PVC stands for Polyvinyl Chloride. It’s all the rage now in waterproofing and is one of the pioneering single-ply roof materials. The first known PVC roofing membrane was produced by a company called Trocal and was installed in Germany in 1966. PVC roofing arrived in America in the 1970’s, and its use has rapidly grown since.
A PVC roofing membrane is a layer of sheathing that provides additional insulation, protection, and sound-deadening features, and is placed over an existing flat or shingled roof. The reason PVC roofs are not hard plastic like PVC pipe, is the presence of plasticizers.
The PVC roofing membrane is made by a process of heat welding seam technology, which not only allows for one single piece of PVC roofing to cover an entire roof’s surface and eliminate seams and joints, but also provides excellent flexibility.
As you can discern from following images, PVC has is flexible and adoptable to many flat-roof situations. PVC material itself is extremely durable, and has a high resistance to punctures and impact, as well as fire propagation and flame exposure resistance.
These images were taken at St. Thomas Church in Cornwall on Hudson, NY.