TecTopics: 16-foot TPO

Carlisle’s 16-foot TPO is providing contractors with significant labor-saving benefits on adhered and induction-welded projects. Contractors who use 16-foot rolls have fewer rolls to load, stage, position, and kick out, and the rolls are in 2-packs for easy stacking, storage, and trucking. Wider rolls also mean fewer seams and T-joints to weld. This all translates to quicker job completion.

UNLOADING AND STAGING
Loading and staging a job can be complicated and often requires significant crane time and coordination. With fewer rolls to unload, contractors can start work sooner. 

Unloading the truck:

• Unload from the truck directly onto the roof before unpacking 2-packs whenever possible.
• If using forklift or lull, unload from the side.
• Use carpet pole or long forks (6' or longer) if loading/unloading from the ends.
• Avoid using short forks (4' or shorter).

On the roof:

• Load rolls so that each 2-pack is close to where the rolls will eventually be installed.
• Use 4-wheel carts, roll movers, or insulation fork carts with large wheels to easily move rolls long distances across the roof when necessary.
• Move single rolls by rolling them across the roof.
• To turn or spin rolls, roll them onto a scrap piece of polyiso insulation to spin them easily.
• For more information, check out this video about handling 16’ rolls.

POSITIONING
Every time a 16-foot roll is kicked out and positioned, it covers 60% more roof area vs. a 10' x 100' roll. Reducing the number of rolls that need to be kicked out and positioned can save a lot of man hours over the course of a project.

FEWER SEAMS
Using 16-foot rolls cuts down the number of seams, saving significant time on welding seams, installing T-joint patches, and inspecting and probing at the end of the job. Using 10-foot rolls requires over 60% more seams than 16-foot rolls.

LESS WASTE
With fewer rolls on the job there is less packaging and core waste to dispose of compared to smaller sheets, which is more efficient and better for the environment.

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For more information about the real-world labor-saving benefits, check out this video about a project that used 16’-wide TPO.