b'In the late 1970s, theindustrywitnessing a conroofingwas vergence oftrends. First, the recently introducedBe :;urn to ~:ttond \'Through the Decadev-Celcb:r:tii1g two major single-ply roofing system was quicklyacceptance41:i Ynors of T&R Findings" .::t MRCA\'s 85th Annuu! MRCA gaining Conforcncc on Timrsdny, December ll. amongcontractors who appreciated itsinstalla 7:30-8:4!.J nm. roofingquick tion andprice-soso thatwas outpacing lowermuchdemand supplymanyMeanwhile, customers were inareas.increasinglytoday, such as whencompanystole ainadvertentlymisspelled tofailingsystemshad beenwarrantyfrom a competitor orroofing contractor lookingreroofroofthatinstalled verbiagea during the boom constructionfollowingWar IL yearsWorldtried to fix leaks in a PVC roofhot withasphalt. As a result, thefrom roughly 1977 towas period1984"1hewas one ofbecause we didn\'t time periodadventure, marked byandand free ofof discoveryinnovation,constraintsknowwas coming next to the market;\' Dupuis says. what codes and regulations thata fewlater would comeyearswith"Itevolutionary. It was exciting. 1here was a lot of was very Society for TestingMaterialscamaraderie among all parties:\' Americanand(ASTM) standards andmaterials. fire-ratedfn theseprior to ASTM standards, brandand yearsloyalty To help guide the industry, MRCA\'.s Technical and Researchdependencywarranties were common, Dupuis said. Manon (T&R) Committeeon the role of tookindustry watchdog byufacturers were replacingthat had roofsbeen detached by conductingmonitoringand developing studies,temperatures,windmembranedue to pondingr and or hadfracturingwatecriteriavarious roofingincluding EDPM, PVC, and forsystems,premature aging. Adhesives atwere weak andubject the timesbitumenSRIto water absorption. modifiedroofs, says Rene Dupuis, PhD PE, ofin Middleton,v\\11,and a longtimeCommittee member. The T&R"Because ofresearch we were doing on the intensesinCommittee\'s findings were closelymanufacturers watched bygle-ply systems, everythatantedget into manufacturerw to andandatconferences spiked suppliers,attendanceMRCAthet would come to our conference to catchon the marke up duringperiod. thatlatestrd;\'says. "In the earlythe concept of wo Dupuis1980s, ofwaswastheInstitute (SPRI) was actuallyat "1he introductionsingle-plyvery momentous. It Single Ply Roofingbornone startling to the world ofroofingone single, built-upthatveryofJ\\llidwest convention meetings\'.\' the thin plythe placefour plies andmatecould takeofasphaltDebatewas swirlingwhetherneeded alsoaroundPVCa rials; Dupuis says. "1heof the early single-ply performancereinforcing sheet. "From Wisconsin towe had Texas,early syssystems really depended heavilythe warranty. It was the ontemic productbecause the producttoo thin failureswasand toitDupuis says. "Suppliers watchedvery single-ply people who brought the warranlymarket, bewas unreinforced;\'us cause thatthe only waybuy their waspeople wouldsystems\'.\'carefully. 1heCommitteeblasted T&Rjustthe manufacturers Everyone was learning during those years, Dupuis says.thaty felt were notresponsible on the technical side:\' the being With thatcame mistalces that arehumorous learning, however,The construction details for single-ply roofs, which were sketchythe beginning, were developing over time and conat stantlyButgeneral, manufacturers and improving.insuppliers adapted thatto these shifting market trends survived and thrivedthetry. Among them were Carlisle, an original inindusAmerican manufacturer ofFirestone single-ply systems; BuildingProducts;Johns Manville; GAF; and TAMKO Building Products. However, companies thattriedget belatedlyto intoplystuck with built-up roofing systems, such singleand Celotex, did not survive. although the Dupuis adds thatT&R Committee served as a "shepherd" throughoutperiod, bymid-l 980s, other thisthe industrystudying, following, and promoting groups were single-ply systems. Tetrahydrafuran (THF) was used 35to chemically weldto years agoPVC\'\'1he systems we have today are heremany reasons, but for a plate-fastened disc. It was "nasty chemically,,, Dupuis, and it says oftena lotdue to learningthe field experience ofscaused headaches and dizziness.isfrompredecesystems;\'says. sors\' single-plyhe 12www.mrca.org- Midwest Roofer'