PVC roofing in Long Beach, CA

PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, looks a lot like TPO on the roof: a light-colored reinforced sheet welded at the seams with hot air. The difference is in the chemistry. PVC contains plasticizers that keep it flexible, and it holds up better against animal fats, cooking oils and many industrial fluids that soften and swell other roofing. It also tolerates ponding water well.

Our crews install PVC on Long Beach restaurant buildings, small industrial roofs, apartment roofs with stubborn low areas and homes where a flat roof doubles as a deck. This page explains when PVC earns its higher price over TPO, the detailing it needs and how we keep it in good shape.

PVC versus TPO: the honest comparison

Owners often ask whether PVC is worth the extra cost. On a plain house roof with good drainage, TPO usually does the job for less. PVC earns its price in specific conditions, and we only recommend it when one of them is present on your roof.

The two membranes cannot be welded to each other, so repairs and additions have to use matching material. We note the membrane type on every job record so future work uses the right sheet.

• Grease from kitchen exhaust fans settling on the roof
• Areas that hold water and cannot be fully re-sloped
• Chemical discharge from process or cooling equipment
• Roof decks where a durable, easily welded surface helps
• Complex details where PVC's flexibility makes cleaner flashing

Restaurant roofs and grease containment

Kitchen exhaust fans throw a fine mist of grease that settles around the fan curb. On asphalt-based roofs that grease dissolves the bitumen, and the roof turns soft and leaks right around the fan. Even PVC benefits from help, so we install a grease containment box or absorbent filter system at each exhaust fan and extend the PVC sheet up and over the curb.

For restaurant owners, we schedule the noisy and smelly work for hours when the kitchen is closed or slow, and we coordinate with the hood cleaning company so the fans are serviced before the new roof goes on.

Ponding water and why PVC tolerates it

Every flat roof should drain, but some buildings have structural sags or drains placed high that cannot be fully corrected without major framing work. PVC handles the remaining puddles better than many membranes because its welded seams and plasticized sheet resist the constant wetting that breaks down other materials.

We still add tapered insulation and crickets wherever practical. PVC tolerating water is a safety margin, not a reason to leave a roof holding a pond. Standing water adds weight and grows algae, and it hides small damage until it leaks.

Keeping a PVC roof in service

Over many years, PVC slowly loses plasticizer and becomes stiffer. That is normal, but it means an old sheet is harder to weld to during repairs. We recommend a roof walk once a year, ideally in early fall before the rainy season, to check seams, clean drains and catch punctures from dropped tools early.

Keep other trades off the roof without care. HVAC technicians and sign crews cause many punctures. Walkway pads along service routes and a simple note to tenants about roof access go a long way.

When to call about pvc roofing

Where PVC makes sense in Long Beach

Long Beach has a long run of restaurants and food businesses along Pine Avenue downtown, 2nd Street in Belmont Shore, 4th Street, Long Beach Blvd and Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls. Many sit in older buildings with flat roofs and exhaust fans that have been leaking grease onto asphalt roofing for years. Near the port and in the industrial areas west of downtown, roofs carry process equipment and cooling units.

Salt air near the coast and the long dry season wear on any membrane, and winter storms test drains hard. PVC's welded seams and water tolerance help on these buildings. The City of Long Beach requires a building permit for re-roofing, and commercial projects in neighboring cities go through their own building departments, which we handle from our Long Beach and La Mirada offices.