Flat Roof Maintenance Schedule - Maintaining Your Flat Roof

The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) recommends repair and maintenance to be carried out bi-annually.

Flat roofs will have some unique maintenance needs thanks to their angle of inclination. While you will incur some maintenance costs, maintaining your schedule ensures the roof lasts longer, and you save some costs in the long run as well.

Here are some tips for maintaining a flat roof:

1. Have It Inspected Occasionally

You need to inspect your roof every so often to ensure everything is intact. This should include professional inspections, which should be done twice every year, as discussed earlier.

Nonetheless, flat roofs are fairly safe to walk on. This makes it possible to inspect your roof every few months -in between professional inspections.

During the inspection, some of the things you want to look out for are blisters, cracks, loose seams, rust, and water pooling.

Call your inspector immediately you spot any of these.

2. Trim Surrounding Trees

Trees improve the air quality and add value to a property. However, if you have trees too close to your roof, this might be problematic.

A tree with heavy branches might damage roofing features near the edge of a roof. Because all roofing parts work together to provide protection, one damaged part begins to damage other components.

The other factor to consider is leaves and branches falling on the roof. You would either have to sweep or clean the roof much more often or prune the tree’s leaves. Leaves will pile on one spot on the roof, trapping moisture underneath. For a metal roof, moisture can cause the roof to rust.

The other thing is that warm, moist places are ideal for mold and mildew growth. These are unsightly, unhealthy, and exert pressure on the roof.

3. Clean The Roof Regularly

Sloped roofs have an advantage in that leaves and debris will likely slide off easily. Flat roofs do not have this advantage.

Unfortunately, when debris accumulates, so does moisture. This compromises your roof’s integrity and encourages mold and algae growth as well as get moisture into the seams of your flat roof membrane leading to premature failure.

One of the best things you can do to maintain your flat roof is to ensure it’s cleaned regularly.

4. Inspect Drainage

Flat roofs are more susceptible to collecting water than sloped roofs. Check your roof for pooling water which is always a sign of poor drainage and is likely the cause of your roof leaking during heavy rain.

Pooling spots can often be corrected with some leveling to ensure water is directed toward drains.

If you spot any signs of water damage, call your local commercial flat roofing contractor. The risk with water damage is that it might not just be superficial. You need a roofer to come and determine whether the pooling water might have damaged anything else, before rectifying the problem.

5. Snow Removal

If you live in a location with heavy snowfall, you want to ensure your flat roof does not accumulate too much snow.

Excessive snow can put too much pressure on a roof and put it in danger of ponding water and sagging. When this happens, you can experience leaks, structural damage, and in worst-case scenarios, the roof might collapse, causing extensive damage.

The rule of thumb is not to let the snow accumulate over 12 inches without having it removed.

5. Check For Undue Stress

Every roof will have specifications on how much weight it can hold. Roofs will typically have HVAC equipment, and the weight of this is usually unproblematic. However, flat roofs can have way more than this.

Because they can hold things in place, you will find flat roofs being used as storage spaces and even outdoor sitting spaces.

While this is not a problem in itself, everything you place on the roof must be done with its allowable weight limits in mind. Regularly inspect your roof to ensure that you are keeping within limits.

Also, check for signs of too much pressure on the roof. Any sagging, especially around items placed on the roof, should be flagged.

6. Make Prompt Repairs

Roofing problems need repairs or replacements. A good roofer will advise what you need to do and its urgency.

It’s important to heed this advice, as it could save you money. For example, if you have a leak, you want to have it fixed before you experience more water damage that could even extend to the buildings interior. Everything on your roof is interconnected. When one item deteriorates or starts malfunctioning, it affects another element.

The primary goal of the inspection is to identify all current and potential problems and have them fixed.

7. Get Fixtures Professionally Done

Chimneys, dormers, and skylights increase the aesthetics of a home and even its value. However, you have to be careful with their installation.

If you want to maintain your roof in good condition, ensure that all additional features are installed professionally. You might be tempted to do a DIY and save on the labor costs, but this plan might end up backfiring and costing you even more to fix or you might get injured, so make sure to have proper commercial roofing safety equipment before trying to go at it yourself.

Such installations, plus satellite dishes, will require puncturing holes on the roof. In addition, when any part of the installation process is done improperly, you will likely damage the roof.

DIY fixes can be problematic in many ways, one important reason to call a professional is that you don’t want to void your roof’s warranty or the fixes could come out of pocket.

8. Ensure Proper Roof Ventilation

Roof ventilation protects your home against climatic extremities. Unfortunately, these can be detrimental to your roof as well.

As such, you need to have a roof ventilation system that adequately pushes out the hot, moist air in summer and inject fresh air into the attic. You also want it to work just as well in the winter to prevent ice dams and moisture in the attic.

If these actions fail to happen, your roof begins to show signs of deterioration from cracking to bending to growing mold and mildew. To get the most wear out of it, you want to ensure your roof ventilation is functioning properly year-round.