Although you might be familiar with roofs made of tin, slate or shingle – what about rubber roofing? Isn’t that only for mental institutions? Nope. Rubber roofing may be suitable for every kind of edifice. You needn’t be concerned that your roof will end up resembling red rubber balls – unless that’s your desire! Slate gray and black are the typical colors for rubber roofing material.
What’s Good About Rubber Roofing?
Well, first rubber roofing is not actually made entirely of rubber. This roofing material is called thermoset EPDM roofing. It consists mostly of rubber polymers, similar to those found in tires. The tire-maker Firestone is actually a leading manufacturer of rubber roof material.
What factors make rubber roofing an attractive choice?
Installation is not as difficult as with individual shingles or corrugated seam construction. Since it takes less time to install, you’ll pay your roofer less to get the job done.
If you want to get the advantages of rubber roofing, you might not have to remove your existing roof. Rubber roofing may be placed on top of an existing roof, if it is structurally sound. But if there are major areas of damage, it is better to remove the old roof.
In Britain, rubber roofing is regarded as a green building material since it biodegrades.
Simple upkeep, Longer lifespan due to the lack of rigidity for rubber roofing. Because it breathes more, it suffers less stress than other types of roofing (asphalt, for example) because it can cope with changes in the weather. Rubber roofing, then, is fine in harsh weather conditions.
This type is ideal for flat roofs, which is the typical configuration of industrial type structures.
Longer lifespan – rubber type roofing can hold up for as long as 5 decades. Firestone EDPM roofing boasts that it is completely resistant to cracking and splitting.
Rubber Roof Trivia
The very first rubber roof is still in use today. It was installed in Wisconsin in 1980.
There is a big hotel in Dubai called the Burj Al Arab Hotel. It is an interesting curved building that looks a little bit like a sailboat on the Dubai coast. What kind of roof does it have? If you guessed rubber roofing – you’d be right!
Britain’s Barclaycard Headquarters features rubber roofing as well. Barclaycard is among the largest banks in the UK.
It may be possible to cover a flat roof with just one 20′x100′ sheet, with minimal need to cut and make adjustments.
Many manufacturers of rubber roofing have high standards for contractors that use them. The contractor has to be certified by the rubber roofing manufacturer in order to sell their roofs..
