help - leaking flat roof

Hi,

I don't know much about house fixing. I will try my best to decribe my roof.

It is one of those spanish-style flat roof. It is rectangular with a small opening in the middle at the back of my house.

The roof is about 8 years old. I hired a roofer to re-did the whole roof 8 years ago The roofer covered the roof with all kind of paper and then he put hot tar on top of it and then put more those sand paper on top.

People said this kind of roof could last around 10-15 years. But... no matter... it is leaking.

When it rains very hard, the opening is not big enough to drain the water. When I go up the roof to see, it looks like a small pool.

It is where it is leaking from the small pool of water near the opening.

I was trying to patch it myself. I went up there and walked around to see if there is any crack or something. Sometimes I saw a nail poping out. I would pull the nail out and used those black roof patching thing to patch it.

It stoped the leak for a while. But it is leaking again.

Would you guys give me some suggestions on how to fix the leak before I give up and call the roofer please? Many thanks!!

Reply to
boaz
Loading thread data ...

take a picture of your roof and its size to home depot and ask them what type of coating you need to purchase for it. compare that price to a replacement rubber roof estimate from a professional roofer, if this roof is suited for your climate. ours works great. if you have low spots where water collects, it may need tearoff, rebuild the wood, install new roof. in buffalo ny we use and recommend:

formatting link
types of Flat Roof repairs. Tear off & reroofing. Modified torch applied roofing. EPDM single ply rubber roofing. Hot tar & gravel (Bur) roofing. Metal standing seam roof installations. Insulation Systems. Roof taper systems. Custom Roof Copings & Edges.

Reply to
buffalobill

EPDM rubber is the way to go for a flat roof. Fix it once and forget about it. Did mine on the addition myself.

Reply to
Chub

I would have it replaced with rubber.

Properly done it should last a very long time

Properly done....

Reply to
yourname

Hi guys,

Thanks for the "rubber" roof suggestion.

Sorry to ask but... What is a "rubber" roof?

When my neighbor re-did his roof, the guy used some sort of torch to melt the paper thingy and then he patched the paper to the roof just like a bandage.

I've seen many people use this kind of melting paper thing for new roof now. Are these any good than the old boiling hot tar thing?

Reply to
Tom

EDPM rubber roof involves no torches, just the material, seam tape, lap sealer and joint caulking. you would need to flash any protrusions with rubber. Find a specialist. Study on the internet so you can have an intelligent discussion. Get references[like jobs that are over 3 years old]

Reply to
yourname

Oh I see. So, this rubber roof thing is for new roof; not for fixing leak on existing roof.

"yourname" wrote in message news:Wwzuf.2579$494.81@trndny07... Tom wrote: > Hi guys, > > Thanks for the "rubber" roof suggestion. > > Sorry to ask but... > What is a "rubber" roof? > > When my neighbor re-did his roof, the guy used some sort of torch to > melt the paper thingy and then he patched the paper to the roof just > like a bandage. > > I've seen many people use this kind of melting paper thing for new roof > now. Are these any good than the old boiling hot tar thing? > > EDPM rubber roof involves no torches, just the material, seam tape, lap sealer and joint caulking. you would need to flash any protrusions with rubber. Find a specialist. Study on the internet so you can have an intelligent discussion. Get references[like jobs that are over 3 years old]

Reply to
Tom

Hi,

I think I understand what the rubber roofing is. It is a hugh piece of plastic film that is glued to the roof. Thanks for the term.

I don't think this is what I need right now. I need to stop the leak at the pool of water near the tiny drain hole in the back of my house.

I am thinking to cover the section where the pool of water is with one of these Henry Wet Patch Roof Cement thing. But again, I don't know what I am doing since I don't know nothing about fixing anything. I think this Henry thing is very difficult to use becasue it is very thick. It will be back-breaking to use a putty knife to put this thing all cover this section.

They also have something called Elastromeric Coating. I don't know what it is but from their instructional video, you just "paint" it on top of the roof with a paint bush. It seems very easy.

Would you mind that I ask what is this Elastromeric Coating thingie? Will it help me to fix the leak of mine?

I am confused becasue all the stuffs they sell all say that they will stop/fix leaking roof. And when I read the instruction on the can, they all say that I need to fix the leak first before applying any of their products.

Reply to
Tom

It's also called membrane roofing.

What you need to do is to get rid of that pool of water and stop the leak.

