TPO roofing material

Bob - MI

Well-known Member
We are at the point where we have to repair the 20 year old low-slope metal roof on our 36,000 sq. ft. manufacturing plant and by far the best price is by using TPO material. The process will involve laying Styrofoam strips in the valleys and then covering that with a foam filled paneling material. This then becomes the decking that the TPO material is laid upon.

According to internet research this is by far the fastest growing solution for repairing industrial and commercial metal roofs. I wonder if any of you folks have experience with this and would like to know your opinions before we shell out $131,000.00 on this. I have other quotes to tear off and completely re-roof using metal at up to $270K.

Thanks in advance for your comments.
 
One thing you can do is look at recent or longer installations by other customers of the same system, see how its performed, ask about warranty issues, claims etc. It looks like a decent material, and it sounds cost effective.

I'd want to look at the details of its installation, terminations against parapets for example, need to match or be acceptable to the manufacturers details, or it could void a warranty. Same with seams. I'd really be interested in the contractors previous installations of the same material, that will also be a good source of information about same.

Its always advisable for a building owner to determine, (like you are doing) what kind of system is best, within budget, cost effective, then get more than one quote by a qualified or manufacturer certified contractor for same. Remember, the lowest bid is not always or even often times the best bid.

You'll want a contractor scope of work detailed in the proposal or bid contract documents, or anything that you sign, and make sure there are detailed warranty specifications in same, insuring you are getting whats been sold by the contractor.

Its also advisable to monitor the installation, insuring the work is done according to specifications, details to insure the installation meets the manufacturers criteria for warranty. Never a good thing to let a contractor loose without them knowing all work will be inspected progressively until completetion.
Firestone TPO
 
TPO is now in its 2 or 3rd generation of product (major reformulation) because the roofs needed to be replaced; and PVC is still using the same formulation it was using 30 years ago.

I think if you break it down to cost per year of service PVC can not be much more.
 
I've managed buildings with EDPM (rubber) PVC and TPO, for my money PVC was the best and least trouble free, TPO the worst. Disclaimer the folks putting on the roof have as much or more to do with how well the roof performs, if you get a bad roofer you'll get a bad roof. Also if they want to use Firestone products you'll want to read the warranty before you agree on using their product. The Firestone warranty gives them several ironclad exits when they don't want to stand behind it (which in my experience is any time it leaks) and if you want to sue them by accepting the warranty you agree only to sue them in Indiana, sue them anywhere else and you void your warranty. But those Firestone installers are good, heck they can drive a pickup through your parking lot, never stop or get out of the truck and know with absolute certainty that the roofing material is not to blame and if you don't send them $500 you have voided your warranty. Personaly I wouldn't use ANY roofer that recommended Firestone membranes.
 
Wouldn't have a TPO, PVC or inner tube rubber roof. I took care of a roof on a 1.2 million sq. ft. building. We had a tornado which required a full replacement. 7.2 million dollar job. We used Siplast Modified Bitumen It has been a great roofing system. I looked at roofs that had been installed 20 years before we settled on this system.Our roof had the Firestone rubber on it and leaked everywhere. The runner shrank and pulled away from all the expansion joints. Also had the PVC cant remember the name of the PVC right now but it lost its elasticity and on a cold day would brake like thin ice.
 

Our town office building has one piece rubber. There has been a leak for at least ten years next to a skylight. it has been "repaired" at least twice. It has appeared to me that when it leaks it is always during rain in the winter, so I expect that it is where the rubber meets a curb, which of course would be installation.
 

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