A home with a flat roof can be fun to live in since you could use the roof as a deck or grow plants if the roof can support the extra weight. However, flat roofs can be challenging to maintain. The big difference between flat and sloped roofs comes down to drainage.
Water rolls off a sloped roof easily, while it has the potential to form puddles on a flat roof, and that can lead to a roof leak. The proper roofing material and roof maintenance are essential. Here are some options in roofing when your home has a flat roof.
Membrane Roofing
There are different types of membrane roofing. You might want a membrane made of plastic or rubber. Plastic, such as PVC roofing, can be heat welded. That makes the seams watertight. The seams are the vulnerable part of flat roofing membranes. Other membranes seal the seams with tape and adhesive.
As long as you check your roof regularly and repair seams when they come loose, any type of membrane would work for your home. Things to consider are color since white would reflect the sun and keep your home cooler and more durable. If you plan to walk on the roof, you'll want a membrane that can resist punctures.
Membrane roofing goes on in different ways. It might be attached with fasteners or adhesive. The membrane can also be held to the roof with gravel. Gravel on your roof could give it an interesting appearance.
Spray Foam Roofing
An advantage of spray foam roofing is that the foam spreads out to form a single layer over the surface of your roof. This eliminates seams so you don't have to worry about seam leaks. The spray foam can also be used as flashing that seals gaps around vent pipes that poke through your roof.
Spray foam roofing is usually covered with a coating, such as silicone, to protect the cured foam from sun damage and punctures. The silicone coating wears off slowly over several years, and it can be replaced when needed to protect the foam so your roof has a long life.
Since there are different types of membrane roofing you could have installed, you may want to discuss all of your options with a roofer. Also, flat roofs aren't completely flat. They have to have a slight slope so rain rolls away. If the slope of your roof is high enough, even though it looks flat, you might even be able to put metal roofing panels on your roof. However, asphalt shingles don't work on flat or low-sloped roofs because shingles only work if the slope is steep enough to keep water out from under them.
To learn more about flat roofing, contact companies like Commercial Solutions, Inc.
