Single-Ply Roofing - TPO, EPDM, and PVC

Single-ply membrane is the dominant roofing system in Atlanta commercial construction. We install and specify the right membrane for the right building - not the same system for every project - with manufacturer warranty documentation and energy code compliance built into every scope.

Single-ply roofing covers the family of commercial membranes installed as a single layer - as opposed to built-up roofing systems that laminate multiple plies of material. The three dominant single-ply membranes in Atlanta's commercial market are TPO, EPDM, and PVC. Understanding which membrane is right for a specific Atlanta building requires knowing how each performs against the city's climate, what the building's use demands from the membrane, and what the manufacturer's warranty path looks like over the building's capital horizon.

Atlanta's commercial building stock skews heavily toward TPO in new installation - it is the dominant specification in the Perimeter Center and Sandy Springs reroof cycle, the new construction along the Midtown Tech Square corridor, the Cobb Galleria replacement market, and most of the Gwinnett logistics and light-industrial new construction. But dominant does not mean universal. EPDM remains the correct specification for Atlanta buildings with high interior humidity or specific vapor drive conditions. PVC remains the correct specification for restaurants, food processing, and chemical-exposure applications where TPO membrane chemistry is a disadvantage.

Our single-ply installation and specification practice is not manufacturer-tied or membrane-tied. We install systems from GAF, Carlisle, Firestone, Johns Manville, Versico, Sika Sarnafil, and Duro-Last, and we recommend the membrane based on building use, substrate conditions, wind-uplift requirements, manufacturer warranty terms, and the owner's capital optimization criteria. A building owner who receives a single-ply scope from us knows why we are recommending the specific membrane we specified, not just that we put TPO on everything.

TPO: Thermoplastic polyolefin. The dominant single-ply membrane in Atlanta commercial work. Hot-air welded seams. Reflects solar heat - critical in Atlanta's urban heat island, where Midtown and Downtown run 5 to 8 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than surrounding suburbs. 20-year NDL warranty paths from every major manufacturer. Appropriate for most Atlanta office, warehouse, retail, and light-industrial applications. Mechanically attached installation is the standard for Atlanta suburban commercial; fully adhered for occupied buildings where membrane flutter noise is a concern. Not appropriate for high-chemical or grease-exposure applications.

EPDM: Ethylene propylene diene monomer. Thermoset rubber membrane with cold-bond seaming. The preferred specification for Atlanta buildings with high interior relative humidity - cold storage, commercial laundry, food processing, institutional kitchens. Fully adhered EPDM limits vapor drive into the insulation stack more effectively than mechanically attached TPO. Not heat-welded - EPDM seams and repairs require EPDM-specific splicing adhesive. Available in black and white formulations; white EPDM achieves better reflectance than black but does not match white TPO's SRI performance. 20-year NDL warranty paths available.

PVC: Polyvinyl chloride. Hot-air welded seams, like TPO, but chemically resistant to grease and animal fat - the primary specification advantage over TPO in restaurant, food service, and chemical-processing applications. Current-generation PVC formulations carry 20 to 25-year manufacturer warranties and have overcome the plasticizer migration issues of 1980s and early 1990s formulations. Higher installed cost than TPO on a per-square basis. White PVC meets Georgia energy code cool roof requirements and qualifies for Georgia Power utility rebates.