Tpo Roof Membrane Failures
Over the years because of the faulty chemical formulas in the past many tpo roofs have failed and needed to be recalled.
Tpo roof membrane failures. Tpo is touted to have the benefits of two of its direct competitors epdm and pvc roofs but without the drawbacks and extra costs. If you are looking to install a single ply roofing membrane that will be energy efficient and are evaluating your options consider tpo thermoplastic olefin roofing. However given the delays experienced i question whether astm d6878 will be. The roof itself should be examined twice a year and drains cleared and roof debris removed.
Because pvc was seemingly a lot more expensive many architects specifiers and building owners chose tpo membranes especially with the modern craze about cool roofs. All small problems like punctures and sealant failures should be addressed at this time to be sure that they are not causing problems that will lead to failure. This means that a tpo roof is as uv resistant and as heat resistant as epdm and as heat weldable. Although tpo roof membranes have ex perienced significant market growth the concerns raised regarding tpo membrane performance need to be addressed.
Presented by rene dupuis and helene hardy pierce at the 2015 international roofing expo. With commercial roofs one of the more common tpo roofing problems is that there is a high volume of foot traffic when compared to other types of buildings or roofing structures. The data show that when either mode of failure cracking or weight loss is considered the best performing tpo membranes are by far gaf everguard extreme 60 mil and gaf everguard extreme 50 mil neither of which failed until over 190 days. These membranes are in a performance class unmatched by any other tpo membrane.
It is made up of a single ply synthetic membrane used to cover flat and low slope roofs. The single ply membrane roofing doesn t have a hard top layer that is meant to protect the layer of synthetic rubber from things like gravel dropped tools or loose. After a few years and millions of square feet purchased tpo became the number 1 commercial roofing material installed by volume. One of the major issues with tpo roofs has been premature aging and seam failures due to prolonged exposure to intense heat.
Sri a well known and highly respected laboratory that has done testing with ul nrca and mrca independently obtained various rolls a total of 45 in all of all of the major tpo brands. A roof s life is finite but it doesn t have to be short lived. In the building industry tpo stands for thermoplastic polyolefin a synthetic rubber compound that has been extensively used for roofing since the late 1980s. These types of issues typically are best addressed within astm international by the process established for this purpose.
Membrane failures were particularly frequent in the states that experience the most heat and uv radiation all year round.