Roof Recover and Overlay in San Antonio, TX
A big share of the low-slope roofs we walk in San Antonio are candidates for a recover instead of a full replacement - and the owners don't know it. The distribution buildings along IH-35 toward Schertz, the flex parks off Loop 410 near the airport, the 1980s and 90s tilt-wall inventory around Port San Antonio - much of it carries an aging mod-bit or ballasted EPDM roof over insulation that is still dry and still attached. When that's true, code lets us install a new membrane assembly directly over the old roof: a cover board or recover board over the existing surface, then a fully adhered or mechanically fastened TPO or PVC membrane on top. The old roof stays in place as substrate. No tear-off, no exposure gap, no dumpster convoy through your truck court.
Eligibility is the whole conversation, and the International Building Code sets the first gate: a maximum of one existing roof covering may remain. If a previous owner already recovered the roof once - and on older San Antonio buildings that's common - the second recover is off the table and you're into tear-off territory regardless of condition. The second gate is moisture. The existing insulation and deck have to be substantially dry, because burying wet insulation under a new membrane doesn't fix anything; it seals the moisture in, feeds corrosion on a steel deck, destroys R-value, and voids the manufacturer warranty on the new system. We verify both gates with evidence, not by looking at the roof from a hatch.
Our verification sequence is the same on every recover candidate. First an infrared or capacitance moisture survey across the full field - infrared scans are done at dusk, when San Antonio's 160-170°F summer roof surfaces release heat and wet insulation shows up as warm anomalies. Then we cut cores: physical samples down to the deck at representative locations and at every anomaly the scan flagged. A core tells us the layer count, the insulation type and thickness, the attachment method, and whether the sample is wet in hand. We patch every core the same day. If the survey shows isolated wet areas - say under 10-15% of the field - we cut out and replace those sections and the recover proceeds. Widespread saturation ends the recover conversation honestly, before you've spent money on the wrong scope.
The cost logic is why owners ask about recovers in the first place. Tear-off carries labor to demolish and haul the old roof, landfill tipping fees, and the schedule risk of an open deck during our April-June convective season - one hail cell or a two-inch downpour on an opened roof is an interior claim. A recover deletes all of that. On a typical 40,000-60,000 square foot San Antonio roof, we see recovers land 25-40% below equivalent tear-off-and-replace numbers, with the field work often finishing in half the time. Tenants at a multi-bay flex property near Loop 1604 keep operating; a food distributor off US-281 never breaks the envelope over refrigerated space. The savings are real - provided the substrate deserved to be kept.
The cover board is the component that separates a durable recover from a cheap overlay. We don't weld new membrane straight onto an old granulated mod-bit cap or a weathered single-ply. A half-inch high-density polyiso or gypsum cover board - mechanically fastened through the old assembly into the deck, or foam-adhered where fastener penetrations are a concern - gives the new membrane a clean, flat, compatible substrate. It also buys hail resistance, which matters in a city that sits squarely in the Texas hail corridor: high-density cover boards under 60 or 80 mil membrane are the difference between cosmetic scuffing and fractured insulation facers when the spring storms track down IH-10. Several manufacturers price their severe-hail warranty endorsements around exactly this detail.
Recover is also the moment to fix what the original roof got wrong. San Antonio rain doesn't arrive politely - 30-plus inches a year, much of it in bursts that dump two or three inches in an afternoon - and we regularly find recover candidates with ponding fields and undersized scuppers. Tapered insulation crickets go in as part of the recover package to drive water to drains. Scuppers and overflow openings get resized to current code. Edge metal gets replaced with ANSI/SPRI ES-1 rated fascia and coping, which most legacy roofs lack and which is where wind failures actually start. Rooftop unit curbs get raised where the new assembly thickness would leave flashing heights short. You end up with a roof that drains and details like a new one, because functionally it is one.
Warranty outcomes are one of the quiet advantages. A properly specified recover - new cover board, new membrane, manufacturer-reviewed details - qualifies for the same 20, 25, or 30 year no-dollar-limit system warranties as a full replacement. The manufacturer inspects at completion exactly as they would on new construction. What changes is the paperwork burden up front: the manufacturer will want the moisture survey and core data in the submittal, and some require a fastener pull-test to confirm the old deck still holds withdrawal loads. We handle that documentation as a matter of course, and we hand you the survey, cores, and pull-test results in the closeout package - useful later for insurance, for appraisal, or for a buyer's due diligence.
