Industry Terminology
A partial list of contemporary terms, technologies and programs
The following information is provided to aid in the understanding of today's most frequently used roofing terms, technologies and programs. Contact your Letner roofing specialist for fast, friendly, expert assistance with any item listed here.
Asphalt Shingles: A shingle manufactured by coating a reinforcing material (felt or fibrous glass mat) with asphalt and having mineral granules on the side exposed to the weather. View Sample
Built-up: A roof membrane consisting of layers of bitumen, which serves as the waterproofing component, with plies of reinforcement fabric installed between each layer. The reinforcement material can consist of bitumen-saturated felt, coated felt, polyester felt or other fabrics. A surfacing is generally applied and can be asphalt, aggregate, emulsion or a granule-surfaced cap sheet. View Sample
California's Title 24 regulations: were developed by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to reduce energy consumption in California. To comply with Title 24 standards, buildings must meet an energy budget based on a variety of energy saving features, including the roofing system. Under the new requirements, effective October 1, 2005, roofing products must have a 0.70 or greater rating for reflectivity and 0.75 or greater emissivity, according to the rating system developed by the COOL ROOF RATING COUNCIL (CRRC). www.energy.ca.gov/title24
Cool-roof Systems: Energy savings make cool roof systems an excellent choice for structures of all sizes. A building that's cooler on the outside requires less cooling on the inside to keep occupants comfortable. Highly infrared emissive and solar reflective roofing materials help mitigate heat absorption, thereby reducing the cost of energy associated with cooling and conditioning the inside air. View Sample
Cool Roof Rating Council (CRRC) is an independent and non-biased organization established to provide reflectivity and emissivity data on roof surfaces that may improve overall energy efficiency of buildings. CRRC is now used in ENERGY STAR(r), LEED, and California's Title 24's cool roofing requirements. www.coolroofs.org
Clay Tile: Resiliency, longevity, durability make clay tile a very popular roofing material. Though most familiar in its traditional "S" or "Spanish" style, clay tile is now available in a wider array of patterns. Tile offers one of the industry's longest manufacturer's limited warranties, usually starting at around 50 years. View Sample
Concrete Tile: Concrete tile offers most of the performance advantages of clay, along with considerably more choices of style and color. These additional options make it the material of choice for organizations whose construction projects seek to govern or control roofing materials' appearance. View Sample
Green Roofs: A green roof consists of vegetation and soil, or a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. Additional layers, such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems may also be included. View Sample
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a voluntary green building point rating system established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC is a non-profit coalition of leaders within the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible inside and out. LEED programs are specifically designed for new construction and existing buildings, based on a point system with four levels of certification: LEED Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
Selecting the right roofing product is one of the easiest ways to generate LEED points. LEED "cool roofs" have a minimum reflectivity of 0.65 and emissivity of 0.90 for Existing Buildings and a minimum Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of 78 for New Construction. www.usgbc.org
Modified Bitumen: A roof covering that is typically composed of a factory-fabricated composite sheet consisting of a copolymer-modified bitumen, often reinforced with polyester and/or fiberglass, and installed in one or more plies. The membrane is commonly surfaced with field-applied coatings, factory-applied granules or metal foil. The roofing system may incorporate rigid insulation. View Sample
Single ply: A rubber roof membrane, applied with or without adhesive, and sealed and fastened where materials overlap. Laps are heat sealed using special hot air welders or lap adhesive, the most preferred sealing method. View Sample
