Ask the Experts: What is the Best Roof for a Garage?

‘What is the best roof for a garage?” is frequently asked at PermaRoof UK. We would always recommend EPDM rubber roofing for a garage, due to the durability of the membrane, its expected service life of over 50 years and the ease of installation, especially for DIY. Here’s why…

How to choose your garage roof

Choosing the best garage roof covering relies on a number of factors, including whether you’re changing the use – perhaps creating a home office or entertaining space instead of a place to store the car or workshop tools. Changing use of a building may mean that existing roofing needs to be stripped off and replaced before the waterproofing layer can be installed. If you are unsure if your current garage roof deck is in good condition, now would be the time to get it inspected by a professional roofer or architect.

A timber roof deck in good condition is ideal for the application of membrane and this will be the best approach, especially if you’re tackling the job yourself. We always recommend EPDM rubber for several reasons:

• Highly reliable
• Long service life expectancy – over 50 years
• Fast and easy system to install – often in kit-form
• No maintenance once installed correctly
• UV and Ozone stable
• Remains durable and flexible in extreme temperatures
• Easy to repair if damaged
• Accessories available to further simplify installation

Further reading:

The benefits of EPDM membrane for garage roofing

Let’s look a little deeper into some of the biggest benefits of choosing EPDM for garage roofing.

Extended service life

EPDM rubber is manufactured using vulcanisation of synthetic rubber compounds, a process which gives it exceptional durability and stability like no other membrane. As a result of field testing, Firestone EPDM carries an unmatched service life expectancy of over 50 years.

EPDM has high durability and flexibility through its elastomeric properties and can elongate to accommodate building movement up to 300%.

Easy to install

EPDM membranes are easy to handle and install, making them popular in the DIY sector. For most garage roof projects, EPDM can be custom cut to size in a single sheet, negating joins, and can be trimmed in situ with a pair of ordinary, good quality scissors. It is cold applied using water based adhesives on timber decks.

Installation requires few tools and preparation can be carried out using household items if the roof deck is in good, clean and grease-free condition.

• Adhesive rollers
• Penny and seam rollers
• Crayon or chalk
• Scissors
• Trim can be installed using drill and fix methods or tacking
• Soft broom

We offer a range of free roofing installation guides to help you with all aspects of install.

Simplifies the planning

Choosing an EPDM system for your garage roof makes the planning straightforward. This is because we supply both standard and custom-cut EPDM garage roof kits to suit your project specifications. All you need to do is accurately measure your garage and we will do the rest, putting together a complete kit that includes sufficient EPDM membrane, adhesive, sealant, edge and gutter trims and all the associated fixings, end caps and joint clips.

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Video guide: How to install EPDM:

Planning a complex garage roofing project?

If you need a bit more than a basic kit for the garage roof, or wish to tailor your installation with more detail, we provide the PermaRoof EPDM Kit Builder. This is a free, quick and easy-to-use online application that produces a kit list from your measurements and project detail. Build your own kit in just four steps and send it to us for a quote with one click. Use the button below to try it now.

Other useful information:

Here at PermaRoof UK, we support all our customers and answer a variety of garage roofing and other related questions every day. If you have a question, please visit our FAQs page, give us a call on 01773 608 839 or use the live chat for a quick query.

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