Where to get rubber roofing or billboard plastic for covering stacks?

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wahoowad

Minister of Fire
Dec 19, 2005
1,669
Virginia
I'll be throwing away most of my tarps at end of this winter - they are only 2 years old but just haven't held up to the elements. Rips and other leaks allowed wet spots to rot out portions of my stacks, also contributing to rotting of pallets too. I even sprang for a heavy duty tarp and that too now seems like a waste.

Where should I look for this rubber roofing and billboard plastic I see others using? Which businesses might I call to see if they have any?
 
Check with your local lumber yard most carry rubber roofing and will sell the end of a roll cutoffs cheap. That's where I got some to try this season on my stacks. All my tarps are falling apart after only two years also. You can also check with any large roofing co. And see if they will sell you any small left overs from large jobs. I picked up two nice 4' x 12' pieces this week from a job.
 
If you know any local contractors - you can sometimes get used rubber roofing from remodels/repairs - could make a few calls. Cheers!
 
Craigslist...look under epdm rubber liners. Same stuff they use on city roofs. Usually guys selling leftover scraps for a decent price
 
Look for flat roofing companies. I have gotten some of the junk that they take off of schools for next to nothing and put it on dirt floors in pole sheds. You get what you pay for with tarps, some are junk and some will last for many years. Another route might be to talk to a farmer who covers bails of straw or hay with tarp. They get the stuff in bulk and may be able to help you find something suitable for the cost.
 
To extend the life of tarps put sheets of cardboard under the tarps on top of the wood. Keeps the wood from sandpapering the tarps. Appliance stores are up their backsides in large pieces of cardboard.

But 45 mil rubber roofing/pond liner is the nuts for covering wood stacks. Got eight hundred dollars worth of it for five bucks at a bankruptcy auction for a landscaping company because nobody knew what it was. It was why I was there.

Like folks have said, call commercial roofing companies. They have to pay to toss tear offs in the landfill.
 
I called a few local roofing companies that advertised flat roofing, and asked whether they had any used rubber roofing material they could sell me. The guy (who turned out to be one of the owners) said I could stop by, so I did. They gave me a 10' square sheet for free, and just asked me to think of them when my house needs a new roof.
 
Rubber roof (EPDM) is the same stuff used in koi or fish ponds for liners. In our area Home Depot sells it but too expensive there. Agreed that your best source is roofing supply off-cuts or demolition places. I've got a few thousand feet of it on my roof for the past 30 yrs and supposed to last 50.
 
50 years from a flat roof would be something! At the schools I worked on 20-25 years was the best and they were patched often at that. They used a white roof back in the 90's that would just open up after 10 years. They were told of how it would reflect heat and it would last 20+ years but the roofers that replaced it said it was pool liner and someone thought it'd work for roofs. Nope! The district had it on maybe 20 schools too. They had to shovel the snow off a lot of roofs when it broke down in the middle of a winter to keep the buildings open, they went with a black rubber membrane from Firestone afterwords.
 
Our Craigs list has a guy selling used scraps.
Check you CL.
A roll can be pricey at the supply house. As noted, check your local commercial roofing supply contractors, they always have scraps that will be perfect for wood pile covering.
 
To extend the life of tarps put sheets of cardboard under the tarps on top of the wood. Keeps the wood from sandpapering the tarps. Appliance stores are up their backsides in large pieces of cardboard.

But 45 mil rubber roofing/pond liner is the nuts for covering wood stacks. Got eight hundred dollars worth of it for five bucks at a bankruptcy auction for a landscaping company because nobody knew what it was. It was why I was there.

Like folks have said, call commercial roofing companies. They have to pay to toss tear offs in the landfill.

Good suggestion on the cardboard. I'm going to try that.
 
I get these from a friend that is the general manager of an advertising company . Shipping from this company has got to be outrageous , a full billboard 40' X 15' weighs about 125lbs.
Try lumber yards , the tyvek that covers the wood bundles is usually thrown away, doubled over is perfect for covering the top of a stack.
 
Ordered 4 of the 5' x50' ft billboard items shipping was $43.xx from MN to WI. If you read descriptions the items have pipe sleeves around all four sides. That gives some fairly neat abilities for tie downs, besides the clips and such from the store.
 
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