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Modified Bitumen Roofs
Having quickly become one of the most popular roofing membranes among architects, consultants, developers and building owners, polymer-modified bitumen, more commonly known as two-ply modified bitumen roofing, was developed in the early 1960s in Europe and has been in use since the mid 1970s in North America. These membranes consist of reinforcing fabrics which act as carriers for the hot polymer-modified bitumen as it is manufactured into a standard roll. Similar to BUR membranes, these roofing system membranes are composed of multiple layers which are usually adhered with either hot asphalt, adhesives or peel and stick applications. However, in some specifications, the first layer of the two-ply system may be mechanically fastened.There are two types of modified bitumen roofing membranes:
- SBS polymer-modified bitumen membranes are usually installed with the use of hot asphalt (similar to BUR systems) or cold adhesives. Some SBS modified membranes are self adhering. Due to safety, cold applied and self adhering membranes are increasing in popularity as they can eliminate the use of open flame in their application.
- APP polymer-modified bitumen membranes typically are heat-welded or torch-applied.