TPO Roofing

DOW invented TPO Roofing in the early 1990’s. From there TPO Roofing means “Thermalplastic Olefin” roofing. TPO membranes are made from ethylene propylene rubber, and are a combination of rubber and hot air welded seams. The benefits here are obvious. They have excellent resistance to ozone, resist algae, environmentally friendly and safe to install. The material is often as a monolithic (seamless) roof. TPO is highly tear resistant, resists impacts, and resists punctures with good flexibility to allow for building movement. TPO’s are available in white, light gray, and black with thicknesses of either 45 mils (.045″) or 60 mils (.060″). The width of the membrane depends on the manufacturer but they usually come in widths of six to six-and-a-half feet and are one hundred feet in length.

So it comes down to the scenario that TPO Roofing is considered fully-adhered roofing. In other words, adhesive attaches the roofing membrane to the substrate material, forming a strong chemical bond. In reality, TPO is highly heat reflective, fire resistant, and energy efficient.  It also resists UV rays and dirt.  TPO is also popular in the automotive industry where it is known for impact resistance.  This crosses over into the roofing industry where hail damage to roofs is a common concern.

Not only that, another advantage of TPO, for the roofing contractor and manufacturers at least, is that there is a shift from some lower priced materials like EPDM to more expensive TPO materials.  Commercial roofing sales reached $3.3 billion overall in 2007 with single-ply products being the largest segment.  TPO has been taking more of that large share.

TPO is becoming more popular as the green movement grows, especially because it’s recyclable. Not only can it be recycled for roofing materials, but it can be burned as a fuel. TPO burns very cleanly with no toxic emissions when no flame retardants are present.  It therefore has a high potential as a high energy fuel for waste-to-energy programs.

TPO roofs are categorized as “cool roofs.”  A cool roof can be defined in many ways by people or by different municipal codes. Basically, a cool roof reflects and emits the sun’s heat back upward without allowing it to pass into the building or home. The more sun it reflects and emits, the cooler the roof.  The Cool Roof Rating Council, CRRC, maintains an on line database of cool roof products.  Be aware that while some TPO roofs score highly on the scale, some don’t.

That’s all there is to it. It may seem silly to say, but for many TPO roofing is the way to go.