Foam Roof Top Coating

SAFETYWORKS & Solutions manufacture a range of free standing, clamp on and ...

Their Easyguard permanent freestanding handrails are suitable for roof perimeters or the designation of access ways and fire escape routes, and are suitable for both retrofit and new build. As Easyguard is non-penetrative (freestanding), it alleviates the need for weather proofing around posts and eliminates the risk of future leaks associated with penetrative systems. The design is flatfooted and slides easily underneath rooftop obstructions therefore providing minimal trip hazard.

Easyguard is galvanised to BS/EN 1461 , and is also available powder coated, again over galvanised steel, to ensure the longevity of the system and its coating. Easyguard's base plates are fitted with bonded ribbed rubber mats, which include an EPDM foam infill. The foam infill reduces heat transference to the roof membrane therefore reducing membrane degradation.

For all of your ‘safety at height’ requirements please telephone SAFETYWORKS & Solutions on 01487 841400 or visit www.safetyworksandsolutions.co.

How to Insulate a Low-Slope Roof | GreenBuildingAdvisor.com

Eric Dymond lives in a 1920s Baltimore row house that needs a new roof. He plans on replacing the low-slope, built-up roof with an EPDM membrane, and the question is how to insulate it correctly.

Currently, the built-up asphalt roof is installed over Homasote (or something similar) and a roof deck made of wood planks. Although there’s some “sparsely distributed” insulation in the space between the ceilings and the roof deck, it won’t meet current recommendations for Dymond’s Climate Zone 4 house.

A roofing contractor has recommended that the EPDM membrane be installed over 2 in. of rigid polyisocyanurate insulation. “Does EPDM over foam board make sense?” Dymond asks in this Q&A post . “It doesn’t make sense to me to have 7 in. of foam board to meet R-38, and I’d be concerned about walking on the roof with that setup.”

In addition, Dymond is concerned that 2 in. of insulation is woefully inadequate. Would it make more sense, he asks, to eliminate the foam board recommended by the roofer and insulate beneath the roof deck with fiberglass batts or open-cell foam?

Dymond’s request for feedback and suggestions on other options is the topic for this week’s Q&A Spotlight.

Despite Dymond’s trepidation, a roof consisting of an EPDM membrane over a thick layer of polyiso foam is common, Jesse Thompson replies.

He adds a link for Firestone roofing products, which include a number of the synthetic rubber products made from ethylene propylene diene mononer (EPDM). The company’s web site includes a number of drawings showing how the roofing should be installed.

Insulation can be installed in the attic or on top of the roof deck, says of the insulation meets minimum code requirements. (Maryland has adopted the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code, whose requirements for insulation can be found here ).

Holladay adds that it's important for Dymond to find a way to deal with energy losses through the attic's masonry walls.

To Dymond, the idea of adding 7 in. of insulation above the roof deck is “probably a non-starter” because it makes adding gutters and other details more complicated. For that reason, he leans toward blowing in cellulose above the interior ceiling.

“I have 5 in. of rigid foam under EPDM and it is easy,” says Keith Gustafson. He calls it “by far the simplest solution” to Dymond’s insulation problem.

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