Key Methods Of Effective Flat Roof Repair

I have learned from experience that finding a leak in a flat roof can be somewhat difficult and expensive. In our home it took three different roofers, making multiple visits, to identify the place in our flat roof that a leak was coming from. The reason why identifying leaks in flat roofs is troublesome is that very often the point where the leak shows in the ceiling below can be quite different from the point at which the leak is occurring in the flat roof itself.

The best places to look for leaks on a flat roof are flashing and junctions or seals of any kind. Now, flashings are used at the point at which the roof joins adjacent non-roofing material such as brickwork. For example above our kitchen extension we have a parapet wall that is at one edge of the roof and flashing goes from the roof to the parapet wall.

As described at flat roofing, a competent roofer should first examine these flashings to i.d. gaps through which water could maybe pass. Flashings are usually made of a metal material like lead.

It is also usually challenging to test for leaks on a flat roof in the way you would on other types of roofs. It could take hours for water to trickle down to the ceiling from the moment you pour it on a suspect area on the roof. This means that in practical reality it’s rather hard to test and then track multiple suspect places. This is covered in more detail at the epdm rubber roof web page.

The key to flat roof repair is to recognize in advance the areas that are likely to be vulnerable. The best test alas is to carry out the work to close suspect gaps and then wait to see if the leak persists. So flat roof repair is very highly dependent on the professional experience and judgement of any roofer you hire.