I did my roof not long ago (Sept 08) with a EPDM diy kit, great product and would recommend but.... with a word of caution.
Some applications require you fix an edge trim to the gutter edge, mainly for cosmetic features and I agree it looks a lot nicer, but here is where the caution comes in, if you are putting a solid piece of rubber down which is, in itself impregnable to water, why would you then drill fixings through it to hold the trim in place thus creating an element of weakness in said membrane?
Now, I have been told that this should not occur if fitted correctly, well, I would class myself as a competent diyer and fitted the roof exactly as per the instructions with a relative that is also a competent builder. We used a butyl sealing tape which was supplied and a dab of silicone for each fixing.
The problem arose when 6 months later when I ripped out my kitchen ceiling, due to the previous leaking damage, only to find the new osb3 boards underneath damp with water from the gutters edge.
I was also told that this hasn't happened before, well, my point is, unless you rip out the ceiling after the roof is complete and after months of heavy rainfall, how would you ever know? I think most would agree that last years rainfall was exceptional in most places.
My previous felt roof didn't start leaking inside for at least 10 years after I moved in, at which point I noticed there was some collapse of the boards underneath back then, visible from the top, guess the roof was already 10-15 years old prior to that and was just soaking up the water for all that time until it became to much to handle and became saturated. I'm not sure but were EPDM roofs were being fitted 10-15 years ago in this country? So I guess only time will tell.
Maybe I was just unlucky, but, my advice would not to go that route and go for a self attaching trim/fascia that doesn't require drilling. The company I brought my roof from have now adapted this type of fixing (uPVC) so should avoid any problems down the years, although they still supply the fixed trim if you want it.
I did contact a fitter for the said system but he wanted £700, just for fitting the membrane, which was done in a day and to be honest, cannot see him doing any better or different a job. And yes, it did require two people to lift the membrane up onto a single storey roof.
Don't take this the wrong way, even after my ramblings I would still recommend the EPDM route any day. Just don't ruin a perfectly good product by drilling through it.
This is just my personal experience, so not to be taken for granted in any way or form. I have now sealed all the holes with another silicone sealant until I can permanently remove the trim and formflash all the holes properly, surfice to say, no more leaks.
