What TPO Roofing Work Actually Involves
TPO roofing starts with a tear-off, not an overlay. We strip the old built-up roof or modified bitumen down to the decking, then check whether the plywood or OSB has gone soft where water wicks along the rafters.
Mechanical fastening with screws and plates anchors the substrate layer, then the membrane rolls out and every lap is hot-air welded into a single sheet. Seams get probed by hand before we sign off.
Edge details matter as much as the field. Drip edge, counter-flashing at parapet walls, scupper and drain tie-ins, and pipe boot seals at every vent get finished before the last roll goes down.
Materials We Specify, and Why
TPO is a single-ply membrane with a welded seam, which is why it holds up on large flat rooftops where hundreds of feet of seam would otherwise fail. EPDM is the rubber alternative, and PVC membrane handles grease and chemicals better.
- TPO membrane from Carlisle SynTec, GAF EverGuard, Firestone, Johns Manville, or Versico — white sheets that reflect heat and cut cooling load.
- EPDM rubber — a sensible fit when the budget is tight and the rooftop sees little foot traffic.
- Modified bitumen — a torch-applied or self-adhered cap sheet that repairs well on smaller, older flat roofs.
- PVC single-ply — the choice over commercial kitchens, where exhaust carries grease that eats other membranes.
- Built-up roofing (BUR) — layers of felt and bitumen that still perform on some older buildings; the tar and pitch smell is the giveaway.
- Roof coating — a recoat that buys time when the membrane is sound and you only need to slow UV degradation.
What an Inspection Turns Up
- Blisters and open seams where the adhesive released and ponding water seeps under the sheet.
- Punctures, tears, and foot-traffic damage near rooftop units and where ladders lean on the eave.
- Alligatoring and chalking on an older cap sheet, which means the bitumen has oxidized past repair.
- Rot and decay in the sheathing, plus sag at the roofline where a truss or ridge beam settled under a saturated deck.
- Clogged scuppers and gutters that push water back under coping and fascia.
- Granule loss on asphalt shingle, architectural shingle, or three-tab shingle sections of a sloped mansard or gambrel.
- Rusted fasteners and corrosion on standing-seam panel or corrugated panel runs.
Why Newark Conditions Change the Job
Newark sits in ice-dam country. Meltwater from a snowpack backs up under the eave, freezes, and pushes membrane and shingles loose, then thaws into the ceiling near top-floor exterior walls. We see it in Forest Hill and Roseville every February.
Annual precipitation runs 46 to 50 inches, and one nor'easter can drop a foot of snow. The Turnpike corridor and I-78 throw wind-driven rain sideways against parapet walls, so counter-flashing and sealant get checked on every survey.
Timelines, Cost Drivers, and Code
A roof asset survey on a 20,000-square-foot roof takes two to three hours on site. Most recover and tear-off projects run five to ten working days, depending on square count, insulation, and how much decking needs replacing.
- Square footage, measured in roofing squares, sets the baseline on any roof estimate.
- Whether we can recover the existing membrane or must tear off to bare substrate.
- Insulation thickness, which building code sets and which drives energy efficiency.
- Deck repairs — plywood, OSB, or sheathing too rotted to hold a fastener.
- Drain, scupper, and coping replacement, plus any parapet rebuild.
- Tenant coordination: we stage dumpsters and debris away from loading docks and schedule loud work around business hours.
- Permits and inspections under New Jersey's uniform construction code.
Every property manager gets a line-item estimate in writing. If a repair coat or a localized fix will hold another few years, we say so and don't push a replacement.
