Single Ply Flat Roofs explained

There are typically Three types of Single-Ply Flat Roofing. PVC, EPDM & TPO each type has it own benefits.

A common question we ask our clients when looking for a New Single-Ply Flat Roof is …

Are you Looking for a Warm Roof or a Cold Roof? What is the difference you may ask? Let me explain.

The answer is : That the layers of the roof design are applied in a different order, mainly where the insulation is required to be installed determines whether the roof is a warm or a cold roof.

Typical Single-Ply warm Roof Detail

Typical Single-Ply Cold Roof Detail

The Only Difference between a Warm Roof and a Cold Roof is mainly where the insulation is positioned in the roof detail. A Warm Roof - the insulation is positioned between the deck of the roof and the membrane, where as on a cold roof the insulation is positioned between the roof joist’s under the roof deck.

There also two difference systems to fix the PVC Membrane to the Roof.

Warm Roof : Because the insulation is above the Roof Deck we use Insulation Tube Washers that go through the Insulation and membrane which allows us to fix them both to the roof deck to secure it in place, Well then over lap the membrane where the washers our in place then heat weld the membrane together,

Cold Roof : With a Cold Roof we can fix the Membrane directly to the Roof Deck using metal cleat washers and screws because the insulation is under the Roof Deck in between the roof joists, and then use the same process, overlap the membrane edges and heat weld the membrane together.