DIY flat roof sealing ? (house, buy, roofing)

[pwcfan]

Good day to all.

Have any of you done a flat roof sealing/painting yourself? Is it difficult?

Any and all suggestions would be great.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by pwcfan

Good day to all.

Have any of you done a flat roof sealing/painting yourself? Is it difficult?

Any and all suggestions would be great.

I did mine years ago when I lived in Ahwatukee area. I washed it down, laid strips of synthetic material for this purpose in the bad spots and then coated it with a white polymer with a roller. It was easy. Worked great. Pay particular attention around flashings and the scuppers. These tend to crack and leak. Don't skimp on the white goop.

[AZJoeD]

I have done it in the past. It is not difficult. Get a couple of good rollers, a brush or two and some extension poles.

If you have access to a power washer that would be great, but a hose with a good nozzle & broom will work in most cases.

The hardest part is getting the 5 gallon cans elastomeric up to the roof.

[kell490]

What kind of roof you do have is it foam, or hot rolled? If it's foam you want to call a roofing company because once it fails past the coating the foam will break down fast I have 2 roofs with pitched in the middle. One side I had foam put in but after about 8 years even with the roofing company resealing it started to leak. They fixed the roof under warranty, but leak caused $1000 in dry wall damage which the roofing company doesn't pay for. In fact they fixed it twice it leaked again I have held off for entire monsoon season fixing the dry wall until I'm 100% sure the leak is gone.

The other side is hot rolled it's been there for 20 plus years without any leaks I have resealed it with white elastomeric paint from home depot, but it only lasted a year cracked. I might get another roofer to spray it on they can put it on better then rolling. The rolling is cheaper but it' goes on thin lot of work I would rather spend more money have a professional do it correctly have it last.

I won't do another foam roof again it's just too easy to start leaking always cracks around pipe joints.

[fluffythewondercat]

My house has a foam roof. There's a persistent leak right next to a Solatube. (The previous owners put in skylights all over the place.) I have roofers coming out tomorrow to take a look.

[kell490]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

My house has a foam roof. There's a persistent leak right next to a Solatube. (The previous owners put in skylights all over the place.) I have roofers coming out tomorrow to take a look.

I will never buy a home again with a flat roof makes everything so difficult to do.

[autism360]

I used a stuff called kool seal it is like a white rubbery paint, I put it on with a broom but you can use a roller,easy to do works great on flat roofs and you can layer on so in 5 years or so just wash the roof off and apply another layer of the stuff.They sell it at HD and Lowes but under another name now.

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by kell490

I will never buy a home again with a flat roof makes everything so difficult to do.

Doesn't really matter to me. I'm not getting up on a ladder and clambering onto the roof under any circumstances. I'll be paying someone to do that while I'm sipping something cool and refreshing.

[kell490]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Doesn't really matter to me. I'm not getting up on a ladder and clambering onto the roof under any circumstances. I'll be paying someone to do that while I'm sipping something cool and refreshing.

Actually going on the roof is the easy part the problem with flat roofs is for one they leak easily it doesn't run off quickly.

What I hate about flat roof is the lack of an attic where things like duct work, electrical, water pipes any of that can not be easily gotten to without tearing out dry wall.

My duct work is old builder grade leaks I want it replaced in order to do it we have to move out of the house. The cost isn't worth the hassle easier to just move to another house that won't have a flat roof.

[Voebe]

You really want to risk that?