rubber roof

Need to replace 10 square of built up roofing and was going to go to a rubber roof. Got a quote at $750.00 per square. WOW! Is rubber that much? To be fair some of this roof has a parapet wall which I realize will require some extra labor, but still is that number realistic? I will be getting some other quotes.

Sounds insane, supply chain issues plus a building craze have caused prices of construction materials to sky rocket.
That also in turn has caused a lot of contractors to raise profit ratios because they are busy. I have never priced rubber roofing, just using some common sense.

The building craze here means you wait six months ,or pay 3x for a next week start......if the roof isnt leaking bad ,then Id be waiting till the building craze crashes.....about June next year.

roll maker said:

Need to replace 10 square of built up roofing and was going to go to a rubber roof. Got a quote at $750.00 per square. WOW! Is rubber that much? To be fair some of this roof has a parapet wall which I realize will require some extra labor, but still is that number realistic? I will be getting some other quotes.

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If that number is from a contractor, rip-up and dispose the tar roof, insulate, cover, seal, then that is actually 25% below average around here.
If OTOH you're talking materials alone, then you're looking at approx $350/sq.

I can dig up the BOM for mine from April of this year.
100 sq, total of 5.5" 2 layer ISO, 060 EPDM, double metal edge, 6" seam tape, relatively few penetrations ..... material bill was $37K
We did some of the work, (clean up, hiring and loading dumpsters, wood build-up) but the main labor was done by some 10 guys moonlighting on 2 weekends and a few half days here and there.
All I can say is it's brutal f@cking work, they've earned every penny of the $33K cash I gave them!

So yeah, if that $750 is all inclusive, then you've got a pretty decent deal, specially because I know that material prices increased 15% by the end of May.

Can you set trusses (wood or light gage metal framing) over top, and apply a pitched steel roof ?
IIRC Flexospan does this:
Flexospan - Products - Flexframe

digger doug said:

Can you set trusses (wood or light gage metal framing) over top, and apply a pitched steel roof ?
IIRC Flexospan does this:
Flexospan - Products - Flexframe

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Yuhknow.... I was looking at a 3 story building a cpl yrs ago that needed a new rubber roof, to the tune of around $35G was the estimate that the realtor told me. And they said that they would look into just puting a regular pitched roof on it if $pending that much....

But I considered that - and what I came away with was that ice (cicles) will be falling a long way, and be terribly dangerous.
Not that there should be anyone there to speak of. (not a city sidewalk type app)

But then I look around since, and now I notice that there are oodles of pitched roofs that are in way worse locations than I was looking at.

Makes one think that maybe a fella needs to put a hard hat on to walk down some sidewalks in late February/March?

Kind'a like the concept that I need to put my safety glasses on when I walk outside in the summer, way more than I need them indoors.
The dag'um Kamikaze bugs that read just a wee bit too much into that "Wait 'till you see the whites of their eye's" statement.


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Speaking of Ice
Ox

Ox,
Flexaspan puts very shallow pitch roof on over flat.

On some, they start at the front parapet, and work down, to the back only.
Seen in the linked several strip malls buildings done, you can't see them from the front.

Ox said:

Yuhknow.... I was looking at a 3 story building a cpl yrs ago that needed a new rubber roof, to the tune of around $35G was the estimate that the realtor told me. And they said that they would look into just puting a regular pitched roof on it if $pending that much....

But I considered that - and what I came away with was that ice (cicles) will be falling a long way, and be terribly dangerous.
Not that there should be anyone there to speak of. (not a city sidewalk type app)

But then I look around since, and now I notice that there are oodles of pitched roofs that are in way worse locations than I was looking at.

Makes one think that maybe a fella needs to put a hard hat on to walk down some sidewalks in late February/March?

Kind'a like the concept that I need to put my safety glasses on when I walk outside in the summer, way more than I need them indoors.
The dag'um Kamikaze bugs that read just a wee bit too much into that "Wait 'till you see the whites of their eye's" statement.


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Speaking of Ice
Ox

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There shouldn't be icicles if there is no heat leakage under the metal roof and proper venting deals with that.

If you are worried about masses of snow sliding off there are snow guards that can be installed above doorways, etc.

I just replaced the rubber membrane on a small 3 & 1/2 -story office building and it cost just over $60k. High, but I had no choice.

-Ron

I re-roofed my house with Fibertite in January. It's a combination of flat and about 2:12 pitch. It cost about 10x your total, with 3 new operable skylights, a 5’x8’ fixed Kalwall skylight, new downspouts, plus we lined the concealed gutters with Fibertite. I hope it outlasts me.

The prior roof was modified bitumen torchdown that held up OK for 18 years except the galvanized steel gutter linings rotted through and made a mess of the underlying woodwork.

