Field Study of the Performance of EPDM Roofing at Air Force Facilities

摘要

A study was conducted at the request of the Air Force Engineering and ServicesCenter to obtain and analyze information on the in-service performance of low-sloped EPDM roofing systems at Air Force installations. Because of the benefits to be gained in having available alternative materials for fabricating membranes for low-sloped roofing systems, the Air Force has proposed developing a guide specification for EPDM roofing. Technical data are needed to support the development of the guide specification. The information obtained in the study contributes to the data base. Fifteen USAF installations in 11 states were visited, and 61 EPDM roofs were inspected. This represented about 50 percent of the number of Air Force installations and buildings with EPDM roofing. The age of the roof systems ranged from 3 to 156 months, although 40 percent were only 30 months old or less. The inspections were performed by walking over the roofs during which notes were recorded and photos were taken. During the field visits, discussions were held with base engineering personnel to determine their views of the performance of EPDM roofing under their responsibility. Considering the relatively young age of the roofs inspected, their overall performance was found to be satisfactory. About half were visually seen to be in fine condition, while another third displayed only minor defects which were limited in scope and were considered to be readily reparable with routine maintenance. On a less positive note, in the latter case, the observed defects had gone without repair. This illustrated a key concern expressed by field personnel that they lacked ability to perform routine maintenance.