The rise of single-ply roofing systems

By Emma Peterson. 

As TPO and PVC continue to gain market share across commercial roofing, BITEC® is expanding its offerings with Stronghold™ single-ply solutions designed for long-term protection. 

Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) are two common types of low-slope roofing systems. Both are single-ply, a name that refers to the single waterproof layer used in these systems. To learn more about TPO and PVC systems, we hosted Shane Millwood of BITEC® for an episode of Roofing Road Trips®. 

Prior to coming into his current work with BITEC®’s single-ply systems, Shane spent most of his career working with multi-ply products. He explained, “When I came into this roofing industry, I was multi-ply only, but I didn’t realize how much single-ply work there was...I heard some numbers at the end of last year saying that there's about 2 billion square feet of TPO done in a year and about 500 million square feet of PVC done.”  

And industry demand keeps growing for these systems. As Shane put it, “Single-ply roofing has become the primary roofing system for low-slope roofs.” It’s this growing demand that motivated the BITEC® team to develop their newest line of products – Stronghold™.  

Within this line, BITEC® has both TPO solutions and PVC products*. In our conversation with Shane, he dove into these two systems and when they shine as the best solution:  

• TPO: TPO tends to be the lowest-cost product to install as well as one of the easiest to install. In Shane’s words, “TPO is good for a lot of things, but tends to not handle foot traffic great. So, one scenario we see it used in is when you need to cover a large building, like a warehouse, and the primary need is weather resistance, not puncture.”  
• PVC: Alternatively, PVC roofs are a great option for areas that need the extra durability they can’t get from something like TPO. As Shane put it, “PVC is a more durable product to certain things like grease and foot traffic. So, we’ll see it get used on things like fast food restaurants and such.”  
  • Note: In this line, BITEC® also provides a Ketone Ethylene Ester (KEE) system, which is a blend of KEE and PVC. In Shane’s words, “KEE, which is also a PVC product, is like PVC on steroids. It's going to be very long lasting and great for the harshest rooftop conditions.” 

Overall, BITEC®’s Stronghold™ single plies are great examples of the high-performance single-ply systems that have been growing in popularity in today’s roofing market.  

Want to learn more about Stronghold™? Listen to the podcast, Watch the recording or visit BITEC®’s website!