EPDM rubber roofing across East Sussex

Price per m²

£72–£127

Typical life

25–50 years

Manufacturer guarantees

20-year material warranties are common

Typical garage roof

£1,750–£3,100

How much does an EPDM rubber roof cost in East Sussex?

Guide prices including VAT at South East rates. The fixed price comes after a free survey for new and replacement roofs.

Which flat roofs are common in East Sussex?

Flat roofs in East Sussex sit on low-rise post-war blocks of flats, bungalows with flat-roofed side extensions and dormers and 1930s semis with flat-roofed garages and kitchen extensions. Much of the South East sits in the drier Thames catchment at roughly 730 mm of rain a year, so the usual failures are at joints, upstands and outlets rather than from sheer volume of rain. Approximate 1991–2020 regional averages based on Met Office data.

Building regulations in England

Replacing more than half of a roof over a heated room usually counts as renovating a thermal element, so it is insulated to current standards and notified to building control. Renovated roofs over heated rooms are insulated to around 0.16 W/m²K where that's feasible, and new extension roofs are built to 0.15 W/m²K. In East Sussex the application goes to Brighton & Hove City Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Hastings Borough Council and 3 other councils. More on the rules.

Do I need building regulations approval to replace a roof with EPDM?

Often, yes. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, re-covering more than half of a flat roof over a heated room usually counts as renovating a thermal element, so the roof should be insulated towards the renovation standard where that is feasible; in Scotland, the council's building standards service decides whether a building warrant is needed.

An unheated detached garage normally falls outside these rules, and a patch repair is treated differently from a full re-cover.

In practice that means a warm roof: insulation above the deck, a vapour control layer beneath it and the EPDM on top. The extra thickness lifts the finished roof, so at survey we check door thresholds, window cills, wall flashings and upstand heights, aiming for an upstand of about 150 mm above the finished surface. Where approval is needed, we deal with building control or building standards for you. The building regulations page and our warm vs cold roof guide go into more detail.

How are the joins, edges and upstands made watertight on an EPDM roof?

They are bonded with contact adhesive and sealed with purpose-made EPDM tapes and pre-formed pieces, because the edges and details are where most rubber roof leaks start.

• Wall upstands: the rubber is turned up the wall, usually to about 150 mm above the finished roof, fully bonded, then finished with a termination bar or a cover flashing chased into the masonry.
• Corners: folded rather than cut where possible, or finished with pre-formed pieces.
• Joins: on roofs wider than one sheet, the laps are cleaned, primed and joined with splice tape, then rolled firmly.
• Pipes and vents: sealed with pre-formed pipe boots rather than relying on mastic.
• Edges and outlets: drip and kerb trims are fixed and the junction with the membrane is sealed with cover tape; outlets are bonded into the membrane at the lowest point.

We also check the falls before laying, because standing water around an outlet shortens the life of any detail. There is more on this in our pages on edges and drainage and rooflight upstands.

Which towns in East Sussex do we cover?

• Brighton
• Eastbourne
• Hastings
• Bexhill-on-Sea
• Hailsham
• Seaford
• Rottingdean
• Crowborough
• Portslade
• Peacehaven
• Uckfield
• Lewes

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