Architects and Specifiers

During summer months, cities get hotter than surrounding areas. Trees and vegetation found in suburban and rural areas help reduce temperatures on sunny days. In contrast, tightly packed and tall city buildings tend to trap heat. To make matters worse, city buildings retain that heat and release it during the night due to their thermal mass.

Think that your roof doesn't need protection against hail? Think again. Severe hail events are increasing in geographic footprint and are no longer just in hail alley. The geographic region that experiences 1 inch or larger hailstones has expanded to be nearly two-thirds of the United States. Nearly 10 percent more U.S. properties, more than 6.8 million, were affected by hail in 2021 than in 2020. Coinciding with the increase in properties affected by a damaging hail event in 2021, there was also an increase in insurance claims, which rose to $16.5 billion from $14.2 billion in 2020.

Introduction We all recognize that, when properly installed, TPO can be part of a well performing roof system. However, a very simple error made during installation can set up the membrane for future issues. This has been known since early installations of TPO roofs but somehow it has been forgotten about by many installers. What are we talking about here? The use of adhesive buckets along a fold that causes premature cracking of the membrane years after installation. Let's dig deeper.

Architects strive to achieve a roof design that strikes a delicate balance between aesthetics and performance. Achieving high-performance means incorporating the code, warranty, and guarantee requirements that building owners must meet — among the most important factors of any construction project — into design vision. This isn't made any easier by the sheer number of roofing systems available. Even experienced architects can find it challenging to get familiar with all available components and positively identify which materials are going to deliver the ultimate protection for the building.