moulder, general manager of Bermuda Paint, explained the process of installing a BTR system.
“You install cement board onto your wooden framing. Then you take an adhesive and apply it to the cement board with a trowel. That is how you adhere the type two panels, which interlock.
“After that’s done, and it’s set, you mix BTR Cement Additive with the Bermuda TrueRoof fibred cement to a consistency that you can brush it over the foam panel. That’s what seals everything.
“After that’s done, you apply the Acriseal Penetrant Primer, one coat of that, and then you apply two coats of the Bermuda Roof Guard elastomeric coating.”
Bermuda Paint imports the BTR fibred cement, but the Bermuda Roof Guard elastomeric coating, the Acriseal Penetrant Primer and the BTR Cement Additive are made at the company’s 8,000-square-foot manufacturing and storage facility on Watlington Road West, off Brighton Hill in Devonshire, which also features a 2,500-square-foot retail shop.
Built to withstand storms
The decorative roof system, which can resemble a traditional stepped slate roof or can be installed as flat pieces, has been withstanding the worst of Atlantic hurricane seasons since coming to market in 2009.
Since conception, Mr Moulder said the BTR roof system has not had a roof failure, when installed by a professional and abiding by Bermuda Paint’s strict installation code.
That ability to withstand the strongest storms is due in large part to the interlocking nature of the foam panels.
Mr Moulder said: “The whole roof is conjoined; it is all glued together as one massive piece. Its durability is also to do with the venting of the panels as well. I’m not putting down a slate roof, but at the same time, we are going to run out of slate at some point in time. It’s hard to get even now.”
He added: “When you put up a slate roof, you’re putting in 12-by-18-inch pieces of slate, one on top of the other. With the foam roof, you’re putting down four-by-eight-foot sheets of cement board over the whole structure of your roof and then gluing the panels to the board. You can also use wind screws, or you can staple the panels to it.
“Even though it’s a light roof system, the structure of it is stronger than a slate roof, because when the wind gets under a slate roof, all you need is one of those slates to come up, and then it’s the domino effect – all of it comes up.”
Other benefits
In the long term, the BTR system is also cost-effective.
Mr Moulder said: “When you have an inch and a half of type two foam on top of your roof, first of all, it’s an insulator, so your cooling bills would be less, and your heating bills would be less.”
The materials used with the BTR system are more efficient at collecting water, while maintenance is cheaper.
He added: “A slate roof also has to be painted about every 18 months to two years. With the BTR system, you can get on average about four years before you have to repaint it.”
As the company’s product, Bermuda Roof Guard, is used for the collection of potable water, Bermuda Paint – by law and directed by the Bermuda Health Department – sends samples of its coating to Britain, which the company is in the process of completing now, to be tested every five years for its safe use as a potable water surface.
The Devonshire company, which was founded in 1957, remains the island’s only paint manufacturer. It operates with seven staff and markets a settled product line.
Mr Moulder said: “The majority of our business is the products that we make and manufacture. Those are the paints, the BTR Roof Adhesive that is made for the Bermuda True Roof system, the Bermuda Roof Guard topcoat, and the cement additive that goes in the BTR fibre cement that gives a roof its strength and flexibility.”
He added: “We’ve been here a long time, and our products work. They are high-quality and are developed for the Bermuda climate. They are 100 per cent made for Bermuda, and 100 per cent made by Bermudians.”
