Johns Manville (JM), a market-leading manufacturer of commercial roofing products and a Berkshire Hathaway company, announced today the availability of a new reinforced EPDM membrane sheet with tape-to-tape technology (JM EPDM R FIT). This next-generation product, designed to work on the single ply waterproofing membrane, is field tested and proven to speed up installation by as much as four times, leading to lower labor costs. The expense and time involved when using other membranes -- field-fabricated or one-sided tape -- that require primer is also eliminated since no primer is needed, leading to lower installed costs. The initial bond between tape-to-tape membrane sheets has been measured to be up to 20 percent stronger compared to field-fabricated seams.
The water-tight seam is never exposed on the roof-top so the risk of contamination during installation and post installation is minimal.
John Petruzzi, president of FPS Roofing installed the new product and was impressed with how quickly the crew learned techniques to use the new products. “We were sold when we saw for ourselves how fast the seam went together. We were hands-on with the product, the whole crew liked it, and I will continue to use it,” said Petruzzi.
JM EPDM R FIT enables a longer window of application time since the 10’ x 100’ rolls are completely pre-taped. This means there is no waiting on primer to flash off to get to the next step. “Our field tests demonstrate that this product will go down up to four times faster than anything already on the market,” said John Quante, JM EPDM Product Manager, Roofing Systems. “The tape-to-tape creates a stronger initial bond, making the installation more robust from day one. This product evolution will allow roofers to bid more aggressively and no doubt architects and specifiers will see the benefits too.”