You must consider many factors when your roof needs to be replaced or when you are constructing a building that requires a new roof: Price. Quality of the product being installed. Prefabrication. Installation disruptions. Ease of maintenance. Performance. Environmental impact. Life-cycle costs, and so on. It is crucial to review all of these aspects in order to make the wisest roofing choice and get the best long-term value for your investment.
This is the third in a series of posts that will discuss the issues involved in purchasing a roofing system.
Prefabrication
A rooftop can be a difficult environment to produce consistent quality welds for single-ply roofing systems, sometimes causing imperfect seams. And the more seams that are done on the job site, under all kinds of weather and work conditions, the greater the potential for leaks down the road. However, using roofing materials that are “prefabricated” provide the following benefits:
- Less seaming completed on the rooftop
Some roofing products are delivered to the job site in rolls of 100, 500 or 1,000 square feet, which means that crews have several small sections of material to work with and must hand-weld all seams on the roof.Other roofing systems boast prefabricated panels (up to 2,500 square feet in length) that are precision fabricated to fit each building, with most of the seaming completed in a controlled factory environment.
By reducing the amount of required rooftop seaming, this helps to ensure a proper fit and watertight protection for years to come.
- Less labor needed to install the roofing system
Prefabrication allows membrane panels to be produced in larger sizes with less on-site welding required. Therefore, less labor is needed to install the roofing system.
- Less waste
Prefabrication signifies there is less material waste on the job site because there is less on-site welding necessary for the installation. Reduced material waste also means less landfill usage.
- Reduced installation time
Prefabrication saves on installation time. A precision-fabricated membrane is much easier to install and does not require labor-intensive welding on the job site.Additionally, some manufacturers prefabricate all the roofing accessories such as curbs, stacks, scuppers, and parapets that are included with the system, which helps to reduce the installation time as well as ensure high-quality products that are a perfect fit for each roof.
- Less installation disruptions
Single-ply roofing systems that are prefabricated and mechanically-attached provide a quiet and safe installation. No loud machinery or noxious fumes are used that could disrupt building activities or harm occupants.
- Reduced maintenance
Because prefabricated roofing systems have fewer seams, the chances of future leaks are reduced and therefore, less maintenance is required to sustain the system. Furthermore, regular patching, re-coating or repairs are not mandatory.
- Increased roof performance
Prefabrication enhances the performance capabilities of a single-ply membrane, helping make it more durable, leak-proof, and a better investment. Many single-plies are also resistant to fire, chemicals, high winds, punctures, and wide temperature extremes.
As you can see, prefabrication provides a variety of attributes that offer customers reliable roof performance when it comes to single-ply roofing systems.
In our fourth installment of Factors To Consider When Purchasing A Roofing System, we will discuss “disruptions” that can affect some roofing system installations.
