Rubber Roofing
Shingles need slope to shed water. A flat or low-slope roof holds it. That is a completely different problem and it needs a membrane, not shingles.
If you have a flat porch roof, an addition, a dormer, or a low-slope section, shingles are the wrong material and they will leak no matter who installs them. Below about a 2:12 pitch, water sits instead of running, and shingles are designed to shed, not to hold. That job needs a single-ply rubber membrane with welded seams, because on a flat roof the seams are the only place it can fail.
This is the part that matters here and it is why we lead with EPDM instead of TPO. EPDM is rubber, with far higher elongation than TPO. It moves with the roof through Ohio's brutal freeze-thaw swings instead of building stress and cracking. TPO is engineered for hot, sunny climates where the reflective white surface cuts cooling bills. That is a real advantage in Phoenix. It is close to irrelevant in Delaware, Ohio, where our problem is ice, not air conditioning.
A well-installed EPDM roof with basic maintenance runs 30 years and up. TPO is generally a 20 to 30 year membrane.
It takes abuse, and there is not much to do to it once it is on besides keeping it clear and having it looked at.
EPDM typically comes in under TPO per square foot, on top of lasting longer in this climate.
Questions
No. Below roughly a 2:12 pitch, shingles will leak. They are designed to shed water down a slope, not to hold standing water. Anybody who quotes you shingles on a flat roof is either not paying attention or does not care.
In Central Ohio we lead with EPDM. It flexes through our freeze-thaw cycles without cracking. TPO's advantage is a reflective surface that cuts cooling costs, which pays off in hot climates and does very little here.
Over 30 years when it is installed right and kept up. The install is what decides it, because on a flat roof the seams are everything.
Yes. Porches, additions, dormers, and any low-slope section on an otherwise shingled house. That transition detail between the low-slope membrane and the sloped shingles is exactly where sloppy crews leak.
Minor ponding that clears within a couple of days is normal. Water that sits for a week means a drainage problem, and that is worth a look.
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