Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100 or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to
address the DIY crowd specifically, so they will cut to any size
in 5' increments, up to 50' wide by as long-as-you-want-it, at 44
cents/Sq.FT. Not too shabby.

One local roofing place I called will only sell in full rolls, the
smallest costing a tad over $600.00 (for just the membrane, extras
are, well, extra) with that being probably 3X as much rubber as I
need. A few others made it clear that they did not want to deal with
homeowners.

The place on the web quoted me a bit over 600 bucks based on my
ball-park sizes, but that included everything, rubber, adhesive,
termination bar for finishing the edges, the matching caulking,
flexi-tape stuff and adhesive for flashing the skylights and woodstove
flue and truck shipping from wherever the heck they are. Everything
except screws for the trim bar. That struck me as not too bad a deal.
I sprang 10 bucks for their "rubber roofing for dummies" (OK, I made
that name up) video. He is going to send along with that their
instillation book and a sample of the rubber. I will let you know what
I think when I get it and have a chance to look that stuff over.

3 local contractors gave me $2000.00+ quotes to do this roof. It is
presently done with roll roofing. I have lived here 20 years and have
replaced that roof 4 times. The rest of the roof on the house has been
fine (redone last year after 19 years, who knows how old it was when I
bought the house), but this one dosen't seem to hold up so well. The
exposure and the trees and stuff do beat on it, and the roof is very
old and a bit flexy. In any event, I would like to do this and not
have to worry about it again for lots-O-years.

A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 18:25:22 -0400, the opaque Al A.
clearly wrote:

Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100 or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to

I wonder if the EDPM used for ponds is same/different formula.
You might check with the local pond/pool suppliers to see if
they can get the roofing type rubber for you.


-----------------------------------------
Jack Kevorkian for Congressional physician!
http://www.diversify.com Wondrous Website Design
=================================================

do you really mean "rubber" - if so, unless you intend for it to be covered
with snow or dirt or something, it's unlikely to last a year. If it's
polyproplene, I've seen it last up to 6 months in the sun. Why not use real
roofing paper (90# felt)???, the kind with white rocks holds up best in
bright sun.

"Al A." wrote in message
...
Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100 or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to
address the DIY crowd specifically, so they will cut to any size
in 5' increments, up to 50' wide by as long-as-you-want-it, at 44
cents/Sq.FT. Not too shabby.

One local roofing place I called will only sell in full rolls, the
smallest costing a tad over $600.00 (for just the membrane, extras
are, well, extra) with that being probably 3X as much rubber as I
need. A few others made it clear that they did not want to deal with
homeowners.

The place on the web quoted me a bit over 600 bucks based on my
ball-park sizes, but that included everything, rubber, adhesive,
termination bar for finishing the edges, the matching caulking,
flexi-tape stuff and adhesive for flashing the skylights and woodstove
flue and truck shipping from wherever the heck they are. Everything
except screws for the trim bar. That struck me as not too bad a deal.
I sprang 10 bucks for their "rubber roofing for dummies" (OK, I made
that name up) video. He is going to send along with that their
instillation book and a sample of the rubber. I will let you know what
I think when I get it and have a chance to look that stuff over.

3 local contractors gave me $2000.00+ quotes to do this roof. It is
presently done with roll roofing. I have lived here 20 years and have
replaced that roof 4 times. The rest of the roof on the house has been
fine (redone last year after 19 years, who knows how old it was when I
bought the house), but this one dosen't seem to hold up so well. The
exposure and the trees and stuff do beat on it, and the roof is very
old and a bit flexy. In any event, I would like to do this and not
have to worry about it again for lots-O-years.

A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.

My local home store stocks the EDPM stuff in 10'x20' rolls, other sizes
special order in a week. Around $80 per roll IIRC www.Menards.com

Al A. wrote:
Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100 or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to
address the DIY crowd specifically, so they will cut to any size
in 5' increments, up to 50' wide by as long-as-you-want-it, at 44
cents/Sq.FT. Not too shabby.

