Problems With Flat Rubber Roofs

One of the biggest reasons a rubber roof can fail is from improper.

Problems with flat rubber roofs.

Flat roofs are known as being problematic with many suffering leaks. The main reason for such popularity of rubber roofs is the lower initial price tag. The system is not attached mechanically. Of course flat roofs are not flat but have a very slight roof pitch of between 1 4 to 1 2 per foot.

Epdm roofs are fully adhered or as many call it glued down. While there are no components of epdm rubber roofing that promote the growth of mould or mildew it is still a risk for this reason. In the past this type of membrane has been unified with just adhesives but today both adhesives and cover tape to correct. Most people refer to a flat roof as a rubber roof.

Three most common problems with rubber roofs is improper installation shrinkage and the seams. Installing a flat roof is usually done with an epdm rubber membrane. Shingles require a little help from gravity to create a seal against leaks and with flatter roofs gravity s influence simply isn t significant enough to do the job. Flat roofs have very few options for materials due to their low pitch.

As roofs are exposed to a whole host of weather conditions and don t always have time to dry out properly in between bouts of bad weather mould and mildew can be a potential problem. Rubber roofing epdm single ply membranes is the most common flat roofing system in new england ma ct nh ri etc and the rest of us flat roofing marker. The roofing industry has known for quite some time the drawbacks of using traditional asphalt shingles on flat or low pitch roofs. This is happening in an effort to keep up the demand for production of new materials as well as the demand.

While the rubber roofs are known to be durable they also need maintained. A rubber roof known in the roofing business as an epdm ethylene propylene diene terpolymer roof has a lot of advantages and only a few disadvantages one of the big advantages to rubber is the cost although a homeowner must use a licensed installer to lay down this roof the cost of the entire job still favorably compares to the cost for other types of roofing. Rubber roofing helps to make this problem easier to solve with an inexpensive low maintenance and sometimes attractive material. To help reduce leaks and create a.

Epdm rubber may be very cheap but from the perspective of quality and longevity it is one of the least reliable flat roofs. However in my own experience the problems with leaking flat roofs are usually as a result of either poor workmanship installing the roof membrane poor maintenance by the building owner or as a result of age. It may come as a surprise to you but the roofing industry often misleads and misinforms consumers into buying products designed to fail within 15 years or less.