Commercial roofing
TPO roofing installation and replacement
A single-ply membrane system installed with the detailing that actually determines whether it lasts — seams, terminations and penetrations, not the field sheet.
- How it is priced
- Per square, by membrane thickness and attachment method
- Timeline
- Set in your written estimate, after the walk-through
- Who performs it
- NRBS crews, self-performed
Installed cost, stated as a range
TPO installed cost generally falls in a range of roughly $4 to $10 per square foot, and we quote it as a range on purpose.
Where a specific roof lands inside that range is determined by membrane thickness, attachment method, the insulation package, whether a tear-off is required, and how complicated the roof is — how many curbs, penetrations, changes of plane and terminations it carries.
That means two honest bids on the same building can differ substantially and both be correct, if they describe different systems. The useful question to ask a roofing contractor is not "what is your price per square" but "what did you specify, and why that."
Specifying the system
| 45 mil | Thin. Appropriate on a low-traffic roof with a short remaining hold period. |
|---|---|
| 60 mil | The general commercial standard. Correct on most buildings. |
| 80 mil | Where there is regular foot traffic for equipment servicing, or real hail exposure. Small cost delta, meaningful ageing difference. |
| Mechanically attached | Common and appropriate on many decks. Fasteners into the structural deck through the membrane. |
| Fully adhered | Better uplift performance and a smoother finished surface. Higher cost. |
| Ballasted | Where the structure carries the load and the geometry suits it. |
Attachment method is a wind-uplift and deck-type decision. It is not a preference, and a contractor who specifies the same attachment on every building is not making the decision at all.
Detailing is what determines service life
This is the part worth internalising as a buyer: TPO roofs do not usually fail in the field sheet.
They fail at seams. At terminations. At flashings. At curbs, drains, pipe penetrations and equipment supports. A roof with a flawless membrane and poor detail work at a rooftop unit curb will leak — at the curb, within a few years, regardless of the warranty on the membrane.
When you compare bids, the difference that matters is almost never the membrane brand. It is whether the bid describes what happens at every penetration and termination, and whether the crew doing the work details them the same way every time.
Insulation and drainage
The insulation package is specified to a target R-value, and where the existing roof does not drain, a tapered insulation system builds the fall rather than leaving standing water on a new membrane.
Ponding is the condition that turns a maintainable roof into a replacement, and it is worth resolving during the installation rather than accepting on a new roof.
Also in commercial roofing
Specification
What we install, and to what standard.
Full specification
- Membrane
- 45, 60 or 80 mil — thickness selected for traffic and exposure, not for the bid
- Attachment
- Mechanically attached, fully adhered, or ballasted, depending on deck and wind uplift
- Insulation
- To the target R-value with a tapered system where drainage requires it
- What decides service life
- Seams, terminations, flashings and penetration detailing
Not in the scope
- Anything not written in the scope. Extra work found on site is raised as a written change order before it is done.
- Membrane
- 45, 60 or 80 mil — thickness selected for traffic and exposure, not for the bid
- Attachment
- Mechanically attached, fully adhered, or ballasted, depending on deck and wind uplift
- Insulation
- To the target R-value with a tapered system where drainage requires it
- What decides service life
- Seams, terminations, flashings and penetration detailing
Not in the scope
- Anything not written in the scope. Extra work found on site is raised as a written change order before it is done.
How the job runs
Walk-through
We walk the units or the roof, or work from the walk sheet you already have.
Written scope
A written scope and price before any work starts, priced as shown above.
The work
Our own crews do it, to the written scope. Anything extra is a written change order first.
Final walk-through
We walk it again with you and close out anything on the punch list.
Step one is your scope, as it already exists.
Request a bidPricing a whole community? Request a park-wide quote.
Common questions
W-9, written safety programme and certificates of insurance (GL and workers’ comp): being prepared. What is published so far is on vendor credentials.
Usually specified alongside
- Commercial roofing overviewThe same crews, the same reporting and the same vendor file — applied to the commercial assets sitting in the same portfolio as your communities.
- RepairFind where the water is actually entering rather than where it is appearing, and repair that — because those are rarely the same place.
- Maintenance programsScheduled inspection and minor repair on the roofs that are still sound, which is the only thing that keeps a replacement list short.
Where we perform tpo
Self-performed crews based in Houston. Each city page carries local housing context.