Rubber roofing is a popular choice for low slope and flat roof construction, because it is relatively inexpensive, and “does not require any special training” on the part of a roofing contractor to install it. Do understand that the actual installation of a rubber roof is somewhat complicated and requires experience with flat roofing if it is to be done correctly. However, anyone can buy a rubber roof from a roofing supplier and install it, without being certified by the manufacturer. Discover how many residential roofing contractors “learn” to install a rubber roof, nature and limitations of EPDM roofing membrane and why we recommend that you avoid putting a rubber roof on your house. Since a manufacturer’s certification is not required, many roofing contractors with little or zero experience in flat roofing, can and do install rubber roofs. However, without a contractor’s proper installation training and experience, such roofs begin to leak very soon after being installed. Discover the secrets of the residential flat roofing market and how contractors installing EPDM membranes, or simply rubber roofing.

See what’s involved in doing rubber roof repair yourself:

Repair a rubber roof yourself or hire a professional?

As a home or small business owner you should understand that to perform a repair of your rubber roof you will need to buy special supplies and allocate at least 3-4 hours on a sunny or at least dry day, with no rain in the next 12 hours, to allow the repaired patch or seam to cure and become watertight. Here is a list of supplies and approximate prices you can expect to pay to acquire these supplies from a commercial roofing supplier, such as ABC Supply, Beacon Supply, Bradco or Harvey Building Products. Your local Home Depot or Lowe’s will not have rubber roofing, so don’t waste your time there.

Rubber roof material prices

• Black Glue – $35-40 / Gallon
• Membrane Cleaner – $25 / Gallon
• Rubber Primer – $29 / Gallon
• 50′ x 6″ roll of peel & stick  FLASHING tape (uncured)  - $109
• 100′ x 6″ roll of  peel & stick cover tape – $179
• 100′ x 3″ roll of seam tape – $79
• 2″ silicon or steel roller – $25-45
• Tube of seam caulking (30 ln. ft. coverage) – $9.50

These supplies are ONLY sold in “contractor” quantities, and you cannot buy 10 feet of tape or 1 quart of Rubber primer. The list above is a minimum quantity you can purchase. As you can see, you will easily spend $200-300 just on supplies and you will also need a ladder and of course your time (usually a weekend). Hire us to fix your rubber roof in MA, CT and RI: If you do not feel confident that you can fix your rubber roof or lack certain equipment, or do not want to purchase supplies that you will never use again, you can call us 1-888-6-Flat-Roof (888-635-2876) or fill out our online rubber roof repair request form. Here is how we charge for rubber roof repair. The service call fee is $350 and includes up-to 50-mile drive (one way) and an hour of repair work. We provide the supplies such as peel-n-stick tape and cleaners and adhesives, etc. Each additional hour is $95. Usually a small to medium repair is done in one or two hours. So for $445 (two hour of on-the roof repair work) you will have your roof professionally repaired, won’t waste your entire weekend and will not end-up with unused, unusable, non-returnable materials and supplies, while still wandering if you did the repair correctly. If you still want to do the repair yourself, keep on reading.

DIY how-to guide to repair rubber roof:

The default rubber roof installation method of 1970′s-1990′s and that of today’s shady roofing contractors looking to save every penny instead of providing quality products and workmanship, is to use Black Glue instead of a peel-and-stick membrane tape. While black glue was in wide-spread use a decade ago, as it was the only way to seal the rubber seams, it has been replaced by a more efficient way: using seam tapes with a peel and stick surface, which is activated by a rubber primer, and creates a much better bond than a black glue can. This guide will describe how-to procedures to fix seams and flashing using Peel & Stick tape – both cured and uncured/flashing tape. To learn how to repair your roof using less expensive (and less reliable) black glue method, refer to our original rubber roof repair guide.

Tools you will need:

Seam probe, silicone / steel roller, scissors, clean rags, sharp utility knife, ladder to get on a roof, broom to clean loose dirt off the roof and squeejee with a body of warm water.

Finding the roof leak:

Flat roofs usually leak where there is ponding water, through the seams or near a roof penetration.

I assume that you have already purchased needed tools, accessories and membrane cleaned + primer, etc., and are now ready to  identify where the leaks are, using a probe tool or a nail. Step one – Clean the roof: Using a wide semi-soft broom, clean the roof of large pieces of debris. Use a water hose to wash other loose debris and dirt off the roof – this will help to soak the dirt and it will come off easier. Wipe the roof dry with a squeegee. Note: You do not need to wash the entire roof. Just the low spots where there is the biggest chance to find a leak. You can also use soft wet cloth to soak and wipe clean the seams, so you could test them with a probe. There is a good chance that you can find a break in the seam without using a probe tool – these are usually very obvious. Step two – open up the seams: Assuming that you’ve found a leak that is coming through the seam, stick your probe in gently, making sure not to damage the rubber. Pull the seam apart about a foot in each direction from the spot suspected to leak. Make sure that there won’t be any rain coming soon, otherwise you may not have enough time to seal the roof.

If your seams are not very long – 20 0r 30 feet, it might make sense to open up an entire seam and to seal it completely with seam tape, as this will greatly increase the effectiveness of your repair, rather than just doing 2-3 feet of seams.

Step three – clean the seams:

Using a clean piece of cloth soaked with a membrane cleaner, wipe both sides of the open seam, in and around it. Make sure u clean the edge of the seam opening. Make sure you get all the old glue off, before proceeding to the next step. Use something thin to get the cloth into the corners of two pieces of rubber membrane. Put a small block of wood inside the seam to let the cleaner dry. Once again, I will recommend to open up the entire seam to be able to better lean each side of overlapping rubber. This will allow you to get a better, continuous adhesion.

Step four – sealing the seam: If you opened the entire seam up (preferred method), brush on the rubber primer, making sure that it covers an area wider that your seam tape – this will provide better adhesion, without any laps and lips. Put primer on both sides of the membrane.

If you only opened a couple of feet of seam, cut a piece of seam tape that is just about the same length as the opening. Using a paint brush, put a generous amount of primer on both the top and bottom lap of the rubber membrane, making sure to get it all the way into the cracks of the seam.

Step 4.1 – installing seam tape:

After both sides of the seam laps are primed, starting at the end of the seam, unroll the seam tape, without removing the top paper. Try to be as straight as you can. It your tape starts to zig-zag left and right, it will create wrinkles and may pose the risk of leaks. Also your tape has to stick out from under the top lap, by about 3/8 of an inch, to ensure better adhesion. Make sure that it is not hidden under the top lap, as that too can create leaks down the road. You can use yellow chalk or special yellow pencil (sold at roofing supply warehouses) to mark the outer edge of the overlap plus 3/8″. Once you unroll the needed length of seam tape, fold over the top ply of the membrane and start removing the paper from the upper side of seam tape.

If your seam tape is too short, and you need to splice two pieces of seam tape, overlap the two inches, making sure that you prime both sides of each piece of seam tape before splicing (just the end 3-4 inches, as the rest of the seam should already have primer). Once the needed length of seam tape is installed, flatten the top layer of the rubber membrane and roll it in, starting at one end and making sure not to miss a spot. Put some weight on that roller, but also don’t go too crazy. Too much rolling may make your wrist hurt.

Voila – your seam repair is complete! PS. Pictures used for this article were taken at a contractor training class on rubber roof installation, set up by Harvey Industries and RPI.