Flat & Low-Slope RoofingBased in Lewisville, TX

Flat Roofing

What the job actually involves.

Flat roofs are not flat. They are built with just enough fall to move water toward a drain or a scupper, and everything that goes wrong with them is a drainage story. Water that ponds finds the one seam that was not welded properly, the one curb that was not flashed high enough, the drain whose clamping ring was never tightened. Fifteen to twenty-five years is the realistic life of a low-slope system here, and the roofs that reach the top of that range are the ones somebody looked at twice a year.

The material choice follows the building. TPO is the reflective white single-ply that keeps cooling costs down on a Texas box. PVC is heat-welded and resists grease and chemicals, which is why it ends up over kitchens and plant rooms. EPDM is the black rubber sheet that handles a 100-degree summer day and a 20-degree January night without complaint. Modified bitumen is asphalt reinforced with plies and modifiers, tough where people walk on the roof regularly. Built-up, the old tar and gravel assembly, is heavy and labor-intensive and still waterproofs better than almost anything.