What is an EPDM roof?
EPDM roofing is an excellent rubber roofing solution for flat roofs where inflexibility, bad weather and faulty joints often cause leaks on roofs. If you have had a leak on a flat roof, or if you have a flat or gently sloping roof project, you will be delighted to discover the EPDM rubber cover. With billions of square feet installed, EPDM has been proven to provide many years of leak-free service. Best of all, it's easy to install.
EPDM is an ethylene rubber, propylene diene class M with the advantage of not polluting runoff. As a result, water falling from the roof can be reused for remediation purposes. As an element of the green movement is to recover rainwater, EPDM roofs are popular in green projects. The EPDM roof, like the TPO roof, is a membrane product. It is commonly used in big box stores with large open areas. Chances are there is a Walmart around an EPDM roof.
EPDM has been used as a roofing material since the 1960s. Efforts to recycle it began in the 1990s. Today, more than 1 billion square feet of new EPDM roofing is installed each year, and more than 20 billion square feet are already in place. EPA's 2007 standards raised the bar for recycling by requiring that 50% of the roofing materials used in any new project be recyclable. The EPA conducted a study in 2007 to determine if EPDM could be recycled at this level. The results have been positive, but it remains to be seen whether the recycled material can be used and produced in sufficient quantities to be feasible.
EPDM Roofing has its own professional association, the EPDM Roofing Association. This group is defined as follows. Since the early 1960s, EPDM single-ply rubber membrane roofing products have been widely accepted and respected by the industry by providing long-term, economically efficient and reliable roofing solutions to the construction industry. Their attributes include long-term guarantees, low lifecycle costs, reduced labor costs, minimal maintenance and user-friendly code approvals.
Sustained growth in EPDM roofing systems is attributed to the development of complementary technologies that have enabled EPDM roofing systems to be useful in a large number of applications. Architects and contractors now depend on these proven performance. While environmentalists and code regulators are putting more emphasis on the long-term performance of building materials, EPDM has become an increasingly obvious choice. The need to provide construction and roofing communities with current and accurate data, documenting the many benefits of EPDM roofing systems, has led to the creation of ERA.
