The Future of Flat Roofing

There is a movement in the roofing industry toward what is referred to as “single-ply” roofing for flat roofs. This energy-efficient roofing is like a big (usually white) rubber roof. It lasts longer than hot tar roofing and is superior across the board. This product, which has been around since the 1960s or so, has been upgraded and changed and reinvented. It is now a standard in the industry and becoming more popular as people are introduced to it.

Single-ply roofing is basically large rolls of various combinations of rubber, PVC, plastic and various types of other chemicals. Ultimately, this material is superior to traditional hot-tar roofing and will replace it in the near future. It is heat welded, one sheet to another, to create a watertight system.

Since I have installed hundreds of thousands of square feet of hot tar roofing, I can say that it is quite involved and very dangerous. Its life span is also twenty years at best. The new single-plies are longer lasting, chemical and fire resistant, recyclable, have high reflectivity and are much easier and safer to install.

As oil prices have increased, the cost of hot-tar roofing has risen as well. Since single-ply roofing is based on plastics, rubber and other non-oil related chemicals, it is not directly subject to the oil-price frenzy. So what used to be more expensive is now competitive with hot tar.

I am not a salesman for single-ply roofing. But as a roofing contractor with some experience in the field, I would like to shed some light on a subject with which most people are not acquainted.

So if you need a flat roof redone on a property you own, it would be wise to get information on some of the various types of single-ply roof systems now available.

Written by Winnie Scherer of T & G Roofing

www.tandgroofing.com, 818-459-0702