Alexandria, Va. (December 16, 2003) — The
EPDM Roofing Association (ERA) recently released the results of
a study comparing the warranty performance and costs of EPDM roof
systems from the past 20 years. The study was initiated to determine
the extent to which the EPDM rubber roofing membrane has improved
its long-term life cycle costs. The rubber membrane’s historical
performance reflected in the statistics of the study gives new assurance
that EPDM single ply membranes are the first choice for low maintenance,
high performance roofs. This study is available online at:
The study examined the warranty records of the
two major EPDM manufacturers in the United States, Firestone Building
Products and Carlisle SynTec, which provided a statistically reliable
analysis of roofs covering millions of square feet. “Because
warranty service records also identify when a roof was installed
and when maintenance was performed, they can provide an accurate
chronology of roof performance,” stated Jim Hoff, vice president
of marketing and technology at Firestone Building Products. “Based
on the maintenance records assessed during this study, the improvement
in performance of EPDM over the past 20 years makes the costs of
maintaining an EPDM roof for 10 years almost negligible.”
The study revealed that the performance improvement
was most significant for EPDM systems used as recovers over existing
roofs. Given the escalating costs associated with roof tear off,
and the ever-present financial constraints on building owners, a
roofing designer can take comfort knowing that a properly selected
EPDM re-cover system may provide service life at an acceptable and
predictable cost.
ERA, which was formed earlier this year to educate
the construction marketplace about the value proposition of EPDM
roofing, decided to release this study to assist building owners
and managers in long-term product performance assessment. “ERA
is working with the decision makers in the building and roofing
communities to enhance their knowledge of the roofing system options
that provide both durability and low cost, long-term performance,”
concluded Nick Shears, ERA’s Chairman and vice president of
sales and marketing at Carlisle SynTec.
About the EPDM Rubber Roofing Membrane
The EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber
roofing membrane has been an appealing choice of the low-slope commercial
roofing industry for over 40 years, with more than 500,000 warranted
roof installations on 20 billion-plus square feet. Annually, EPDM
accounts for over 1 billion square feet of new roof coverings in
the United States, and is the most frequently used roofing material
in the marketplace. Building Design and Construction magazine and
the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) confirmed in
their 2002-2003 market surveys that EPDM continues to be the number
one roofing membrane of architects, roof consultants and contractors
for both new construction and replacement roofing projects.
The EPDM Roofing Association (ERA) is the first trade association solely representing the manufacturers of EPDM single-ply roofing products and their leading suppliers. ERA provides technical and research support to the public and the construction industry, and communicates the longstanding attributes, consistency and the value proposition of EPDM rubber membrane roofing materials.
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