The Fibertite is bright white plus the roofers insisted on adding 1” of rigid foam board on top of the existing insulation in the rafters. They wanted to avoid condensation on the underside of the membrane, which they said was far less vapor-permeable than the prior roofing. The house is markedly cooler in sunny weather than before.


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Can't do a pitched roof. Will be getting more quotes as I said earlier. Metal Carnage, how many squares is your roof? No matter what, it will be expensive

roll maker said:

Can't do a pitched roof. Will be getting more quotes as I said earlier. Metal Carnage, how many squares is your roof? No matter what, it will be expensive

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The building is just under 27,000 sq ft. Here is a copy of the roofer's bid -



As you can see there were some misc. things added to the bid but I hope this gives you some idea.

FWIW this is what the building looks like.



Hope that helps,

-Ron

The EPDM materials probably under $200 a square. Not sure your tear off situation or necessary flashings. Height of building makes a difference too. This stuff does not work well in cold weather. I do a couple a year and wouldn't consider if it wasn't at least 60 Degrees and sunny. If this roof is fairly simple with limited penetrations and can go right over the existing. Two guys should be able to wrap it up in one day. Lots of penetrations, poorly designed parapet walls, bellies and bumps in the roof all make it go much slower. Also a tear off of built up tar roofing can become incredibly painfull. On older buildings there is often layers of tin too. Get several quotes, ask questions, good luck

MetalCarnage said:

The building is just under 27,000 sq ft. Here is a copy of the roofer's bid -

.....

As you can see there were some misc. things added to the bid but I hope this gives you some idea.

FWIW this is what the building looks like.

.....

Hope that helps,

-Ron

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I screwed up on the square footage of the roof, it is actually roughly 7000 sq. ft. I was looking at my "stat" sheet and without thinking grabbed the space for leasing. Hopefully that number makes a lot more sense.

-Ron

MetalCarnage said:

I just replaced the rubber membrane on a small 3 & 1/2 -story office building and it cost just over $60k. High, but I had no choice.

-Ron

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Looked at your quote for the work involved, but I think you're forgetting that while you were only replacing/second layering an already EPDM membrane roof, the OP has built-up tar currently!
That stuff has to come off completely and disposed of, new insulation of proper thickness mechanically fastened to the corrugated metal (possibly glued if concrete ), and only then is he at your starting situation!

So basically for your roof, just the insulation alone would have added $106,000 to your quote.
Plus the rip-up of 270 square ... labor perhaps 3 days extra, disposal cost of approx 14 x 30 yard containers for the tar+old insulation+stone ( weighted down system ) ...

Nice looking building, wish i could find one around here like that

Scottl said:

There shouldn't be icicles if there is no heat leakage under the metal roof and proper venting deals with that.

If you are worried about masses of snow sliding off there are snow guards that can be installed above doorways, etc.

Click to expand...

[video]https://weather.com/news/weather/video/slabs-of-snow-fall-from-rooftop-cars-damaged[/video]


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Think Snow Eh!
Ox

That $7,500 price is not bad to be honest. There is a lot of labor involved in removing the old roof. That's the hardest part of the job. I was a roofer until 2008 and even back then the price you got today would have been pretty close to what a good roofer would have charged.

As a remodeling contractor I used to use pvc flat roof membrane and if you look into installation data sheets there are many variations on how it’s installed and a few options for penetrations and sealing seams. EDPM adhered membranes are the cheap route and just don’t last nearly as long.
I wasn’t in a high wind area and the only requirement for attaching to the roof is a screw and large washer sealed into the surface every 10’ OC.

PVC is on the roof of nearly every big commercial building in my area for a reason - it works long term. The seams are heat sealed and any part can be easily modified or patched.

I used to buy 100‘ x 10’ rolls of .050” ten years ago for $350 full price or $175 for a scratch and dent roll a fork lift scuffed up. Thicknesses are .050”, .060”, and .080”.

I inspected a flat roof recently and the guy didn’t know how to heat seal seams - his seams all leaked and that sob should never be allowed near a roof.

Edit: My advice is to educate yourself about the products and installation practices and don’t rely on a roofer blowing his version of bs up your ass. Pvc roofs have pre made inside and outside corners, pipe penetration boots, and a few other pre made items that are easily heat sealed onto a roof, but they are all optional and a good installer can make any of it by heat welding roof material into the required shape. A heat sealer is nothing more than an electric heat gun with air flow and attachments ideal for melting the seams together.

If your existing roof is in relatively good shape I don’t see the advantage to taking it off, unless the material you are going to use has that as a warrantee requirement.

Scuppers are very important and if the roof doesn’t slope correctly sheets of flat foam are added as needed to eliminate low spot. Scuppers can be bonded to pvc, but the idea is they just need to stay in place and not let wind blow under them, inflating the roof. I’ve seen the pvc screwed to sheet metal on the sides and additional roof material scraps bonded over the screws.