One local roofing place I called will only sell in full rolls, the
smallest costing a tad over $600.00 (for just the membrane, extras
are, well, extra) with that being probably 3X as much rubber as I
need. A few others made it clear that they did not want to deal with
homeowners.

The place on the web quoted me a bit over 600 bucks based on my
ball-park sizes, but that included everything, rubber, adhesive,
termination bar for finishing the edges, the matching caulking,
flexi-tape stuff and adhesive for flashing the skylights and woodstove
flue and truck shipping from wherever the heck they are. Everything
except screws for the trim bar. That struck me as not too bad a deal.
I sprang 10 bucks for their "rubber roofing for dummies" (OK, I made
that name up) video. He is going to send along with that their
instillation book and a sample of the rubber. I will let you know what
I think when I get it and have a chance to look that stuff over.

3 local contractors gave me $2000.00+ quotes to do this roof. It is
presently done with roll roofing. I have lived here 20 years and have
replaced that roof 4 times. The rest of the roof on the house has been
fine (redone last year after 19 years, who knows how old it was when I
bought the house), but this one dosen't seem to hold up so well. The
exposure and the trees and stuff do beat on it, and the roof is very
old and a bit flexy. In any event, I would like to do this and not
have to worry about it again for lots-O-years.

A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.

Ask about "Modified bitumen" membrane. I have it on my 30k' flat roof. You
can do it yourself and cold bond or melt-down. 50 years with occasional
coating, preferably aluminized. MAGIC!!!

"Al A." wrote in message
...
Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100 or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to
address the DIY crowd specifically, so they will cut to any size
in 5' increments, up to 50' wide by as long-as-you-want-it, at 44
cents/Sq.FT. Not too shabby.

One local roofing place I called will only sell in full rolls, the
smallest costing a tad over $600.00 (for just the membrane, extras
are, well, extra) with that being probably 3X as much rubber as I
need. A few others made it clear that they did not want to deal with
homeowners.

The place on the web quoted me a bit over 600 bucks based on my
ball-park sizes, but that included everything, rubber, adhesive,
termination bar for finishing the edges, the matching caulking,
flexi-tape stuff and adhesive for flashing the skylights and woodstove
flue and truck shipping from wherever the heck they are. Everything
except screws for the trim bar. That struck me as not too bad a deal.
I sprang 10 bucks for their "rubber roofing for dummies" (OK, I made
that name up) video. He is going to send along with that their
instillation book and a sample of the rubber. I will let you know what
I think when I get it and have a chance to look that stuff over.

3 local contractors gave me $2000.00+ quotes to do this roof. It is
presently done with roll roofing. I have lived here 20 years and have
replaced that roof 4 times. The rest of the roof on the house has been
fine (redone last year after 19 years, who knows how old it was when I
bought the house), but this one dosen't seem to hold up so well. The
exposure and the trees and stuff do beat on it, and the roof is very
old and a bit flexy. In any event, I would like to do this and not
have to worry about it again for lots-O-years.

A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.

Al A. wrote:


A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.


I had a very small EPDM roof done several years ago by a friend of mine
who ran a roofing company. The roof only lasted a few years then
started to crack. EPDM seems to work well in a ballasted situation,
where gravel is placed on top to hold it down and shield it from the
sun. You didn't say whether yours was to be ballasted or not, but the
rubber that was used on my roof didn't last when exposed fully to the
elements.

Have you considered modified bitumen (torch down) roofing? It comes in
much smaller rolls, about $40 each last time I checked. It's a little
more tricky to put down since it has to be melted, but once you get the
hang of it, it goes pretty well. It has a mineral surface to protect
from UV exposure. If you have any quantity to do at all, I recommend
buying a roofing torch intended for this operation. Makeshift torches
(such as I have used) are more trouble than they're worth.

EPDM is really intended for large production jobs since it can be
readily made in such large rolls.

