Built-Up Roofing

Built-up Roofing (or BUR) is the most popular choice of roofing used on commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. BUR is used on flat or low-sloped roofs and consists of multiple layers of bitumen and ply sheets.

The Advantages of BUR:

Built-up roofing systems have had a long-standing popularity, due in large part to its success and proven reliability. The number of 20, 30 and 40-year-old BUR roofs still in excellent condition attests to this fact. Specifically, BUR roofs offer:

• Multi-Layer Protection - the multiple layers of bitumen and bitumen saturated “felts” make a watertight barrier capable of providing many years of reliable protection from the elements.
• Thermal Performance - Built-up roofing systems exhibit exceptional resistance to the conduction of heat between the exterior and interior of a building, resulting in noticeable reductions in heating and cooling costs.
• Fire and Uplift Resistance – Built-up roofing systems are tested through Factory Mutual Research Corporation to meet very strict fire resistance requirements and ensure adequate uplift resistance under extreme wind conditions.
• Economy – Compared to other high performance commercial roofing systems, built-up roofing is one of the best investments on the market due to its competitive cost per year of expected service life.

Components of a BUR system include:

• the roof deck
• a vapor retarder
• insulation
• membrane
• surfacing material

At the heart of this roofing system is the roofing membrane, which consists of roofing bitumen and multiple reinforcing plies of roofing felt.

Roofing bitumen is the primary adhesion/waterproofing agent used between roofing plies. Bitumen arrives at the job site in solid form, but is heated and applied as a liquid. Roofing bitumens may be either a product of petroleum refining (asphalts) or a product of the coal-cooking process (coal tar pitch).

Multiple reinforcing “plies” are asphalt-coated roofing sheets or felts installed in three or more layers to strengthen and stabilize the BUR membrane.

BUR roofing membranes can be protected from solar radiation by embedding gravel in the bitumen, applying a surface coating or applying a granular-surfaced “cap” sheet. Light-colored surfacing materials can be used to reflect heat from the building. In addition, surfacing agents can provide additional fire protection.

BUR applied for maximum performance:

It's critical to get secure bonding of the roofing felts (plies) using bitumen. To achieve this bond the roofing contractor applies thin, uniform moppings of bitumen. This waterproofs the system and ensures proper adhesion for fusing the membrane system together.

The temperature of the bitumen is critical. By heating it to the proper temperature the roofing contractor gets the right viscosity for proper mopping. The contractor heats the bitumen to its EVT or Equiviscous Temperature, the temperature at which it can be most effectively mopped into uniform layers. Each batch of bitumen should be labeled by the supplier with its EVT. Once felts are rolled into place on the heated bitumen applicators pull brooms or squeegees over the felt or use some other method to make sure that its embedded in the bitumen.

Typically, membrane ply construction is defined by headlap, endlap, and sidelap.

• Headlap is the distance of the overlap that exists between the lowermost and the uppermost plies of the shingled portion of the roof membrane when measured perpendicular to the long dimension of the membrane.

• Endlap is the overlap distance that is measured from where one roll of felt ends to where another begins.

• Sidelap is the overlap distance along the length of the felt where one roll of felt overlaps the adjacent overlying felt.

The application of Built-Up Roofing systems is detailed work, but the professional who pays particular attention to those details such as curbs, walls, flashings or other projections that interrupt the membrane, achieves a quality, efficient, long-lasting product for the building owner.

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