Flat Roofs

Many commercial buildings and some residences have flat roofs. Flat roofs should be handled a bit differently than typical roofs which slant, so make sure when you contact a Dallas or Fort Worth roofer, they know how to handle a flat roof. Also, make sure their suited to roof your type of building as many roofers specialize either only in residential or only in commercial.

The biggest downfall of flat roofs is the fact that they are flat. Rainwater can not drain off, but rather sits on the roof until it evaporates. Snow accumulates building up excess weight and strains the roof’s framework. The melting and refreezing on the flat roof also makes leaks much more likely. For these reasons, if you happen to have a flat roof, you should get a Dallas or Fort Worth roofer to inspect and fix your roof with a fairly regular basis. There are certain roofing materials that you can have on your roof to help prevent such weather damage.

A built up flat roof is generally your cheapest option. It includes several layers of tar and water proofing material, topped with gravel. This protects your roof in three ways. The tar makes the roof stronger and more durable. The water proofing materials should be obvious. And the gravel fireproofs it. The downside is that this process can get on the heavy side, so you may also need to reinforce the joints and framing of the roof.

Modified bitumen can be added to your roof to help strengthen it and expand its lifespan. In the past, you’d need to burn the material onto your roof. Now, however, most of it comes with adhesive to make the instillation process so simple that a non-roofer with some home improvement experience can put it up. That means no need to call the Dallas roof repairman unless you come across a problem. It even comes in light colors which help reflect sunlight in the summer, keeping the home cooler.

You might decide to coat your roof with a rubber membrane. They are very weather durable, as well as being resistant to outside damages. They can, however, get a bit costly. The black membranes are the cheapest, but with a black roof comes more heat in the summer as black absorbs heat and light rather than reflecting it. If you pay extra, though, you can get this material in light colors.

Your other option is a lead (or other metal) roof. If you go with this option, make sure that your roofer has worked with it before as it’s fairly delicate to install. If not done correctly, damage could be caused to the metal itself or even to the already existing roof material. You don’t want either of these to be damaged. Also, it needs to fit snuggly in place to prevent water seepage.

So if you have a flat roof, you have options for protecting your home more adequately. Even still, flat roofs need to be inspected and maintained on a more regular basis than sloped roofs due to the higher potential for elemental buildup.