EPDM Give Outstanding Surface Wetting Properties

Roofs are possibly the most important part of a home and often the most ignored one. In addition, the most important job that it plays is of providing protection to the building and its residents. But at the same time it is the most neglected area of the house because as heard often “out of sight-out of mind”, the roof is also generally out of sight. One would not want to go over the roof and examine it for no reason. That’s why, until and unless it starts leaking, no one pays any attention to the roof or its maintenance.

EPDM rubber is a very flexible and long-lasting material that has a huge range of different purposes and applications. EPDM stands for Ethylene Propylene Diene M, in which the M refers to a class of rubbers that contain a saturated chain of the polymethylene type. What that means in simple terms is that EPDM rubber has fantastic heat, ozone, and weather resistance. It is also a great electrical insulator.

EPDM rubber sheets are often used as a liner for back yard water ponds and other man-made water features. The rubber does not leach chemicals, and so would not harm any fish living in these ponds. EPDM roofing material is one of the most common applications of this rubber product, although it can be used in garden hoses, washers, belts, electrical insulation, seals and speaker cone surrounds.

EPDM rubber is also often the main substance used in the weather seals of vehicles, such as door seals, window seals, and hood seals. This is due to the great weatherproof properties of this type of rubber.

Keep Your Roof from Leaking With Liquid EPDM

A roof leak can not only be troublesome, it can be costly. Both the damage done by the leaking water itself and the cost of repairing the roof can quickly add up. Rather than spend a lot of time, money and effort hiring professionals to repair your roof why not do it yourself with the only product that’s easy to use, cost efficient and extremely durable?

There’s no reason to endure lengthy and costly repairs when you can use liquid EPDM to cover your roof and prevent leaking, cracking and other damage from the elements. Constructed using the same chemical composition as traditional sheet EPDM roofing, liquid EPDM gives you the added bonus of flexibility and ease of use so you can handle those repairs yourself.

While traditional sheet EPDM can trap air underneath, leading to cracking and breaking later on, liquid EPDM goes on in one smooth coat and is designed to expel excess air during the curing process so that you are left with a strong, water and airtight seal. And because liquid EPDM will expand and contract with the roof’s surface when the temperature changes, there is less likelihood of weather related damage resulting in a roof leak.

The flexibility of Liquid EPDM allows it to be applied to almost any type of roof, from commercial and residential to RV’s, trailers and boats. It can be quickly and easily moulded to fit any surface and within hours it will cure to form a watertight seal that can endure ponding water year round. Consider liquid EPDM for your all kinds of roofing needs and you won’t be disappointed!

Waterproofing Fish Ponds, Fountains With Liquid Roof

Liquid roof or Liquid rubber, being Liquid EPDM, has a wide range of application areas due to its extensive features. Its reflective nature results in delivering cooling effect. It is UV and ozone layer stable, highly chemical resistant, can tolerate a very broad temperature range and is compatible with a variety of surfaces like rubber, fiberglass, concrete, metal, foam, wood and fabric. It is the best solution for roof leaks repair. But besides all these features, one characteristic of epdm that is very important and must be mentioned is its water proofing nature. Due to this, it is extensively used to waterproof fountains and fish ponds.

The fountains and fish ponds have concrete surfaces. When special additives for water resistance are not added to a concrete surface, a need for an impervious coating becomes very essential. Because if such a coating is not applied, then it may lead to leaching out of soluble constituents and this is something very dangerous. These factors demand that the ponds and fountains must be glazed with a coating that is nontoxic and safe for the fishes and offers maximum water resistance. Liquid EPDM rubber, no doubt is the best. It provides protection to the surface both against the fresh and salt water.

Besides providing the water proofing feature, it also provides a solution to the roof leaks problem. The pond surface is usually plastic, concrete or rubber lined. When leaks are encountered in concrete surfaces, rubber liners are usually installed. But this process is very tricky and complicated. Also plastic pond liners generally get cracked. They can be repaired with products like caulks and tapes but they eventually get wear out. So for fixing leaks on both plastic and concrete surfaces, liquid roof is the most recommended product. It is both long lasting and easy to install.

Surface preparation for application of Liquid roof to ponds and fountains etc should be done carefully. The surface should be cleaned properly before application. If an alga is present treat with an algaecide or 25% solution of bleach, let stand for one hour and rise well. In fish ponds polishing the surface with a wire brush or a high pressure water spray might be needed. A rain free one week is needed for the surface to dry out.

EPDM Coatings Facts.

EPDM Rubber has had a long history of superior performance in hoses, molded products, tires and roofing membranes. For example, the radiator hoses in our cars and the gaskets on our freezer doors are made of EPDM rubber and show the broad temperature range the product can handle. EPDM Roofing Membranes also have more than 30 years of successful history.

EPDM is relatively inexpensive, simple to install, and fairly clean to work with when compared to conventional materials. There are not the strong odors and fumes either. The product is very stable and the resulting characteristics of Liquid EPDM such as flexibility, weatherability and chemical resistance are determined by it.

EPDM roofs are suitable for most types of facilities, offer various mil thicknesses, and can be purchased in either black or white. It should be noted that the solar reflectivity of a black roof is only 8%, which is a major factor in the Sun Belt.

Drawbacks of EPDM roofs include vulnerability to physical abuse; lack of layer redundancy; temperature sensitivity of adhesion points and sealing tape used for seams; and poor resistance to chemicals, cooking fats, and greases. As noted earlier, these roof systems don't always meet local wind uplift code requirements.

Liquid Roof Application Tips

When you want to apply liquid rubber on your roof, keep in mind that it is a 3 to 6 hrs process, excluding the surface preparation time. Once the Liquid EPDM Rubber is applied, it takes around 16 to 20 hours to dry up. Therefore careful planning should be done taking into consideration the weather conditions as well, i.e. one should plan to work on days when the rain is not expected because although Liquid Roof will immediately waterproof, even when wet, avoid heavy rain until it is completely dry to the touch which means 16 - 20 hours after application. To be on the safe side, one can say that a full cure will be achieved in 4 - 10 days after application, in consistent 70 deg. F.

A lot of liquid coatings can be seen in market but when we talk of liquid roof, its spray and application characteristics are found to be very unique and different from the other coatings. Before applying the liquid rubber, comes the surface preparation which is also a mandatory step. Surface preparation and cleaning is done to make sure that there are no holes, gaps, seams and tears on the roof and if there, they should be repaired before application. Also any potential weak areas should be reinforced and asphalts or silicone type of caulking on the roof/surface should be removed as well. The roof should be thoroughly dried prior to applying Liquid Rubber EPDM after cleaning.

Although Liquid Rubber Sealant Coating has a heavy consistency, it will self level and penetrate small crevices and pores. However before applying, catalyzing the liquid rubber with a pre-measured catalyst according to instructions is very important. The liquid roof can be sprayed or even applied with a paint brush to areas which are small and difficult to access e.g. chimneys, roof flashing, pipes, fish ponds etc. A squeegee and a roller can also be employed specially for flat surfaces where the usual practice is to pour the material, spreading with a squeegee and then leveling it with a short nap roller. Also a single application is recommended rather than applying multiple coats. For obtaining efficient results, a 20 mil layer of the liquid roof should be applied.