I work in a building with a flat roof.
For the past few years we've put up with leaks, occasionally having to put plastic waste baskets at various spots to catch the drips.
This fall we put up with weeks of noise, odors, parking relocations, etc. as they replaced the entire roof.
Last week, as everything thawed and we got some rain, we put plastic waste buckets at various spots to catch the drips.
Hope you have a warranty. Sounds like a poor install. Was this a EPDM membrane? Our roofer used Genflex and after installing, the factory sends an inspector to be sure it was done right.
I just work there. I would imagine (hope?) that the owners/managers of the building got some sort of warranty. It's a large, well established office park. I would hope they hired a reputable company.
Hi, I always wonder why they build flat roof? Does it cost less?
Not if you include the horrendous cost of maintaining it, patching leaks, having it re-roofed, etc.
Show me a flat roof and I'll show you one that either is leaking or will shortly.
Harry K
True they are all shit. Even the best won't last more than twenty years. The cheapos maybe ten.
Same here! I work for a Fortune 50 company in a brand new flat roof building. It cost $100 million to build...and you guessed it - it leaks like a sieve.
Do the geometry on a roof for a supermarket, Costco, factory, etc and you'll have your answer.
They are an annuity for roofers.
Quality roofing work done by my local contractor which was from my friend suggestion who is the roofer in Shelton used to advise about the
Yes it costs more but any savings in contruction is soon eaten up by the maintenance costs.
Our County just a few years ago bit the bullet and spent millions replaceing the flat roof on the school with a peaked roof. At about the same time they also put a couple million into trying _again_ to fix leaks on the flat courthouse and jail roof.
There might be some economic consideration to building a falt vice peaked on huge buildings but why people put them on residences is beyond stupid.
Harry K
Harry K
Then all the architects, builders, etc out there using them must be stupid, because they look at lifecycle cost. Organizations that set code too, because they allow it. Yet they are being widely used and have been for 100+ years. With the newest materials, they are more reliable than ever.
They aren't appropriate everywhere, aren't as reliable as a pitched roof, but they are appropriate for many applications where the tradeoffs are acceptable. If they are done correctly, they last a long time. If they are done half-assed or abused afterwards, then the results will be different.
might be?
The thread wasn't about residences, where flat roofs are found infrequently. But there are good reasons for having them. In a city, where every foot of usable space costs thounsands of dollars, it gives you a usable roof deck, for example. Here at the shore, I've seen houses where the flat roof offered spectacular water views and a perfect place for a party. Would I put one on a typical suburban house? Of course not. But that doesn't mean that they don't offer significant advantages for the right application.
Two different budgets.
Not only economic considerations related to roof construction itself, but it also provides a convenient place to put mechanicals such as AC units, etc. Not just placement, but ducting, etc. All of that has to be factored into the project costs also.
Oh no! Now there are 2 of you! ;-)
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No, that's simply not true.
I spent $25,500 in 1991 to have a "sloped roof" put on my apartment block.
A sloped roof is where they make a map of the roof and locate the drain. Then, they divide the entire roof area into 4 foot by 4 foot squares. Then, they cut 4 foot square blocks of polystyrene insulation in a computerized machine that runs a hot wire through the block of insulation, moving that wire in 3 dimensions such that when all the blocks of insulation are assembled in the correct order, the roof slopes gradually (1/4 inch per foot) toward the roof drain.
After the insulation is put on, they put down two layers of fiberboard insulation with staggered joints. That's because the next step is to mop down 4 layers of roofing felt and glue those layers together with
300 deg F. asphalt. The two layers of fiberboard prevent the hot asphalt from burning holes in the roof's sloping polystyrene insulation.Once the two layers of fiberboard are down, then they start applying the layers of roofing felts. This is also the step where they put cones over all the vent stacks and hoods over all the bathroom and kitchen ceiling fan outlets as well as the hood for the building's clothes dryers.
I haven't had a leak in my sloped roof since 1991. And, anyone who knows anything about flat roofing knows that a sloped roof is the only way to go. That's because for the one time investment of cutting and assembling those 4 foot square pieces of styrofoam insulation, every time you subsequently replace the roof on that building (whether it's a built-up roof or a torch down roof), the new roof will also be a "sloped" roof.
The advantage of having a sloped roof are obvious. After a rain, you don't have huge puddles on the top of the roof; the water all drains to the roof drain. So, if you have a leak in the roof, the water damage is minimal because the water drains away to the roof drain instead of leaking through the roof into the plastic garbage pails below.
This business we have in here with people that know nothing about flat roofs telling others that know even less how bad they are needs to be addressed.
Believe it or not, the only place where stupid people seem to be in the majority is on TV. Everywhere else in life, people all seem to be both reasonable and intelligent. If flat roofs were as bad as they're being described in here, then not one of those reasonable and intelligent architects, builders and roofing contractors would put a flat roof on a building.
The reason there are so many flat roofs is because what you're reading in this forum about them is B. S. Flat roofs are popular because the vast majority of them remain water tight for 25 to 30 years, which is as much as you can expect from a shingled roof.
And, contrary to popular belief, there is as much technology and development in flat roofing as there is in shingle roofing.
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