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Are flat roofs hard to repair? It seems like pouring a bunch of tar or shooting some liquid rubber and filling it up would do it? Ok I know its not that easy but is it also that difficult?
Specifically if someone could shoot liquid rubber perhaps 2 inches thick all around the inside wouldn't that do it? I suppose an amateur might not get it completely even but no one goes up there.
I have a home in central New Mexico and, although it does not have a flat roof, I've encountered a lot of them in my neighborhood. As well, I owned a commercial one-story building that had a flat roof. The building ended up having to be torn down before I could sell it because of a serious roof leak. And this building was in west Texas where the average rainfall is negligible.
Builders will be along shortly to tell you how flat roofing has much changed. However, water has not changed. Water sitting in one place for a long period is like an old Jersey milk cow in a new fenced area. The Jersey will find a way out and water will find it's way in.
My opinion? The guy that invented flat roofs should be in prison. If you're considering buying a structure with a flat roof, run away and run fast!
I have a home in central New Mexico and, although it does not have a flat roof, I've encountered a lot of them in my neighborhood. As well, I owned a commercial one-story building that had a flat roof. The building ended up having to be torn down before I could sell it because of a serious roof leak. And this building was in west Texas where the average rainfall is negligible.
Builders will be along shortly to tell you how flat roofing has much changed. However, water has not changed. Water sitting in one place for a long period is like an old Jersey milk cow in a new fenced area. The Jersey will find a way out and water will find it's way in.
My opinion? The guy that invented flat roofs should be in prison. If you're considering buying a structure with a flat roof, run away and run fast!
I really wish this software had a "like" button instead of that reputation thing that limits what a person can do.
Anyway ^^^^What High Plains said, especially the part about running away fast. I don't even like sheds with flat roofs
Put on a foam roof, recoat the elastomeric at 5 years then every 10 years. Lasts a lifetime. Foam roof is expensive, but recoating costs are cheap. Flat roofs aren't flat, but low pitched.
Put on a foam roof, recoat the elastomeric at 5 years then every 10 years. Lasts a lifetime. Foam roof is expensive, but recoating costs are cheap. Flat roofs aren't flat, but low pitched.
IN the rainforest up here we have commercial flat roofs with water sitting in puddles for years with no water entry. 100 years old buildings settle and frames sink so as long as you apply your tar paper and allow for most of the water to go somewhere off the roof you're fine.
In New Mexico and south you're in a dry area. I walked around Anaheim looking at the holes in all the Adobe roofs and no one seems to worry about it; you don't get the downfall we get up here. All retail and commercial buildings throughout the rain soaked northwest are usually flat roofs.
Maintenance helps; watching for carpenter ants helps; and don't walk on the seams!!!!!
In New Mexico and south you're in a dry area. you don't get the downfall we get up here.
You'd be surprised. Sure. It rarely rains in the desert. But when it does, it can be devastating. What most places would consider a negligible amount of rain can cause flooding. I've been in only two floods, both in El Paso (in the Chihuahuan High Desert).
My flat roof leaked during the first one. The second flood, portions of the well-maintained roof caved in.
Good luck to the OP.
I have a (real, not SantaFake) adobe house with a low pitch roof surrounded by a parapet. It drains through canales on the north side and drains very well. It was originally roofed 26 years ago with a torch-down butyl rubber material covered with elastomeric paint that I redid every few years. A good system but it is now starting to fail , I have some leaks and I am scheduled for a foam roof next week. The foam is spray applied to a cured thickness of about 1 inch and is topped with an elastomeric coating to protect it from UV degradation. The paint coat will need to be redone every 5 years. The foam will start on top of the parapet and be sprayed down and to the roof itself. The foam spray fills all the voids and cracks. It is fairly rigid and you can walk on it after only a few hours' curing time.
ETA: yes, the desert is "dry", but three days ago during a summer monsoon storm here at my ranch it rained two and a half inches in just over 30 minutes. That kind of sudden downpour can wreak havoc on a roof.
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Flat roofs are basically commercial roofs
