There are quite a few different types of membrane roofing systems: here is a list of some of the types of membrane roofing and a shot description on their uses: There are two main categories of roofing systems:
Low slope roofing and Steep slope roofing. Low slope roofing systems include waterproofing membranes for roof that do not have much of a slope usually slopes that are less that fourteen degrees, while Steep slope roofing installation includes watershedding roof coverings for slopes that exceed fourteen degrees.
Built-up Roof Membranes (BUR): This type of roof system is made up of alternating layers of bitumen and includes reinforcing fabrics such as roofing felts which are reinforced with glass-fiber mats or organic mats. This built-up membrane roof system uses bitumen of asphalt, coal tar and cold applied adhesive.
Surfaces for this type of roof system are aggregate which is comprised of gravel, slag or mineral granules, mineral surfaced cap sheets, glass-fiber, hot asphalt, and aluminum coatings. Polymer-modified bitumen sheet membranes: This type of membrane comprises reinforcing fabrics which act as a carrier for the hot polymer-modified bitumen.
This type of roof system is comprised of multiple layers and is usually installed as a two-ply system. There are four types of surfacing used for polymer-modified bitumen sheet membranes which include: Smooth liquid-applied surfacing, mineral surfacing, metal foil-laminate surfacing and aggregate surfacing.
Thermoplastic Membranes: This type of membrane is seamed either with heat welding using hot air or by solvent welding. This type of membrane is divided into five subcategories of thermoplastic roof membranes, but the two basic types are PVC and TPO.
1. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) are reinforced using polyester or glass-fiber mats or scrim. These polyvinyl chloride sheets consist of plasticizers and stabilizers and other additives to provide flexibility.
2. Thermoplastic Olefin (TPO) are comprised of polypropylene and ethylene propylene polymers and are reinforced with polyester and contain proprietary substances such as colorant Ultra Violet absorbers, flame retarders etc, which makes up its physical properties.
Thermoset Membranes: This type of membrane includes principal polymers which are chemically cured or vulcanized and can only be bonded to similar types of materials using an adhesive. Thermoset membranes are divided into five subcategories of roof membranes:
1) Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM)
2) Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene (CSPE)
3) Epichlorohydrin (ECH)
4) Neoprene (NR)
5) Polyisobutylene (PBI) Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) is the most common type of thermoset roof membrane used, and it contain ethylene and propylene.
These EPDM membranes are installed with adhesive or they can also be mechanically installed with ballasted.
