Knowledge Center
Guide to Commercial Roofing Systems.

Guide to Commercial Roof Systems Knowledge Center:

THERMOPLASTICS:

Elvaloy, PVC, and PVC/Elvaloy are all roofing products grouped under the Thermoplastics roof membranes banner.

PVC or Polyvinyl Chloride membranes have been in the United States since the early seventies.

Brought over from Europe, it quickly became a product of choice due to its ability to heat weld the seams, making the sheet monolithic with superior seam strength over other types of development.

Its fire and chemical resistance is one of the many attributes that make the sheet a great candidate for a building owner.

A white reflective sheet with reinforced scrim, it is an ideal product for low-sloped roofing projects.

It can be ballasted, mechanically attached, and fully adhered over many different substates.

It was later joined by an Elvaloy and blended PVC/Elvaloy-based products which gives it slightly different chemical characteristics but with the same attributes in its ability to be heat welded.

Each manufacturer or supplier of these products provides their thermoplastic in different thicknesses, widths and colors depending on code approvals and warranties they offer.

Plus: Reinforced, light weight, reflective, chemical resistance, fire resistance, heat welded seams, Over 30 years in service.

Manufacturers Represented:

Carlisle Syntec, Fibertite, GAF, Johns Manville, Sarnafil, TREMCO.

TPO – TPO membrane is a single ply membrane made from ethylene propylene rubber. It has been around since the early nineties and has grown at very rapid pace due to its cost position in the market.

The membrane can be heat welded making it a monolothic sheet or taped depending on the preference of the owner or contractor. Similar to the PVC product it is reinforced with fabric and has a great deal of chemical resistance.

However, on like PVC it does require additional fire resistant powders or liquid to insure the fire resistance needed to meet UL and FM code requirements.

The sheet can be purchased either black or white depending on the requirements of the building owner. It is installed using mechanical fastners, adhesives and ballast depending on the design criteria of the building.

Plus: Reinforced, light weight reflective, chemical resistance, heat welded seams. Seventeen years in service.

Manufaturers Represented:

Carlisle Syntec, Firestone, GAF and Johns Manville.

EPDM-EPDM: or Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer is roof membrane that has been around since the early sixties.

A by product of the Tire industry EPDM was one of the first single ply membrane used in United States laying ground work for building owners to look at alternatives to built up roof systems.

Low cost, black, wide sheets the product installation was cleaner then the BUR roof systems that were being used at that time.

The initial process of seaming the sheets together was done using glue and adhesives which over time can be a problem depending on the applicator.

Recent technologies have allowed the use of tapes to become the applicator choice for seaming doing away with adhesives during the installation of the roof sheet.

Like PVC and TPO, EPDM roofs are put down using ballast, mechanically attached and fully adhered to meet UL and FM code approvals.

Plus: Low Cost, light weight, ultaviolet resistance, elongation. Over 30 years of installation.

Manufaturers Represented:

Carlisle Syntec, Firestone, GAF and Johns Manville.

MODIFIED BIT: Modified Bitumens come from asphalt base products as a single layer or multi layer application similar to the old built up roof systems.

It can be either torched applied or installed with liquid asphalt or cold applied adhesives.

It is a reinforced product using either polyester or fiberglass fabrics to give it strength to handle the expansion stress loads of the roof.

It is an adhered product only with the surface of the sheet available either granulated, smooth surface and or coated with weather resistance coating. Over 25 years of installations.

Plus: Reinforced, Lightweight, Heat Welded, Good Puncture Resistence

Manufacturers Represented:

Derbigum, Tamko.

BUR: Built Up Roof is multi layers of felts and asphalt installed over various substrates.

The original roofing product for most comercial low slope buildings. As building owners have moved to single ply roof systems the built up roof systems installed have declined significantly.

BUR roofs have been installed over the last 120 years.

Manufacturers Represented:

GAF and Johns Manville.

Architectural Metal – Metal roofing and particularly architectual metal roof industry is a fast growing market.

With building owners looking to inhance their sloped roof looks from the typical 3 tab shingle roof more and more roofs are looking at metal as an alternative.

The metal comes in vaious gauges and colors depending on the installation requirements of the building owner. Copper, Stainless Steel, Kynar Finished galvanized metal all being used for both commercial and residential buildings.

Metal trim and gutters can be produced to match the color of roof panel system.

Manufacturers Represented:

Merchant & Evans, Berridge, Firestone.

Slate: Slate roofs have been around a long time prior to shingles being used on residential or sloped roofs.

Although heavy and costly to install slate is a long lasting alternative to metal, shingle roof products.

Coated Roof Systems: Coated roofing is generally used for maintenance and repair of existing low sloped roofs.

It allows for reflectivity and protection to roofs that may be in the initial stage of failure. It is a low cost repair giving building owners an opportunity and time to review their roofing requirements.

NU-TEK is willing to be involved in all areas of the decision-making process to make sure that the project is done correctly from the beginning.