Is there a point in putting a bandaid on a cut artery? You will be delaying the inevitable repair and contributing to the damage your house is experiencing. Slow leaks are insidious as they can do a lot of damage before it's visible.

You can pay now, or pay later, but you will pay. Later will be more expensive.

If repairing leaks was so easy there wouldn't be any leaking roofs.

Maybe. If you don't know what you're doing, no.

Don't believe everything you read on a can. If you read the fine print it will tell you that the manufacturer's liability is limited to the replacement cost of the can of patching. How far is that ten or fifteen bucks expected to get you?

Here's the bottom line:

- You can dick around, waste your time and a few bucks and still have a leaking roof. If you're lucky you might not see the results of the leak for a while. If you're not lucky you might not see the results of the leak for a while.

- Or you can spring for a pro to fix it and watch what he does and ask some questions so you'll learn. Then rest easy knowing that the sizable investment in your home isn't being eaten away.

Not much of a choice in my mind.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Here's the bottom line: - You can dick around, waste your time and a few bucks and still have a leaking roof. If you're lucky you might not see the results of the leak for a while. If you're not lucky you might not see the results of the leak for a while. - Or you can spring for a pro to fix it and watch what he does and ask some questions so you'll learn. Then rest easy knowing that the sizable investment in your home isn't being eaten away.

Not much of a choice in my mind.

R
Reply to
Tom

Boy, I sure hope this is not a troll. It sounds a bit like one.

Use Google and learn a few things:

This is a huge subject. Flat roofs are done in several different materials. It is important to realize that the place that you see the leak may not be any where close to the problem in the roof. Is yours a wood framed roof with a wood deck or a steel framed roof with a steel deck? Steel decks in particular can let water travel 20 feet and more before it can find a place to drip.

A hot roof (the material poured on the roof comes from a hot kettle, you know that horrible smell that most people object to) can be either asphalt or coal tar. Most roofers do not like coal tar, it costs more, and I really doubt that you have it. You probably have an asphalt roof.

Asphalt roofs can be single ply, 3 ply, and 5 ply. It sounds like you probably have a mopped/nailed on base sheet and a single ply of modified bitumen (the stuff with the colored rocks on it) If this was done correctly, it could have been applied with a full hot mop of asphalt or torched down. The full hot mop is a better roof in my opinion. You should not have been able to see any nails whatsoever on this type of roof, there should have been no nails to pull out anywhere. I would consider a modified bitumen roof to be a 25 year roof if installed properly.

If you see nails on the edges of the stuff with the colored rocks, you have an old 90 lb. rolled roofing install. If so, get a roofer and get that stuff off, you can't win.

I can not figure out what you are talking about when you describe a little hole at the back. This makes no sense unless it is a roof drain. There should still be no nails visible. It should be obvious that water goes in the hole and comes out somewhere - a downspout or a drain tile.

EPDM is a roofing material that is just like an inner tube in a tire made in large sheets. Some have good luck. We have over a million square feet of roofing and have not had good experience with the EPDM roofs we have had. It is glued to the roof and the joints are glued. It is a totally alternate roofing system to what you own now and would probably require the removal of what you have now due to weight considerations.

Elastomeric sealants are a special paint- like coating that can stretch and survive in a roofing environment. It is often coupled with an application of urethane foam to shape a roof, smooth a roof, increase the R value, etc that depends on its elastomeric sealer to keep the UV rays from destroying the foam and providing the initial water proofing. The elastomeric by itself can be an excellent product, but I think would usually be considered as a temporary solution in your circumstance. The roof would need to be dry or close to it to apply. Of the home remedy ideas you have expressed it probably is the most viable.

Smearing plastic roof cement, cold patch, and other tar based products in a can is temporary stop-gap work at best. I would not recommend it unless you see a small, distinct hole knocked in the roofing caused by a tree limb, ladder, or some other localized abuse.

(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net

Reply to
DanG

Thanks Dan,

I understand a little bit more now. (and no, I am not making this up.)

If I remember correctly, the roofer said that he had 5 ply of different stuffs (don't know what) used on my roof. I think they nailed some sort of paper and fiber glass or something and then they had a boiler of some sort. They than pumped the black thingie on top to cover the roof on top of the paper. After that, they put other paper and the sand paper thing on top I guess. After that, they used a mob to apply more black stuff to the join and the edge or something between the sand paper and all over.

I will try my best to describe it.

######### ####O#### Hi, >

Reply to
Tom

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.