The Use of Adhesives for Attachment in Roofing Applications
The use of adhesives as an attachment method for insulation to substrate and membranes to insulation and substrate has increased with the advancement in the technology of adhesives. In addition, the recent surge in adhesive attachment has been propelled by several external factors. Environmental constraints and building owners’ concerns with fumes have forced manufacturers and contractors to consider alternate attachment methods, as have insurance regulations, as well as fire and safety hazards associated with torch applications. The industry is also experiencing a labor shortage and the new generation of mechanics is more reluctant to apply the older conventional systems. Contractors are also finding that the new attachment methods require less equipment and labor and thereby lower overhead and increase productivity.
In recent years, the market share of systems using adhesives as attachment methods have been minimal, typically less than 5 percent. However, there are a number of roofing and waterproofing manufacturers who have supplied adhesive attached systems in cold-process or cold-applied applications for the past 50 years. The longevity of these manufacturers indicates success with these attachment methods. Adhesives have also been used successfully with single-ply membranes in fully adhered systems since the ‘70s.