Why Do Flat Rubber Roofs Have Stones On Them

Modified bitumen roofs are a mix of asphalt and rubber with a layer of gravel embedded in the top layer of material during manufacture to provide uv protection.

Why do flat rubber roofs have stones on them.

For mineral based felting the pebbles are there to help protect the felting as ballast depending on the fitting type and to help prevent water pooling aparantly. The majority of them are familiar with asphalt shingles and do not have much experience in flat roof materials. Having a large flat roof this is something that i pondered on too. Your roofing merchants can supply the stones.

In the summer it gets pretty soft and if left to its own devices would flow to the lowest point on the roof. To help reduce leaks and create a. Pebbles or small rocks spread several inches thick over the outer roof mem. These small stones are worth more than their weight in the protection they offer for underlying roofing materials and the barrier they provide to external elements like ultraviolet rays and harsh weather elements.

The stones force it to stay put. A flat roof will have several layers of a thin membrane made of tar asphalt and or bitumen material. Rubber roofing epdm single ply membranes is the most common flat roofing system in new england ma ct nh ri etc and the rest of us flat roofing marker. 3 to protect the roofing felt from perishing and heat melting the bitumen.

A flat roof typically has a rubber or asphalt impregnated membrane. These materials provide the waterproof barrier that contains and sheds the water to protect the roof structure. All roofing contractors are not equal. We had to replace a big portion of our flat roof recently.

Shingles require a little help from gravity to create a seal against leaks and with flatter roofs gravity s influence simply isn t significant enough to do the job. The roofing industry has known for quite some time the drawbacks of using traditional asphalt shingles on flat or low pitch roofs. In a typical tar and gravel roof which by the way is gradually being supplanted by gravelless roof systems you put down a layer of tar paper then tar and finally gravel. 2 to break up the rain into fine mists and keep the noise level down.

The gravel also acts as a protective measure to prevent natural debris such as leaves from flowing towards and clogging the drains of the flat roof instead trapping them in place. Most people refer to a flat roof as a rubber roof. A two ply modified bitumen torch down rubber roof with embedded ceramic granules is the best roofing system on the market. Though primarily confined to built up asphalt roofing systems it can be applied to single ply epdm rubber based membranes as well.

However both rubber and asphalt will lose plasticizers and other v. However rubber roofs have many inherent. A layer of pebbles can substantially extend the life of a flat roof.