Are you insulating the roof deck?

If that part of your roof is not visable from the street, I would go with the EPDM membrane and rolled roof shingle that matches the color shingle used on the rest of the house. We had a similar issue 15+ years ago and that’s what we did. It’s still working.

I was resistant when the roofer originally suggested this because we had used an expensive, extra heavy shingle when roofing the house a couple of years earlier. Like you, we had a lot of trees nearby. The low pitched roof had problems shedding leaves, needles and Sweet Gum balls. This was a big improvement and the roofing in this area is not noticable from the ground.

Your roofer is correct.

I like the last roofer you mentioned, about not wanting to do anything that wasnt warranty, and quality work. I would hire him. So many, just do not care. That said, our sun room, when we lived up north, had a next to flat roof, and we shingled it, like main house, and it held up very well.

Re: insulation the bid i had for epdm had 1/2 in iso included but our current plan is to just air seal and blow in the ”attic” which isnt a whole lot of space. Interesting someone thinks its not a 2/12 - the roofers seem to think so but they also seem to go off this satelitte photo measurement which may not be totally accurate?

ROOF SLOPE: GAF shingles must be installed on slopes of 2:12 or greater.

"IF" contractor who said EPDM isn't recommended is an oratorized warranty representee I'd give his opinion some weight but not necessarily the last word. Are the other contractors advising you to use membrane mfgr warranty reps? That's important for any type and brand but double important when it comes to low pitch/flat roofing. Don't take just contractor's word,go to mfgr's website or call mfgr customer service.

From what im seeing I would get no manufacturer warranty on the EPDM and 1 year on workmanship, versus whatever GAF offers that im told is bearly impossible to make a claim on and 5 year on the workmanship.

" versus whatever GAF offers that im told is bearly impossible to make a claim on and 5 year on the workmanship. "

Unfortunately the world of roof shingle warranties being used is virtually non-existent, They have so many ways to blame it on installation that they seldom every get approved for warranty, not that there are usually many true warranty issues with roof shingles.

graceinva "From what im seeing I would get no manufacturer warranty on the EPDM and 1 year on workmanship, versus whatever GAF offers that im told is bearly impossible to make a claim on and 5 year on the workmanship."

Why of course there is no warranty on EPDM or most anything else unless it is installed by factory approved contractor. I didn't recommend using mfgr approved installer just to receive warranty, I recommend you do it to assure it is installed correct.

So that you and I are on the same page tell me "what you are seeing" and where did you "see it"? Specifically what brands of EPDM did various contractors name in their proposals? If you didn't read proposals or none of contractors spelled out brand name you are a sitting duck for unscrupulous contractors and no amount of web surfing makes that ok. I've had dozens of roofs installed/repaired on buildings belonging to my employers. I don't recall a single roof of any type including EPDM that didn't carry at least 20 year warranty.

Great questions @klem1 - the roofer who did provide me with a written bid for EPDM installs Carslile (they did not specify which of their products) and stated that manufacturer does not offer a warranty on residential installations. Multiple contractors I spoke with said that the membrane systems are commercial products and thus not warrantied by manufacturers for residential installations. I have also dealt with a few commercial flat roof projects on our commercial buildings, so I am not unfamiliar with the options here, but even the EPDM roofing association says that the product is designed to be used in non-residential installations. The one roofer who I would consider using if I went that route "off label" so to speak does a significant amount of commercial work and is an approved commercial installer for that company.

I know that no matter which way I go, it would be an uphill battle to claim on a manufacturer warranty, but I also have a hard time with what I see as two very conflicting data points: Most roofers believe that on a 2/12 roof, a shingle installation is inferior to a membrane, but the manufacturers of those membranes will not warranty them for that application whereas the shingle manufacturer will.

Also, to answer the above question about roof deck insulation, this bid includes 1" ISO.

Now that you decided to turn your hole cards up things aren't as they originally appeared. Primarily the fact you have past experience to call on. The reason I encouraged dealing only with contractors having mfgr afflation is because I was lead to think this is your first rodeo. Speaking for myself , signals I get from eye to eye about subjects I understand is 3x more reliable than what strangers on the web have to say. I'm not up for more hands of Texas Holdum so I'm out.

i dont think the manufacturers warranty will be the big issue but that your insurance will not allow shingles on a low pitched roof. I ran into that with s porch on a four square.

i might check with your insurance company before I worried too much sbout shingle companies.