Single-Ply Roofing in Southern California

Single-ply roofing means the waterproofing layer is a single sheet of membrane rather than built up from multiple layers of felt or bitumen. The three materials we work with most are TPO (thermoplastic, heat-welded, usually white), PVC (also thermoplastic and heat-welded, more chemical-resistant), and EPDM (a rubber membrane, typically black, seamed with adhesive tape or liquid adhesive rather than heat).

Each one has a different chemistry and a different install method, so "single-ply" isn't one product - it's a category, and the right choice depends on the building's use, the roof's exposure and what's being asked of it.

• Single-Ply Roofing handled by our own Southern California crew – no subcontractors
• Licensed, insured and permitted for work in Southern California, CA
• Written scope and pricing before anything starts
• Clean-up and haul-away included on every Southern California job

TPO and PVC seams get heat-welded with a hot-air gun, fusing the sheets into a single continuous membrane at the molecular level when done correctly. EPDM seams get bonded with either a seam adhesive or pre-applied tape, which is a different skill set and a different failure mode if it's done poorly - adhesive seams can fail over time in ways welded seams generally don't.

All three get mechanically attached or fully adhered over insulation board, or in some cases ballasted with stone (mostly EPDM on large flat commercial roofs). We choose the attachment method based on wind uplift requirements, roof structure and local code.

• Single-Ply Roofing handled by our own Southern California crew – no subcontractors
• Licensed, insured and permitted for work in Southern California, CA
• Written scope and pricing before anything starts
• Clean-up and haul-away included on every Southern California job

TPO and PVC typically run 20 to 25 years. EPDM has a similar range, sometimes longer with fully adhered systems and good maintenance. Across all three, seams and flashing details are where failures happen - the field membrane itself rarely fails first.

PVC has an added consideration: some older PVC formulations experienced plasticizer loss over decades, making the sheet brittle. Modern PVC has largely addressed this, but it's worth knowing the material's history if you're evaluating an older PVC roof.

• Single-Ply Roofing handled by our own Southern California crew – no subcontractors
• Licensed, insured and permitted for work in Southern California, CA
• Written scope and pricing before anything starts
• Clean-up and haul-away included on every Southern California job

Mechanically attached and ballasted single-ply systems both work with solar, but they need to be planned together. Ballasted racking spreads weight without penetrations, which works well on EPDM and some TPO systems, while mechanically attached membranes require properly flashed penetration points for racking feet.

We coordinate the roofing system and the solar racking layout in-house so the two are designed to work together instead of one crew guessing at what the other one did.

• Single-Ply Roofing handled by our own Southern California crew – no subcontractors
• Licensed, insured and permitted for work in Southern California, CA
• Written scope and pricing before anything starts
• Clean-up and haul-away included on every Southern California job