Commercial TPO Roof Recover in Dallas

The roof on this 11,550-square-foot commercial building in northwest Dallas had reached the point most asphalt low-slope roofs reach after a couple of decades of Texas weather: surface degradation, granule wash at the drains, and ponding patterns that told you the slope wasn't moving water the way it used to. The owner's question was the right one — does the building need a full tear-off and replacement, or is the deck sound enough underneath to recover?

Request a commercial roofing consultation — (214) 698-8443 — and we'll walk the roof with you and show you what we'd actually recommend.

Why a Recover Was the Right Call Here

A roof recover (sometimes called an overlay) installs a new membrane system directly over the existing roof rather than tearing back to the deck. The calculus is straightforward: if the existing deck is structurally sound and the existing assembly isn't holding moisture, a recover saves the owner the cost and disruption of a full tear-off while still delivering a new, manufacturer-warrantable roof. On this project the deck inspection found only minor decking damage — three gypsum panels totaling roughly 37.5 square feet — and our crew handled those repairs as part of the scope. Beyond that, the existing asphalt substrate was solid enough to receive a fleeced-back TPO membrane bonded directly to it.

The trade-off: a recover doesn't add insulation R-value to the roof assembly the way a full replacement can, and code generally requires a tear-off when slope or R-value upgrades are needed. The owner here didn't need either upgrade — the existing assembly already met the building's energy and drainage profile, with one localized exception covered below. That made the building a sound candidate for the recover path, and it shaped every line of the scope of work.

The 60 mil GAF Fleeced-Back TPO System

The system installed is a 60 mil GAF fleeced-back white TPO single-ply membrane, fully adhered with manufacturer-approved low-rise foam adhesive. The fleece backing on this membrane is what makes a direct overlay over an existing asphalt roof possible — it bonds cleanly to the substrate with foam adhesive rather than mechanical fasteners, which keeps the existing roof intact below it. White TPO membrane reflects a meaningful share of the solar load that a darker asphalt roof would otherwise absorb, which matters in Dallas summers when rooftop surface temperatures can drive interior cooling demand all day long.

All field seams were heat-welded and walked for inspection before the system released. Termination on the interior parapet wall was made just below the existing coping stones, with the coping mortar joints sealed to keep wind-driven water from finding a path behind the membrane. Penetrations, expansion joints, T-patches, fasteners, plates, and termination bars were detailed to manufacturer spec.

Tapered ISO Where Drainage Needed Help

Two areas of the roof had ponding history — a courtyard wall on the main roof and a raised section near the back corner of the smaller roof furthest from the drains. Tapered ISO insulation board was installed in those zones under the TPO to move water away from those low points and out toward the existing drainage path. This is the kind of localized fix that's clean to do as part of a recover and would otherwise require a much larger scope on a tear-off.

Pre-Finished Metal Flashings and Trim

New 24-gauge pre-finished metal flashings, drip edge, and trim were fabricated and installed at the perimeter and at every penetration. Through-wall scupper drains were formed out of 24-gauge TPO-coated metal so the drainage transitions tie into the membrane cleanly. Flashing detail is where most low-slope roof problems eventually start, and the only durable answer is to specify the metal package up front and not value-engineer it down at submittal.

Warranty Structure

This commercial roof project ships with our standard 10-year workmanship warranty covering any defect or failure of workmanship that compromises the system's watertight condition. Material is covered separately under GAF's Diamond Pledge NDL — a non-prorated, fully transferrable, material-and-labor warranty that the owner had the option to extend to 20 years. We pre-approve the manufacturer warranty with GAF before installation and handle the inspection coordination on the owner's behalf. We also recommend an annual maintenance walkthrough — debris removal and seasonal seam inspection extend the service life of any low-slope roof, and the workmanship warranty assumes that maintenance is in place.

Why Northwest Dallas Commercial Owners Choose Arrington

Northwest Dallas commercial buildings tend to share a profile: large floor plates, mixed warehouse and office use, flat or low-slope roofs originally specified in asphalt or built-up. They're strong candidates for TPO recover systems when the deck is sound and the assembly meets code. Arrington Roofing's commercial team has been a family-owned roofing contractor in Dallas since 1983, BBB A+ accredited since 1995, and an approved GAF commercial contractor. Most of our commercial work comes from office, industrial, and mixed-use property owners across DFW who've worked with us once and call us back when the next building needs attention. We serve commercial properties across the wider Dallas–Fort Worth metro.

To request a quote on a commercial TPO recover or full replacement, contact our team or call (214) 698-8443. You can see more of our completed work on the commercial projects page and read about our process, team, and history on the about page.