We'll also tell you plainly when recover is the wrong call. Two existing layers means tear-off, full stop. Saturation across more than roughly 20-25% of the field means the math flips - you'd pay for a recover and still own a wet roof. A rusted or structurally suspect steel deck needs exposure and repair, not burial. Buildings changing use or adding rooftop equipment sometimes need the structural headroom that removing the old assembly provides, since a recover adds dead load the original design may not have budgeted for. And if the existing roof is a patchwork of incompatible repairs with chronic interior leaks, the substrate isn't trustworthy enough to build on. Our scope letter states which path the evidence supports and prices both when it's genuinely close.
Questions Owners Ask
How do you determine whether my roof qualifies for a recover?
Two tests, both physical. First, layer count: code permits a recover over one existing roof covering only, so we cut cores down to the deck and count what's actually up there - records are often wrong on buildings that have changed hands. Second, moisture: we run an infrared scan at dusk or a capacitance survey across the entire field, then core every anomaly to confirm wet insulation in hand. If wet area is isolated - typically under 10-15% of the field - we cut out and replace those sections and proceed. If saturation is widespread, we tell you the recover is dead and price the tear-off instead. Every core gets patched the same day, and you receive the survey map and core log whether or not you hire us for the work.
How much does a recover save compared to tear-off and replacement?
On the San Antonio buildings we scope, recovers typically land 25-40% below an equivalent tear-off-and-replace number. The savings come from three places: no demolition labor, no haul-off and landfill tipping fees, and a compressed schedule - the crew starts installing on day one instead of spending the first week removing the old roof. There's also a risk saving that never shows up on the quote: your deck is never open to the sky, which matters when April-June thunderstorms can drop two inches of rain with an hour's notice. The membrane, cover board, and detail costs are the same either way, so the bigger and simpler the roof, the larger the percentage gap.
Does a recover come with the same warranty as a new roof?
Yes, when it's specified correctly. TPO and PVC manufacturers issue the same 20, 25, and 30 year no-dollar-limit system warranties on recovers that they issue on full replacements - the membrane and details are new either way. The conditions are stricter up front: the manufacturer requires the moisture survey and core data in the submittal, may require a fastener pull-test on the existing deck, and will not warrant a system installed over wet insulation under any circumstances. That's actually protection for you, because it forces the eligibility question to be answered with evidence. Hail-endorsement upgrades tied to high-density cover boards are available on recovers too, which is worth the adder in this hail corridor.
Can my building stay open during a recover?
Almost always, and this is a main reason owners choose the approach. The existing roof stays in place as the working surface, so there's no period where the deck is open over your operations - no odor and debris raining into a sales floor, no exposure over server rooms or refrigerated storage. Fastening is the noisiest part; over occupied office or medical space we sequence the drill-and-drive work around your hours and stage it bay by bay. Loading docks and entrances get protected and kept clear by agreement, not by accident. For multi-tenant flex and retail properties around Loop 410 and Loop 1604, we provide a tenant notice schedule so nobody is surprised by crews overhead.
When is a recover the wrong decision?
Five situations end the conversation. Two existing roof layers - code says tear off. Widespread wet insulation - burying it seals in the damage and voids the warranty. A deteriorated deck - rusted steel or spalled concrete needs exposure and repair before anything goes over it. Structural load limits - a recover adds weight, and some older buildings, or buildings adding rooftop equipment, don't have the margin. And a chronically failing roof with a long history of leaks and incompatible patches - that substrate isn't worth building on. We check all five during the assessment, and if the answer is tear-off we say so in writing with numbers for both paths, because a recover sold onto the wrong roof just delays the replacement and makes it more expensive.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happens during a roof scope for Roof Recover and Overlay?
- We review roof access, the existing system, drainage, penetrations, leak or damage history, and any photos or warranty records you already have. Then we document the repair, replacement, coating, or maintenance path that fits the building and timing.
- How quickly can you look at Roof Recover and Overlay in San Antonio?
- For active leaks or storm damage, send the address, photos, access notes, and timeline through the form. Those details help us route the call, prepare the roof walk, and avoid wasting time on the first visit.
- What information helps price Roof Recover and Overlay accurately?
- The useful details are roof type, approximate square footage, age, leak locations, access constraints, tenant hours, warranty paperwork, and any insurance or capital planning deadlines. Photos of drains, seams, penetrations, and interior staining help us scope faster.