Gary Brady
Austin, TX

Al A. wrote:
Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100 or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to
address the DIY crowd specifically, so they will cut to any size
in 5' increments, up to 50' wide by as long-as-you-want-it, at 44
cents/Sq.FT. Not too shabby.

One local roofing place I called will only sell in full rolls, the
smallest costing a tad over $600.00 (for just the membrane, extras
are, well, extra) with that being probably 3X as much rubber as I
need. A few others made it clear that they did not want to deal with
homeowners.

The place on the web quoted me a bit over 600 bucks based on my
ball-park sizes, but that included everything, rubber, adhesive,
termination bar for finishing the edges, the matching caulking,
flexi-tape stuff and adhesive for flashing the skylights and woodstove
flue and truck shipping from wherever the heck they are. Everything
except screws for the trim bar. That struck me as not too bad a deal.
I sprang 10 bucks for their "rubber roofing for dummies" (OK, I made
that name up) video. He is going to send along with that their
instillation book and a sample of the rubber. I will let you know what
I think when I get it and have a chance to look that stuff over.

3 local contractors gave me $2000.00+ quotes to do this roof. It is
presently done with roll roofing. I have lived here 20 years and have
replaced that roof 4 times. The rest of the roof on the house has been
fine (redone last year after 19 years, who knows how old it was when I
bought the house), but this one dosen't seem to hold up so well. The
exposure and the trees and stuff do beat on it, and the roof is very
old and a bit flexy. In any event, I would like to do this and not
have to worry about it again for lots-O-years.

A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.


Butyl rubber and EDPM are both expensive materials and the life of
the job is very dependant on the detailing of joints, edges,
gutters and penetrations. Manufacturers won't guarantee the job
unless the work is done by an authourised contractor. The most
forgiving materials are the old bitumen based products which are
built up in multiple layers. Butyl rubber is a good material
which will last well over 40 years if properly applied to a good
surface. You may have to re-sheath your roof with ply or fibrous
cement sheet sarking. Get a manufacturer's data sheet and study it
carefully.
Some good information on Butynol he-
http://www.butynol.co.nz/butynol_roofing.htm

"Al A." wrote in message
...
Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100 or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to
address the DIY crowd specifically, so they will cut to any size
in 5' increments, up to 50' wide by as long-as-you-want-it, at 44
cents/Sq.FT. Not too shabby.

One local roofing place I called will only sell in full rolls, the
smallest costing a tad over $600.00 (for just the membrane, extras
are, well, extra) with that being probably 3X as much rubber as I
need. A few others made it clear that they did not want to deal with
homeowners.

The place on the web quoted me a bit over 600 bucks based on my
ball-park sizes, but that included everything, rubber, adhesive,
termination bar for finishing the edges, the matching caulking,
flexi-tape stuff and adhesive for flashing the skylights and woodstove
flue and truck shipping from wherever the heck they are. Everything
except screws for the trim bar. That struck me as not too bad a deal.
I sprang 10 bucks for their "rubber roofing for dummies" (OK, I made
that name up) video. He is going to send along with that their
instillation book and a sample of the rubber. I will let you know what
I think when I get it and have a chance to look that stuff over.

3 local contractors gave me $2000.00+ quotes to do this roof. It is
presently done with roll roofing. I have lived here 20 years and have
replaced that roof 4 times. The rest of the roof on the house has been
fine (redone last year after 19 years, who knows how old it was when I
bought the house), but this one dosen't seem to hold up so well. The
exposure and the trees and stuff do beat on it, and the roof is very
old and a bit flexy. In any event, I would like to do this and not
have to worry about it again for lots-O-years.

A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.

EPDM makes a great roof as long as it's not subject to a lot of physical
damage. It's easy to repair with tape if it does get a cut. Firestone makes
a mesh reinforced .045 that's a bit stronger than the usual .045. Fully
adhered on an approved substrate is probably the best way to go for your
situation.
The right built up roof is still the ultimate low pitch/flat roof, but
unless you spring big bucks for Tremco or want to deal with heating up real
pitch, not that great an option in your case. Cold applied modified bitumen
is a viable option. Torch applied is way too dangerous, especially on a
wooden structure IMHO.

