My knowledge and information is based on 5 roof quotes I’ve received over the last 9 months. When I purchased my home in the Los Angeles area, the inspector notified me that I needed to replace the roof. It’s been 12 months since then and we’ve had one decent sized leak. We’re ready to move ahead with replacing the roof.
Today I have a low pitch roof, a low enough pitch where it’s nearly impossible to have a roof with shingles. Total roof sqft is ~3,000 sqft (on a 2,100 sqft house + garage). Currently, I have an asphalt/gravel roof. 3 roofers suggested replacement with modified bitumen, 1 suggested TPO, 1 roofer suggested spray on. Bitumen prices were $22-26k, TPO is $21k, not sure what spray on was. You can’t see the roof well from the street, so while I don’t want it to be hideous, a little ugliness is not the end of the world.
I’m far from an expert so I’m sure knowledgeable flat roofers will educate me. In our area TPO is considered substandard and PVC is the most common flat roof system. TPO has been failing on bigger jobs here after 10-12 years and it is not possible to weld patches unless you adhere to the underside. In our market TPO was used mainly on budget jobs because it was so much cheaper than PVC. Maybe it has improved?
TPO has been crap in the US since the beginning… The sheets are splitting down the middle. I wouldn’t put it on a doghouse, unless I didn’t like the dog!
