- Q. I have to strip off an EPDM roof. Is there anything special I need to know?
A.Roofer Joseph Bublick responds: No, there's nothing special about tearing off EPDM roofing. You use the same procedure you would use with any other roof. In fact, EPDM is probably the simplest roof covering to remove, because you can easily cut it with a knife and just pull the material up.
Just like with any other roof system, though, there's no telling what you'll find when you look under it. If there's a substrate applied under the EPDM -- typically, we apply a rigid insulation board with a tough protective skin -- you'll want to strip that off, too, so you can inspect the structural deck. The substrate is usually screwed down, so you'll have to either back those screws out or cut them off.