Check with local RV dealers that work on trailers. They buy rubber
roofing all the time for RV's. May be ripoff artists too! Sounds like
the WEB source is your best bet.
Bugs

"Al A." wrote in message
...
Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100 or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to
address the DIY crowd specifically, so they will cut to any size
in 5' increments, up to 50' wide by as long-as-you-want-it, at 44
cents/Sq.FT. Not too shabby.

One local roofing place I called will only sell in full rolls, the
smallest costing a tad over $600.00 (for just the membrane, extras
are, well, extra) with that being probably 3X as much rubber as I
need. A few others made it clear that they did not want to deal with
homeowners.

The place on the web quoted me a bit over 600 bucks based on my
ball-park sizes, but that included everything, rubber, adhesive,
termination bar for finishing the edges, the matching caulking,
flexi-tape stuff and adhesive for flashing the skylights and woodstove
flue and truck shipping from wherever the heck they are. Everything
except screws for the trim bar. That struck me as not too bad a deal.
I sprang 10 bucks for their "rubber roofing for dummies" (OK, I made
that name up) video. He is going to send along with that their
instillation book and a sample of the rubber. I will let you know what
I think when I get it and have a chance to look that stuff over.

3 local contractors gave me $2000.00+ quotes to do this roof. It is
presently done with roll roofing. I have lived here 20 years and have
replaced that roof 4 times. The rest of the roof on the house has been
fine (redone last year after 19 years, who knows how old it was when I
bought the house), but this one dosen't seem to hold up so well. The
exposure and the trees and stuff do beat on it, and the roof is very
old and a bit flexy. In any event, I would like to do this and not
have to worry about it again for lots-O-years.

A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.



Is thus stuff solid rubber or more of a closed cell foam?

We bought some of the latter material that is adhesive backed in 1/32" and
1/16" thicknesses at work a while back for another purpose and I've been
wondering if it was made for some sort of roofing application.

I've used both the bitumen with liquid tar/adnesive and the torch down
style. Both have been in service for several years with no issues. Not
sure which was the better route, both were a lot of work. I think the
torch down gives a neater install. Neither is suitable for a roof that
does not drain completely. 1/4" per foot is enough.

Gary Brady wrote:

Al A. wrote:


A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.



I had a very small EPDM roof done several years ago by a friend of mine
who ran a roofing company. The roof only lasted a few years then
started to crack. EPDM seems to work well in a ballasted situation,
where gravel is placed on top to hold it down and shield it from the
sun. You didn't say whether yours was to be ballasted or not, but the
rubber that was used on my roof didn't last when exposed fully to the
elements.

Have you considered modified bitumen (torch down) roofing? It comes in
much smaller rolls, about $40 each last time I checked. It's a little
more tricky to put down since it has to be melted, but once you get the
hang of it, it goes pretty well. It has a mineral surface to protect
from UV exposure. If you have any quantity to do at all, I recommend
buying a roofing torch intended for this operation. Makeshift torches
(such as I have used) are more trouble than they're worth.

EPDM is really intended for large production jobs since it can be
readily made in such large rolls.

Gary Brady
Austin, TX

Thanks for all of the replies.
This would not be a ballasted instillation. It would be going over a
plywood surface, as the roll roofing that is there will need to be
stripped anyhow.

I will look into the Modified bitumen systems some of you guys
mentioned. Probably have to do the cold-bond, doing it with a torch is
maybe a bit more than I feel up to, and would, without question, put
my wife over the edge. So to speak.

Anyhow, I do beleive that EDPM is the stuff that commonly gets put on
trailer and mobile homes, I saw lots of reference to that in my web
searching.

I like the idea of a 40 year soloution to this. By then it will
likely be someone elses problem. Still not sure how to go with this,
but will let you know what I come up with. Thanks for all of the food
for thought!!

