Synthetic waterproofing membranes and auxiliary separating layers in the inverted flat roof. Pressure effect on the degradation

Flat roofs are inverted when the insulation material is placed over the waterproofing membrane. This widely-used constructive system sets materials which may interact easily with each other causing their deterioration. The incompatibilities and the materials that may interact with each other are not completely described, the elements currently used to separate the materials are not totally efficient to avoid deterioration. This paper intends to enlarge the knowledge regarding the materials that are incompatible for inverted flat roofs, the conditions were interactions take place and the efficiency of some alternative solutions to separate the materials. The ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) waterproofing membranes are incompatible with the extruded polystyrene (XPS). The interactions between incompatible materials increase with the pressure.