Comments on: Flat Roof Repair – DIY roof repair guides, options and costs involved.

By: Ivan

Ivan — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:10:03 +0000

I am about to purchase a home, which has a balcony on top of the garage and this part of the house has a flat roof. There are signs of water leaks all over the garage ceiling. According to the owner there are leaks only when it rains. What would be your recomendation on how to fix or solve this problem. Owner states that this has been going on for about 5 years,do you think there could be damage to more than just the sheetrock? Thanks in advance.

By: Leo - roofer with a vision

Leo - roofer with a vision — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:39:33 +0000

Dude – because of “roofers” like you who can install a flat roof after “reading on the internet for a few minutes”, we have plenty of work cleaning up your mess, tearing off 1 year old roofs, and installing new roofs for homeowners who went with lower price guys like you.

You are the reason roofs leak – stop doing any research on the web! Stop doing roofing or any other home improvement projects that are not DIY.

By: John

John — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:37:39 +0000

Who needs “professional roofing technicians”. LOL

Anyone can do flat roof installation after a few minutes of quick research. This reads like a brochure from some roofers association. LMAO

By: Leo - roofer with a vision

Leo - roofer with a vision — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:38:42 +0000

Hi Tessa,

I just added a list of six IB Roof installers in Washington DC metro area, to our IB Roof Contractors Directory. I can’t recommend anyone in particular, as I do not know these guys, but they are certified by IB roof systems.

Hope this helps – Leo

By: tessa barsic

tessa barsic — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 18:29:06 +0000

Can you recommend a roofer specializing in flat roofs who works in the Washington DC/Northern VA area? Thank you.
Tessa Barsic

By: Leo - roofer with a vision

Leo - roofer with a vision — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:56:13 +0000

Della,

First, before any diagnosis, you need to send pictures of the roof, the pipe, and the drain.

As far as your question – everything is possible.

Your neighbor NEEDs to replace the roof, as most flat roofs do not hold up to ponding water.Where did the water on neighbor’s side go before you replaced your roof and raised it up with insulation? Once again pictures would help a lot.

For now – your neighbor may try to patch his roof and see how it goes, but long term, they need to replace it and have it same level as yours (also add insulation).

By: Della

Della — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 01:37:38 +0000

Hi, I own half of a duplex that has a flat, tar and gravel roof. 7 years ago I replaced my 1/2 of the roof and at the same time asked if they could put some insultation board down. They did this. Every year for the last 10 years I get a leak in the winter time from around one of the pipes that lead outside (fortunatley it leaks into my tub)and have had the roofing company come out several times to fix it. It’s still there. In addition to this, my neighbor in the other half of the duplex, for the last two years has complained that the water now pools on his side of the roof and he is having to replace many of his ceilings. Is it possible that the roofing company lifted our drain pipe, which runs down the centre of our units, when they added the insulation to my side of the roof and ruined the drainage system? What should my neighbor do? His half of roof is more than 30 years old and I guess he can’t afford a new one.

By: Abe

Abe — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:08:49 +0000

Hi There,
I have a twin duplex house with a roof that is 10 square,I have a flat rolled roof it doesn not have any tar or gravel on it i know its not rubber, recently i developed a leak and had a roofer look at it,i also noticed cracks in the seams about 2-3 mm wide, he said the roof needed to be relined and the cost for it was $3100. My question is can i just patch the leak, and if not is this estimate right for this kind of a job, I live in Allentown PA. ps he charged me $70 to put some roofing cement and that mesh on the leak, is that a fair price for that patch job? Your help is appreciated.
Thank you

By: katy

katy — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 05:21:16 +0000

I currently rent an apartment that recently went under foreclosure – so I’m not paying rent to anyone because I don’t have a landlord. I’m a single 26yr old female so needless to say – leaky roofs are NOT my specialty. lol Anything I can do to prevent further damage from a flat roof (rubber I’m assuming, but like I said – I know nothing about this). I want a quick fix, don’t care what it even looks like on the inside…just would like to last a couple months. But some spots are quite soft, and I had my first drip today. I shoveled all the snow off the roof in the spot it was leaking and it appears to have stopped for now…but its making me nervous. I know this isn’t very detailed, any suggestions??

By: Leo - roofer with a vision

Leo - roofer with a vision — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 21:58:29 +0000

Hi Katie,

Well, tell the maintenance guy to use Solar Seal 900 instead of black oily stuff … or better yet stay away from flat roofs all together and concentrate on fixing toilets

As far as what you should do – I can’t really answer that for you. I can give a technical advice, but because you are renters, you don’t have any knowledge of what the roofing materials used on your roof are, and why the roof is leaking. Therefore, I can’t even give you a technical advice, unless you get above info from the maintenance guy or the landlord.

Thing is, the maintenance guy is obviously unqualified to diagnose or repair flat roof leaks, and your landlord should hire a pro to do it. However it is difficult to find pro roofers specializing in flat roofing…

PS, where are you located? If anywhere in MA CT or RI, have your landlord contact us, and we might be able to help (depends on how much your landlord is willing to spend).