Blistering Roof Membrane

Vapour from contact bonding adhesive.

Blistering roof membrane.

These bubbles of trapped air moisture can be caused by a variety of issues which are all avoidable if the roof design is correct and the membrane is correctly installed. All conventional low slope roof systems can experience blisters in some form. They happen when your immune system attacks your skin and mucous membranes the lining inside your mouth nose and other parts. This can occur for two main reasons.

Blistering is a different phenomenon in which bubbles form underneath the roof s membrane. A roof blister is a pocket of air trapped between the layers of a roof membrane between the components of a roof assembly or within a layered roofing product such as an asphalt shingle. Blistering sometimes results in cracks but unlike alligatoring the cracks caused by blisters are usually follow the length of the blister rather than forming a pattern. Whilst bubbles or blisters on a one piece epdm roof can be unsightly they will not cause the rubber membrane to fail.

In bituminous systems voids can be created by improper adhesion during application improper mopping. While this article presents and discusses the osmotic mechanisms that produce blisters bubbles have several causes. Bitumen roof if the membrane is in good condition your contractor can simply cut an x shape into the blister to access the layer underneath. Membrane roof cut away the membrane that has lost adhesion replace any wet insulation with like material and replace the membrane with overlapping edges at least 6 inches wide.

In the most severe cases the membrane may need to be peeled back and re bonded. Expanding trapped air within the roof structure this is the other main source of bubbling it can occur on warm deck roof designs where the epdm membrane is fully bonded onto either a timber deck or directly onto the insulation. Bonding of the membrane to the substrate is of concern at perimeter areas particularly at low profile edges to eliminate probability of roof blow. If the membrane is not weathered or cracked repairs are typically not required.

Vapour from bonding adhesive. Autoimmune blistering disorders are a group of rare skin diseases. One problem you might come across is bubbles or blistering in your epdm roof. Blisters on adhered single ply membrane systems are typically caused by lack of adhesion at the point of application.

Fixing bubbles and blisters in an epdm roof. There are differing opinions as to the damage that can result from blisters and bubbles. In summary blistering and bubbling are common coating problems that occur for several different reasons.