On the face of it a flat roof should be easier to maintain than a pitched one. By its very nature it is easier to get at, to walk on and therefore to work on, so for some householders it is tempting to do maintenance for flat roofs themselves. If you are the type of person who likes to do a bit of DIY rather than paying a professional, here are some tips.
General care for Flat Roofs
Don’t assume they are as robust as they look. There is the surface itself and there is what’s underneath. If you’ve got a concrete slab under there, at least you’re not going to plunge through the ceiling into the house, but if it’s a timber roof frame, there might not be enough strength in it to support your weight.
Similarly, be wary of using the flat roof for storage. You may hear some people saying this is an ideal place to stash things you don’t use very often, and some small businesses will keep stuff up there, but if you’re going to be putting heavy weights there, again, you need to know how much it can stand. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by all the air-conditioning units you see from hotel room windows. They will have been professionally installed by people who think about what they are doing, and the building may be very different in construction from yours.
Find out what the top is made of. It could be felt, something covered in a kind of bitumen and gravel, a bit like a road, or it could be fibreglass. If it is corrugated and translucent, is it a tough kind of man-made material or something that just looks good? You need to know this not just from a weight-bearing point of view but so you can choose the appropriate sealant or whatever you propose to “fix” it with.
On an old property it could even be corrugated iron, and you should know that by the noise it makes when it rains. On the plus side, at least you know where you are with that material. On the negative side, it’s old and cheap and you should probably think about replacing it.
Avoid water pooling. A flat roof should be flat, as in having no dips or hollows, but it should also be sloped to one side so the water can roll off easily, preferably into a gutter and away down the downpipe. If you see a puddle on a flat roof, that is bad news, because water means weight, potential leaks and build-up of dirt.
Check for splitting. Even a small crack can be all it takes to let the rain in, and once water gets into the house itself, you’re prone to staining and rotting. So if you see a split or crack, get it fixed immediately.
Check the edge where it meets the house. This can often be the weak point, because sealants can shrink and if they weren’t applied well in the first place, they may not really be sealed anyway.
Look for bubbling. A flat roof should be right down there on its base, like a carpet on a floor. If there is a bubble, that’s an air pocket and not only does it mean poor adhesion, it represents vulnerability, with no support under that part, so any weight could damage it and depending on what the surface is made of, the sun could shrink and crack it.
Get it looked at Professionally
The number one flat roof maintenance tip is to have it looked at by a professional who can spot actual trouble and potential trouble. DIY may be a satisfying way to spend Saturday afternoon, but it may also be a short-cut to long-term issues.
H Roofing is a flat roofing specialist in Central Scotland, servicing the following areas:
- Flat roofing Edinburgh
- Flat roofing Glasgow
- and the surrounding areas.
