Walkway pad with expansion joints

1. A walkway pad for protecting a roof, the walkway pad comprising:

a body including a top walkway surface and a bottom surface that faces the roof; and

at least one expansion joint including a first attachment region coupled to said body, a second attachment region adapted to couple the walkway pad to the roof, and a third expansion region located between said first and second attachment regions that is free to move relative to said body and the roof to absorb thermal movement of said body, where said expansion joint is constructed of a thermoplastic polyolefin.

2. The walkway pad of claim 1 , wherein said at least one expansion joint is more flexible than said body.

3. The walkway pad of claim 1 , wherein said at least one expansion joint is thinner than said body.

4. The walkway pad of claim 1 , wherein said at least one expansion joint is one of black and gray in color.

5. The walkway pad of claim 1 , wherein said body includes an outer periphery, said third expansion region of said at least one expansion joint being located outwardly beyond said outer periphery of said body.

6. The walkway pad of claim 1 , wherein said at least one expansion joint extends from a first side of said body and a second expansion joint extends from a second side of said body opposite said first side, wherein an air gap is present between the expansion joints.

7. The walkway pad of claim 1 , wherein said first attachment region of said at least one expansion joint is integrally coupled to said body.

8. The walkway pad of claim 1 , wherein said second attachment region of said at least one expansion joint is adapted to be welded to the roof.

9. A walkway pad for protecting a roof, the walkway pad comprising:

a body including a top walkway surface, a bottom surface that faces the roof, and an outer periphery, where the body includes a supported thermoplastic polyolefin; and

at least one expansion joint coupled to said body, said expansion joint extending outwardly beyond said outer periphery of said body, said at least one expansion joint including an expansion region that is configured to deform to a greater extent than said body when the walkway pad is exposed to a changing temperature, and said expansion joint being constructed of a thermoplastic polyolefin.

10. The walkway pad of claim 9 , wherein said at least one expansion joint is more flexible than said body.

11. The walkway pad of claim 9 , wherein said at least one expansion joint is thinner than said body.

12. The walkway pad of claim 11 , wherein said body is at least twice as thick as said at least one expansion joint.

13. The walkway pad of claim 9 , wherein said expansion region is darker in color than said body.

14. The walkway pad of claim 9 , wherein said at least one expansion joint includes an attachment region for attaching the walkway pad to the roof, said expansion region being located between said outer periphery of said body and said attachment region.

15. The walkway pad of claim 9 , wherein said at least one expansion joint extends from a first side of said body and a second expansion joint extends from a second side of said body opposite said first side, wherein an air gap is present between the expansion joints.

16. The walkway pad of claim 9 , wherein said at least one expansion joint is integrally formed as one unit with said body.

17. A method of manufacturing a walkway pad for protecting a roof, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a body including a top walkway surface, a bottom surface, and an outer periphery; and

forming at least one thermoplastic expansion joint that extends beyond said outer periphery of said body, said at least one expansion joint including a first attachment region coupled to said body, a second attachment region adapted to couple the walkway pad to the roof, and a third expansion region located between said first and second attachment regions that is configured to deform to a greater extent than said body when the walkway pad is exposed to a changing temperature.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein said providing step and said forming step are performed simultaneously by injecting a melted material into a mold.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein said forming step comprises welding said first attachment region of said at least one expansion joint to said body.

20. The method of claim 17 , further comprising a step of painting said third expansion region of said at least one expansion joint.