A flat roofing system presents a unique set of opportunities and challenges that make it a popular option for many homeowners and business owners here in Winchester. If you’re thinking about putting a new flat roof on your structure or you’ve got an existing flat roof that needs some service, you first need to understand what you’re getting into. Professionals first assess the structures of the buildings that are going to get new roofs and recommend materials. Common choices include EPDM, TPO, and modified bitumen—durable, energy-efficient materials that provide good service to the kind of buildings that have flat roofs. Whether the new roof goes onto a house or a business, it’s a big step, undertaken after much discussion and with much thought, and it presents an opportunity for the owner to enhance the structure’s overall appearance and value.
Another essential component of flat roofing services is maintenance, which keeps the roof in good condition and reduces the number of repairs needed. With flat roofs, more than with most other types of roofs, the most basic form of preventive maintenance is a regular visual inspection. Working from a ladder at the edge of the roof and using binoculars, you or your inspector can look for obvious problems—bubbles (blisters) in the membrane, areas where the membrane has been punctured, loose seams, or opened-up flashing and seams. After appearance and structure, the next big thing to look for is dirt. A flat roof should be clean. If a roof has dirt on it, it is all but guaranteed that the next inspection will show some form of bubbling that's broken the membrane underneath.
When you see leaks, water stains in the building, or other signs of trouble, it's time to call for roofing repair services. The best roofing contractors will first conduct a professional evaluation to determine what repair work is even necessary. They will what call the "root cause" of the leak or problem and evaluate the repair strategy that will give you the best long-term outcome. Most contractors will be able to tell you if your roof has sustained damage that is beyond what can be repaired. They will tell you if your roof is on life support! And if that is the case, they will give you some "path forward" to understand your situation and make some good decisions.
