Flat roof problem

[Bob Weisner]

Hi:

I had a new roof put on my house about 7 years ago and now the back part of the roof has sprung a leak. The roof is a regular roof in the front of the house and the roof in the back part of the house is made of a modified bituminious material. The warranty for the flat roof was supposed to be for 10 or 15 years. The roof does not leak in the summer when it is raining , just in the winter. The roofers did blow insulation into the attic. Any suggestions as to how I can fix the leaking roof? & would a metal roof have been better than a flat rubber roof?

thanks,

Bob

[Chris Padilla]

Hi:

I had a new roof put on my house about 7 years ago and now the back part of the roof has sprung a leak. The roof is a regular roof in the front of the house and the roof in the back part of the house is made of a modified bituminious material. The warranty for the flat roof was supposed to be for 10 or 15 years. The roof does not leak in the summer when it is raining , just in the winter. The roofers did blow insulation into the attic. Any suggestions as to how I can fix the leaking roof? & would a metal roof have been better than a flat rubber roof?

thanks,

Bob

Was adequate air clearance provided when the insulation was blown in...there should be an air "chase" of a sorts right at the top of the rafters. Any ice accumulation? I am mostly thinking of pitched roofs when I ask these questions so I am not sure how they pertain to flat roofs.

[Tom Sweeney]

I have a bit of history with flat roofs - owned several houses with them & they were all a royal pain in the neck.

Only soution that worked for me - after much trial, error & $$$ was to put a rubberized EPDM membrane roof on.

My father had a house built a few years ago & during construction he realized the architect had spec'd a flat roof for one small portion of the house. When he went to the building site & saw it - he immediately told the framers to put a pitched roof over it at his expense. He was a half owner of most of the flat roof homes we had problems with & we both swore we'd never own another flat roof.

[Lee Schierer]

My in laws had a flat roof on their house and I always told my wife that if we owned the house I would immediately put a peaked roof on it. Flat roofs and snow/ice don't mix. Amazingly the new owner immediately put on a pitched roof.

Any way, Your winter only problem is prbably due to the roof shrinking in the cold and opening a seam or crack, or the snow and ice accumulates to a level that reaches a crack that isn't submerged in the summer when the water can run off. Either way, the leak won't be easy to find and the final solution is a pitched roof.

[Bob Weisner]

Thanks for the replys!

The roofer that installed the roof can't get on the roof now because of all the snow and bad weather. I called a couple of places and explained the problem to them. They said that the seams of the flat roof had probably separated and that the easiest solution would be just to tar the flat roof.

Bob