How to choose the right roofing system for your flats

If you want to invest in developing commercial flats, one of the key decisions you need to make is to identify the type of roofing for your flats. Roofing is primary when it comes to attracting viewers to your properties. It is important therefore that you identify the right roofing system for your flats.

In order to understand the roofing system that is appropriate for your housing project, the first thing is to know the various types of roofing systems available in the market.

The building and construction industry has really developed and technology is driving it much faster. This has led to different roofing systems coming into the market. In this article, I want to address six roofing systems which you can explore carefully with the help of your contractor and decide the one to pick for your needs.

  1. Built Up Roofing-BUR

Some people call them tar and gravel roofs, as much as tar isn’t used due to its carcinogenic nature. This type of roofing is one where alternating layers of bitumen and other reinforcing fabrics work together to form a final membrane. BUR is the kind of roofing style you can use on your apartments or flats.

  1. Single-Ply Membranes

These are factory produced sheet membranes and in many cases grouped as either thermoset or thermoplastic. These sheet membranes are made from three manufacturing processes namely calendaring, extruding and spread coating. Sometimes the membranes may have reinforcement layers, composed of polyester fabrics or some form of scrims along with glass fibre or fleece backing. Usually, single-ply membrane can be installed fully adhered or just mechanically attached or sometimes held down with the support of ballast. This is also another roofing system you can consider for your flats or apartments.

  1. EPDM A Single-Ply Membrane

EPDM stands for Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM). It is an efficient roofing system made of rubber. It is commonly preferred on low slope roofing surfaces. The rubber is synthetic and usually used on single-ply membrane roof and has a life-span of 15-25 years. The rubber is normally installed to avoid any possible leaking and also to solve any possible challenges of weathering or failing points. As compared to BUR, this roofing system is cheaper and also very easy to install.

This roofing system is indeed a good system to use because EPDM uses water-based adhesives or solvent based adhesives to mount EPDM rubber to the roofing substrate. It’s also economical, long lasting and highly efficient.

There are also other roofing systems you can consider like thermoplastic TPO or PVC, Modified Bitumen and Metal slope roofing. We find the least amount of long-term issues with shingle roofing, however.

There are four things to consider when selecting a roofing system.

  • The engineer’s advice.

The engineer will tell you which roofing system will work well with your development plan. In many cases, the engineer will give you several roofing systems options to choose from.

  • The type of roofing system that appeals to the market place.

This will help you when it comes to netting the clients for the flats or apartments.

  • The cost of the roofing system and how the budget will be affected by picking one roofing system and not the other.
  • Its durability.

Make sure you choose the roofing system which closely meets the factors as outlined.