Tpo Or Pvc Roof

Pvc has over 50 years of proven performance.

Tpo or pvc roof.

Tpo is a blend of polypropylene and ethylene propylene rubber. But they each have different pros and cons for use as low slope roofing membranes. Both tpo and pvc look similar but pvc has been used as a roofing material since the 1960s while tpo roofs started to be used in the 1990s. When it comes to a durable roof that is also environment friendly tpo roofing is a great option.

However while the face of both membranes and their installation are virtually identical they are very different systems on the inside. Epdm stands for ethylene propylene diene monomer. Petroleum or natural gas is processed to produce ethylene and chlorine is derived from salt. Tpo in a nutshell a tpo membrane is made from ethylene propylene rubber.

Pvc tpo and epdm are all very resistant to uv breakdown. Believe it or not tpo is actually in a broad family of rubber roofing materials. Consider what you need for your commercial building s roofing. A pvc versus tpo comparison chart is below.

The most obvious similarity is that tpo thermoplastic olefin and pvc poly vinyl chloride are both thermoplastic materials. Two of the hardest flat roof systems to tell apart is the pvc roof and the tpo roof. Tpo is a single ply roofing system that consisting of a thermoplastic polyolefin membrane. It s therefore not surprising that tpo roofing systems are quickly growing in popularity and demand in both residential and commercial flat roof markets.

The term tpo stands for thermoplastic polyolefin. Tpo presents superior results for tear and break strengths while pvc outperforms in chemical resistance fire resistance and overall cost. Tpo membrane can provide combined benefits of both epdm rubber and pvc roofs but at a more economical cost than pvc. Both are white heat welded systems that look virtually identical.

If you are up for a more chemical resistant roofing and are looking for a cost friendly option pvc roofing is the way to go. Tpo and pvc both have welded seams which are very strong. Both membranes are heat weldable which makes them more resistant to leaks than epdm because of a reduced number of instances of seam failures. Initially tpo roofing was designed to be an improved version of both pvc and epdm rubber membranes combing the benefits of both but without the disadvantages.

Restaurants or buildings with grease traps on the roof would be better served by a pvc roofing system. As a roofing specialist consultant functioning frequently as a quality assurance observer as a roof is installed i have often run into the question of needed cleaning after installation of tpo primarily in my cases membranes because of installer carelessness or preventive disinterest on the part of other trades that traverse the completed roof or both.