-AL

"Al A." wrote in message
...
Thanks for all of the replies.
This would not be a ballasted instillation. It would be going over a
plywood surface, as the roll roofing that is there will need to be
stripped anyhow.

I will look into the Modified bitumen systems some of you guys
mentioned. Probably have to do the cold-bond, doing it with a torch is
maybe a bit more than I feel up to, and would, without question, put
my wife over the edge. So to speak.

Anyhow, I do beleive that EDPM is the stuff that commonly gets put on
trailer and mobile homes, I saw lots of reference to that in my web
searching.

I like the idea of a 40 year soloution to this. By then it will
likely be someone elses problem. Still not sure how to go with this,
but will let you know what I come up with. Thanks for all of the food
for thought!!

-AL

Ballasted EPDM roofs were pretty much a disaster. The seams failed
prematurely because they stayed wet all of the time. Fully adhered, exposed
EPDM is used on many nearly flat commercial roofs. It is usually good for 15
to 20 years. Most failures occur in seams or flashing, almost never in the
field of the roof except for physical damage due to vandalism or equipment
installs. An EPDM roof without seams and with a slight pitch should last
WELL over 20 years. Installing it right over the existing plywood may leave
it vulnerable to nail pops. A foam interface with approved fasteners would
be better than your old plywood deck.

"ATP*" wrote in message ...
Installing it right over the existing plywood may leave it vulnerable to nail
pops. A foam interface with approved fasteners would be better than your old
plywood deck.

When I walk on the rubber roof of the building where I work, it feels like
I am walking on a gym mat. There is definately some kind of padding under the
rubber. I always assumed it to be some sort of foam.

Vaughn

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 18:25:22 -0400, Al A.
wrote:

Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber.

An acquaintance put a metal roof on his shed / barn by himself
recently. He described the procedure to me when I was over to see the
new construction and it seemed pretty simple -basically put it in
place and screw it down using a special screw with a gasket. I don't
know if a metal roof would work for a really flat roof, but it sure
looked durable.

RWL


******* Recreate gaps in email address to reply *******

"Vaughn" wrote in message
...

"ATP*" wrote in message
...
Installing it right over the existing plywood may leave it vulnerable to
nail pops. A foam interface with approved fasteners would be better than
your old plywood deck.

When I walk on the rubber roof of the building where I work, it feels
like I am walking on a gym mat. There is definately some kind of padding
under the rubber. I always assumed it to be some sort of foam.

Vaughn


In NY, it's typically polyisocyanurate tapered foam with some fiber
reinforcement on the top and bottom. The roof is all figured out by the
manufacturer and laid out so the tapered panels create slopes to drains.

There are a couple of brands. we have "Butynol" on our roof, which is held
down with contact adhesive.
Another brand is a torch on system called Nuraply. IMO, the torch on ones
are better as you melt the sheets together, so there is less chance of a
leak, especially in corners.
The common use for the stuff is for internal gutters.

The proper name for the material is EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene
Monomer). Yes it is the same stuff marketed for lining "frog
ponds". We have had several roofs using the material and have
done away with all of them. We use modified bitumen roofing, hot
applied, exclusively. It does not like ponded water. Roofs
should have 1/4"/foot minimum fall. It does not fail because of
the ponded water, but seems to discolor and deteriorate faster and
grow mold or pond scum.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"Al A." wrote in message
...
Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back
of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores
and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They
said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me
that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info
goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems
to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100
or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to
believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find
these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info
over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to
address the DIY crowd specifically, so they will cut to any size
in 5' increments, up to 50' wide by as long-as-you-want-it, at
44
cents/Sq.FT. Not too shabby.

One local roofing place I called will only sell in full rolls,
the
smallest costing a tad over $600.00 (for just the membrane,
extras
are, well, extra) with that being probably 3X as much rubber as
I
need. A few others made it clear that they did not want to deal
with
homeowners.

