Many people believe that flat roofs,
low slope, SBS (torch-on) roofs are maintenance free... Not so!
There are simple things that one can
do to look after a flat roof installation and save a lot of money in the long
run. You can do some preventative maintenance yourself, but don't hesitate to consult
your local roofing contractor/professional for your modern roof. When climbing
up on your own roof always take extreme precautions especially if climbing
ladders is not in your field of expertise.
Use a ladder with absolutely no
defects and always remember to tie it off. Homemade ladders should not be used.
The first thing you need to look at on
your residential tar and gravel roofing system is drains.
Are they plugged?
Do the roof drains have screens?
Are the drain screens clear of debris?
Simply take the screen off and clear
the leaves, needles or moss and place in a garbage bag and reinstall the screen.
Some modern roofs don't have a roof drain, but scuppers.
They work the same way and generally
don't have a screen. Scuppers drain through the outside parapets of your home
or building. If your scupper does not have a screen contact your local Flat roof/residential
roofing supply store. The screen for a scupper actually looks like the end of
your kitchen whisk you beat your eggs with. You could make a whisk into a screen
by using wire cutters and cutting about 3.5 inches out the end of the whisk;
should work up to a 2.75 inch drain.
If your residential roof has parapet
walls then you probably have a base flashing running along the cant strip
detailed portion of your roof. You can simply easily lift some of these flashings
up and look for pollen staining. Pollen staining will let you know how high the
water levels are reaching. While you have the flashing lifted also look for
cracks in the membrane. If you see any defects or cracked membranes then
consult a flat roof contractor that deals with residential homes.
Some flat roofing systems will have a
straight drip edge (torch on roofing) where your roof will drain into a continuous
eaves-trough. At every joint where the flashing overlaps the next piece there
is often a tiny split or separation that you can fix yourself, but we highly
recommend calling a professional.
Generally these joints only need to be
fixed once throughout the life of a membrane roof. You could attempt to fix this
yourself but this practise is not a good idea as it makes it more difficult to
repair afterwards because unsuccessful cold process sealing complicates the
repair and will drive up roofing technician costs - cured cold liquid membranes
are very difficult to scrape and remove!
The eaves-trough gutters should be
regularly cleaned out once or twice a year depending on how many trees are
nearby.
Call me now for any advice about flat roofs or visit my
website.
Modern roofing - flat roof leak repair
Chris Fraser, founder and owner of XL Roofing Edmonton
Alberta.
(780)-466-1601
chris@xlroofing.ca
