Not sure if you’ve heard, but we’ve not had the best luck with the weather lately, so after a few days doing what we do best on a day off, we decided to make the most of the abysmal weather and get back into the classroom. Last week we took a long journey to Coventry to complete a Rubber 4 Roofs training course, enhancing our skills in EPDM rubber roofing, a service that we are, of course, proud to offer to ensure you have a extremely weather resistant roof over your head, especially in this weather.
What is rubber roofing?
So a little on rubber roofing… more specifically, EPDM rubber roofing. EPDM stands for Ethylene 
Propylene Diene Monomer, existing as a synthetic rubber that provides a seamless and modern feel to buildings, alongside a 50 year life guarantee. As a result, the material is commonly used in the automotive and construction industries, providing a perfectly sealed and weather and radiation resistant roof that comes second to none.
So without putting you to sleep too much, let’s just brush over the three different types of rubber available; single ply 1.2mm, single ply 1.5mm and duo-ply. The main difference between the 1.2 and 1.5mm covering are that the latter has a AA Fire rating which is sometimes specified by your architect. 1.5mm is also good for hiding any underlying ridges, dips in the boards underneath. Duo ply is slightly different again, it is reinforced by a layer of fleece, this gives the rubber much more strength and puncture resistance, giving it a long term performance.
Duo ply also had the additive bonus of being applicable to almost any hard surface, it can even be overlaid onto of a bitumen roof. An EPDM roof even weights up to 75% less than a bitumen roof.
Basically, all of these membranes provide unrivalled protection against UV radiation, extreme weather, balmy temperatures and fire and even better, they are a brilliant eco-friendly roofing material. The non-toxic EPDM material doesn’t pollute water, has a low smog impact and creates no bitumen issues, meaning that when contrasted to materials such as roofing felt, the material is an angel in ant eco-warrior’s eyes. If this doesn’t convince you, the rubber is 100% recyclable and with such durability, you won’t need to worry about it ending up in landfill sites and contributing to the notorious emission of green house gases.
What’s more, you might have already briefly skimmed over this a couple of times, but it’s too important to not repeat, this incredibly versatile material has a life expectancy of over 50 years, meaning you’ll probable never have to replace your roof again. Adding to this is the low levels of maintenance needed, as you may have noticed many tiled or slate roofs falling victim to slipped tiles during storm Ciara, Dennis or even Jorge (fair play thats a fair spell of bad weather), however rubber roofing will withstand the worst that British weather has to throw at it, and more. So, fact time, how do we know that rubber roofs can really last this long? Well, in the US, a sheet of rubber was laid for a roof covering 50 years ago and to this day, it still hasn’t leaked, sounds like enough proof to give you a little confidence?
We arrived home from the course, certificates in hand and raring to get started on installing our next EDPM rubber roof. We even offer a 20 year material-backed guarantee, meaning that it really is a no brainer to give us a call if you’re even considering the idea of a flat roof for your next project.
We are still huge advocates of GRP fibreglass as a flat roof covering and you can read all about the benefits of GPR fibreglass here. These are especially effective for box gutters and complex 
intricate roofs, but we can now offer a rubber alternative, with many of its own perks!
If you’ve noticed damp patches underneath your flat roof coverings after February’s numerous downpours (sorry, did you know we’ve not had the best weather?), then get in contact ask about our new flat roofing material
For a free roof inspection and quotation, please feel free to contact Dan, and in the mean time, like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram for more!