The place on the web quoted me a bit over 600 bucks based on my
ball-park sizes, but that included everything, rubber, adhesive,
termination bar for finishing the edges, the matching caulking,
flexi-tape stuff and adhesive for flashing the skylights and
woodstove
flue and truck shipping from wherever the heck they are.
Everything
except screws for the trim bar. That struck me as not too bad a
deal.
I sprang 10 bucks for their "rubber roofing for dummies" (OK, I
made
that name up) video. He is going to send along with that their
instillation book and a sample of the rubber. I will let you
know what
I think when I get it and have a chance to look that stuff over.

3 local contractors gave me $2000.00+ quotes to do this roof. It
is
presently done with roll roofing. I have lived here 20 years and
have
replaced that roof 4 times. The rest of the roof on the house
has been
fine (redone last year after 19 years, who knows how old it was
when I
bought the house), but this one dosen't seem to hold up so well.
The
exposure and the trees and stuff do beat on it, and the roof is
very
old and a bit flexy. In any event, I would like to do this and
not
have to worry about it again for lots-O-years.

A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in
general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing,
I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to
look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I
nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

Thanks,
AL A.

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 18:25:22 -0400, Al A.
wrote:

Hi All,

I am looking into reroofing a low pitched shed roof on the back of my
house with rubber. I checked at a few local Home Despot stores and
local lumber\home places, none carry rubber roofing stuff. They said
"Well....Maybe we can order it in, but..." which only tells me that
they will be absolutely no help so far as installation info goes, or
if I come up short of stuff, etc.

I did some Googling around on the web. Amazing that there seems to be
only one(!) company in the US of A that markets this stuff to
the DIY market. At least on the web. There seem to be about 100 or
more in the UK, and europe but nothing else here. Hard to believe. Try
googling DIY rubber roofing, you will see what I mean.I did find these
guys:

http://frs.flatroofsolutions.com/

I gave them a call, they come across well. Lots of good info over the
phone, spent all the time I cared to talk and gave me a quote.
They are selling Firestone EDPM membrane roofing, and trying to
address the DIY crowd specifically, so they will cut to any size
in 5' increments, up to 50' wide by as long-as-you-want-it, at 44
cents/Sq.FT. Not too shabby.

One local roofing place I called will only sell in full rolls, the
smallest costing a tad over $600.00 (for just the membrane, extras
are, well, extra) with that being probably 3X as much rubber as I
need. A few others made it clear that they did not want to deal with
homeowners.

The place on the web quoted me a bit over 600 bucks based on my
ball-park sizes, but that included everything, rubber, adhesive,
termination bar for finishing the edges, the matching caulking,
flexi-tape stuff and adhesive for flashing the skylights and woodstove
flue and truck shipping from wherever the heck they are. Everything
except screws for the trim bar. That struck me as not too bad a deal.
I sprang 10 bucks for their "rubber roofing for dummies" (OK, I made
that name up) video. He is going to send along with that their
instillation book and a sample of the rubber. I will let you know what
I think when I get it and have a chance to look that stuff over.

3 local contractors gave me $2000.00+ quotes to do this roof. It is
presently done with roll roofing. I have lived here 20 years and have
replaced that roof 4 times. The rest of the roof on the house has been
fine (redone last year after 19 years, who knows how old it was when I
bought the house), but this one dosen't seem to hold up so well. The
exposure and the trees and stuff do beat on it, and the roof is very
old and a bit flexy. In any event, I would like to do this and not
have to worry about it again for lots-O-years.

A couple of questions. Any thoughts on doing rubber roofs in general?
Any of you guys done this before? I have done lots of roofing, I've
just never worked with rubber before. Any hints, or gotchas to look
out for? Anyone ever dealt with the place linked above? Am I nuts?

Appreciate any and all thoughts.

My neighbor has done it on a flat roof. No problem after two years
and two MN winters, seems to work fine.

He noted that the stuff is extremely heavy. Not a problem for the
roof, but he had a hell of a time getting it up there.