Commercial Roofing Services
Built-Up Roofing in Green Bay, WI
Built-Up Roof Repair and Tear-Off for Green Bay's Oldest Industrial Roofs
Built-up roofing, alternating plies of asphalt-saturated felt and hot asphalt finished with a gravel cap, is still on a meaningful share of the older paper mill and industrial buildings around the Fox River corridor. We repair BUR roofs on their own terms and tell owners plainly when it is time to replace rather than keep patching.
Why So Much of This Building Stock Is Still BUR
A lot of the industrial buildings near the mills and along the older sections of downtown were roofed decades ago, before single-ply membranes and modified bitumen became the standard choice. Built-up roofing was the default commercial system for most of the twentieth century, and a well-maintained BUR roof with enough plies can run a genuinely long service life, which is why so much of it is still in service rather than already replaced.
That said, BUR is heavier and more labor-intensive to install than any current alternative, which is why it is rarely the system we recommend for new construction or full replacement today. Repair and maintenance on existing BUR roofs is a different conversation than specifying it fresh.
Gravel Ballast, Wind, and What's Actually Holding the Roof Down
The gravel cap on a BUR roof does two jobs: it protects the asphalt plies from UV degradation, and its weight helps resist wind uplift on a system that has no mechanical fastening at the field like a single-ply membrane does. Where gravel has washed away or thinned unevenly, usually at drains and low points, the exposed asphalt underneath degrades faster and the roof loses some of the wind resistance the ballast was providing.
We check gravel distribution as a standard part of any BUR inspection, since a bald patch in the ballast is often the first visible sign of a section that needs attention before it becomes a leak.
Multi-Ply Redundancy and Where BUR Still Fails
A traditional BUR roof might carry three, four, or more plies, which gives it more redundant waterproofing layers than almost any current system. Failures tend to concentrate at flashings, penetrations, and roof edges rather than the open field, since those details rely on separate flashing work rather than the continuous multi-ply assembly protecting the rest of the roof.
What Our BUR Repair Scope Covers
- Gravel ballast inspection and redistribution or replacement where thinned
- Flashing and penetration detail repair at parapets and curbs
- Moisture scanning to identify wet insulation beneath the ply system
- Localized ply patching over isolated blisters or splits
- Drain and scupper clearing to prevent ponding against low-ballast zones
The Weight Question on Older Decks
Gravel-ballasted BUR is one of the heaviest roof assemblies still in service, and on some of the oldest buildings in this market that weight was fine for the loads the structure was originally designed around but leaves little margin for added rooftop equipment or a modern snow load review. Before we add anything to a BUR roof, including a coating or an additional ply, we check what the structure was actually designed to carry.
That same weight consideration comes up whenever a plant wants to add rooftop equipment to an existing BUR roof, whether it is a new condenser unit or additional exhaust ductwork. We review the added dead load against the original structural drawings, where they exist, before signing off on a curb location, since the wrong spot can overload a section of deck that was never meant to carry point loads that concentrated.
When We Recommend Replacing BUR Instead of Repairing It
Repair makes sense when the failures are isolated: a section of degraded flashing, a patch of thinned ballast, a blister that has not spread. Once moisture scanning shows widespread wet insulation across large sections of the roof, or the plies themselves have become brittle and are cracking independent of any specific damage point, patch-and-repair stops being cost-effective and we recommend planning a full reroof instead.
Replacement on a BUR roof today almost always means moving to a different system, since the labor cost of installing new built-up roofing rarely competes with modified bitumen or single-ply alternatives that perform as well or better for less installed cost.
Built-Up Roofing Questions From Facility Managers
How do I know if our BUR roof needs repair or full replacement?
Isolated damage at flashings or ballast is usually a repair. Widespread wet insulation found through moisture scanning, or plies cracking across large sections independent of specific damage, points toward replacement instead.
Can a BUR roof be coated to extend its life?
Sometimes, if the substrate is dry and structurally sound and the added coating weight is confirmed against the roof's structural capacity first. We check that before recommending a coating over an older BUR assembly.
Why does gravel keep washing away from certain areas?
Wind patterns and roof slope both move loose ballast toward low points and edges over time. Once an area is bald, we usually see accelerated wear there compared to the rest of the roof, which is why redistribution is a routine maintenance item, not a one-time fix.
Is a BUR roof still a reasonable choice for new construction?
Rarely. The labor cost of building up multiple plies on site is high compared to current single-ply or modified bitumen systems, which is why we do not typically recommend new BUR installation except in specific retrofit situations.
How urgent is a BUR repair once a leak shows up inside the building?
We treat any active leak as urgent regardless of roof system, since water tracking through multiple asphalt plies can travel laterally before showing up inside, meaning the interior stain is not always directly below the actual roof breach.