Soft rolled roof - types, device and prices

Roll roofing is a practical roofing coating that was previously more actively used to overlap the roof of industrial or farm buildings due to its low decorative potential. However, affordable price, simple installation technology and excellent insulating properties made rolled materials attractive for private housing construction. Since its inception, soft roofing has changed dramatically, it has become stronger and more durable, so it is considered a real alternative to metal, asbestos-cement or ceramic coatings for overlapping flat and low-angle structures. In this article we will tell about the cost, device and types of roll roofing.

General material characteristics

Soft roofing is a group of roofing materials, the layers of which are pressed into a long canvas and then rolled into a roll. Rolled roof coverings are conveniently stored, transported and stacked on the slope, so they are popular in industrial and civil construction. The soft roof has the following device:

• The foundation. The basis of the roll materials for the roof decking is fiberglass, fiberglass or roofing paper. It provides strength, flexibility to the coating.
• Impregnation. Soft roof is impregnated with tar, bitumen or a viscous polymeric substance, which gives the coating its water-repellent properties and protects against temperature changes.
• Booking topping. On top of the roll material for the roof cause sprinkling that protects against mechanical damage and exposure to ultraviolet rays. The dressing is made of quartz or silica sand, stone or mica crumb.
• Bottom layer. Bottom of the roof covering is applied protective dressing of fine-grained or dust-like fraction. It is necessary so that the layers of material in the roll do not stick together during storage and transportation.

Note! Different types of soft roof for the roof differ significantly in composition. The most affordable and known since Soviet times, coatings is considered roofing felt and roofing felt, low cost and practicality of which is appreciated to this day. The price of more modern roll membrane materials for the roof is much higher, however, the perfect installation technology and long service life justify the impressive cost.

Virtues

The device of a soft roof resembles a multilayer cake, the layers of which fit snugly together, forming a durable, hermetic and almost seamless coating. It is suitable for a roof with a tilt angle of 1 degree. Rolled materials, unlike metal, ceramic and asbestos cement, can be used for the construction of a flat roof. They are characterized by the following advantages:

1. Resistant to moisture. The production technology of a soft roof implies impregnation of a cardboard or fiberglass base with bitumen, which perfectly protects against moisture penetration, besides it is a rather strong antiseptic.
2. Affordable price. The cost of roll coverings for the roof is quite low, because they are used even for household and industrial buildings without damage to the budget.
3. Resistance to temperature changes. Soft coatings tolerate temperature changes well, without being deformed, which allows the device to perform a roll roofing in all climatic zones.
4. A light weight. Roll roofing, the layers of which are stacked on each other, weighs less than many other roofing materials, so there is almost no load on the roof frame of the roof.
5. Easy installation. The technology of laying bituminous and polymeric materials is quite simple and allows you to install even with your own hands.
6. Low noise The bituminous roof well absorbs the noise arising during a rain and wind.

Consider that low price and weather resistance are not the main advantages of bituminous roof coatings. Their most useful quality is flexibility, which allows you to easily lay materials on a surface with a complex relief. The disadvantage of a flexible roof is considered to be flammable, which increases the risk of fires. Early analogues of roofing material often self-inflamed under the influence of direct sunlight on hot days, but now there is no such problem with bitumen coatings.

Bituminous flexible coatings

The most common type of soft roof are bitumen materials, which are distinguished by reasonable price and high practicality. This category includes such well-known coatings like roofing felt, roofing felt, rubemast. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that ordinary or modified petroleum bitumen is used for impregnating the base. There are the following types of bitumen coatings:

• Based on roofing paperboard. These materials are distinguished by a more affordable price, but low strength. The technology of their production consists in impregnating roofing paper with bitumen. This category includes roofing felt, roofing felts, rubemast, well-proven even in difficult conditions of use.
• Based on fiberglass. More modern bitumen coatings are made of fiberglass or fiberglass. This framework provides improved flexibility, resistance to temperature and cracking, as well as high strength. The price for fiberglass-based roll materials is higher than that for cardboards. This class includes glass mast, euroruberoid and stekloizol.

Important! Bituminous roofing materials are of high strength and practicality, therefore, are in demand. The layers of roofing material are stacked on each other so as to obtain an airtight and durable coating, by fusing or gluing.

Membrane coatings

Membrane roofing - a new word in the construction business, they are significantly different from traditional bitumen materials in composition. Roofing membranes have no basis as such, therefore they are thinner, lighter and more flexible. Depending on the polymer used for the manufacture of the membrane, they are divided into the following types:

• PVC membrane. Polyvinyl chloride is a popular polymer used in the manufacture of waterproofing films. To improve its properties, plasticizers are introduced into the composition, a reinforcing mesh is used, which gives strength to the web. PVC membranes are distinguished by a relatively low price compared to their counterparts, as well as mounting technology, which allows to obtain an almost seamless coating, while reducing material layers to 1-2.
• EPDM membrane. More advanced and expensive membranes are made of ethylene propylene diene monomer. This difficult to pronounce term means artificial, modified rubber. Polyester and modifying additives in a set with a polymer reinforcing mesh increase the strength properties of the material, so its service life exceeds 50 years.
• TPO membrane. This is an innovative roof covering, in which layers of thermoplastic olefins and ethylene-propylene synthetic rubbers alternate. TPO membranes have high performance, long service life, however, the installation of roofs with their help is not so often due to the high cost.

Remember that roofing membranes are not assembled in the same way as built-up roofing. For laying cloths not used heating equipment. The adhesive layer of low-melting rubber-bitumen melts at an ambient temperature of +5 degrees, making the coating adhere to the base of the roof.

Mounting methods

Roll roofing is mainly used for the construction of flat and low-sloping lean-to roofs. For the installation of solid crate is constructed of moisture resistant plywood, OSB or edged boards, concrete. It is important that the base on which the web is laid does not have irregularities, as they damage the flexible materials in the process of friction. There are the following types of roll roofing:

• Weldable. Such coatings are glued to the crate with a gas burner, smoothing the bottom layer of low-melting bitumen. The layers are fused on top of each other until a strong coating is obtained that protects against moisture. The built-up roof should be mounted on a non-combustible base due to the high risk of fire.
• Pasted. Some types of roll materials are glued to the base with cold or hot bitumen mastics. Such technology of installation is easier, since it does not involve the use of special equipment. Laying canvases by gluing can even be carried out on a wooden base.
• Self adhesive There are self-adhesive brands of coatings, which are fixed by means of the lower adhesive layer. A protective film is removed from the bottom surface of the canvas, and then sweatfully pressed against the crate to fix.

Remember that the built-up and self-adhesive roofing is mounted at an ambient temperature not lower than +5 degrees, as it is problematic to melt bitumen in colder weather. Therefore, in the cold season, the device of flat roofs is performed by gluing with mastic.

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