# Florida Flat Roof Options and Opinions



## BillyD (Mar 15, 2008)

I guess all the pros avoid flat roof questions. I wish they would weigh in as I have the same problem.
Billy


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## johnk (May 1, 2007)

The pros don't avoid flat roof questions,sometimes you have to be patient as we don't spend every waking moment on here.Jack a trades-your roof from what I see looks pretty rough,If I were you I would replace as soon as you had the money.Billy D,what was your question?


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## tinner666 (Mar 14, 2005)

There is little to zero work that can be attempted by a DIY'er on aflat roof. Jack, you need a contractor to give you a proposal to replace it.

t would take a book to ATTEMPT to explain the pitfalls that professionals are defeated by daily. It's the nature of the beast, and nothing for the faint of heart, or person with a lot to lose to mess with. 

Just a peek at a familiar sight. And the damage that small, insignificant seeming leaks can do. This one was roofed 3 times before I assisted on it's newest installment.
http://www.rooferscoffeeshop.com/show_album_photo.asp?userid=30&AlbumID=673&file=5065&s=0

PS: I was out of town lately.


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## ncgrogan (Dec 3, 2006)

Your roof actually doesn't look that bad. Looks like it has an aluminum coating on it which may need a new coat. The biggest question is does it leak? If not and there is not a lot of aligatoring/fissuring, I would just recoat it.


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## johnk (May 1, 2007)

It looks terrible.Look at it.Look at the walls,replace it soon as I think it is too far gone to just re-coat,thats like putting perfume on a pig.


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## ncgrogan (Dec 3, 2006)

Its hard to tell from the pics, but it really doesn't look that bad. I've evaluated hundreds of low slope roofs and that one is not all that bad from what I can tell. Clean it up and see what it looks like. Just because its dirty doesn't mean its shot.


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## Jack A. Trades (Feb 15, 2008)

Nice-finally a positive reponse.
The roof has definitely got its fair share of bubbles and cracking-but I am under contract to sell this house so I don't want to completely re-roof.
It was leaking in two areas (slow leaks), but I believe I have repaired the fissures where the water was entering.
I was wondering if I can just wash the roof and then coat it with some reflective elastomeric-type coating and call it adequate for a few more years.


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## ncgrogan (Dec 3, 2006)

If it has blisters in it, they need to be repaired. Contact a local roofing contractor which specializes in built up roofs. Murton is a decent commercial contractor in the florida area which may do some residential stuff on the side if work is slow. If you do put a coating on it, make sure it is compatible with an existing aluminum coating. The problem with the roof you have on there is that your surfacing/UV/wear protection is a coating which should be redone every 5 years or so. From the looks of it, its never been recoated. Portions of the roof can be replaced if needed. They would have to feather in the felts to do it properly. You may get to a point where its more economically viable to replace it, but its hard to condemn it from 3 pictures.


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

It looks to me like you may have a ponding water issue. That just seems likely, since the aluminum coating is significantly more weathered and flaking off on the first photo on one side of the roof more so than the other portion of the roof.

I would strongly suspect that the source of at least one of your "Slow" leaks, is near the wall where the through-wall scupper is located to drain the rain flow. Thise is buiding movement, expansion and contraction and settlig which occurs in all areas of a flat roof, except for whre the material is attached to a product or buiding material, sich as the parapet walls or another one I have seen prevent settling, is interior cast iron pipe roof drains.

If the decking has settled or deflected even 1/4" to 1/2", then the rood will contain low spots aiding further deterioration.

For another "Perfume On A Pig" remediation, you would have to get the old aluminum coating mostly removed. A hand held weed burner torch can achieve this, but it does come with a MAJOR FIRE HAZARD WARNING.

You will not only be heating up the aluminum surfacing coating, but also the top most mopping of asphalt glaze coating. If you "OVER-HEAT" the surface, you can firstly cause the asphalt glaze coating to catch on fire, or even if that fire hazard does not occurr, then you can liquify too much of the glaze coating and if it is mopped on with porous fiber-glass felt papers, the glaze will ooze through the fiberglass felts.

This will erode any if not all protective asphalt surface coating that is currently in place. The reflective coating are not a Leak Patching material, they are primarily for its reflective properties.

Anyone that tells you they will stop a leak, are not telling you that the stop will only be temporary, and as soon as the coating cures and loses its bond to the surface and expansion and contraction occurrs, it will redevelop in that area and may even cause additional leakage, since it is adhered to the roof material, when it expands or contracts.

Ed


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## Jack A. Trades (Feb 15, 2008)

I don't really want to burn the coating off.
The ponding you are seeing is from the previous owner. Leaves would collect on the roof and slow/clog the flow through the scupper.
I have looked very closely at the scupper area because it is near where a leak appears to be inside the house, and I can't see any areas water could be entering.
The scupper goes to another small roof area that has been covered with layers of asphalt shingles and then drains down the gutter.
Is there a compound (rubberized/elastomeric) that I can coat the roof with to create a leak free and reflective surface that will make the roof passable for a few more years?


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

I should rephrase my observation from before.

There is significant more wearing away of the aluminum surface coating in picture # 1, which probably is on the "Opposite" side of the roof from the through wall scupper drain.

That could be due to a less than adequate coating, as compared to the darker and more consistent coating in the same photo at about the half way point.

All of the muck and dried out dist near the saddles diverting the water towards the through wall scupper and all of the accumulation right in front of the scupper still indicates to me, that the decking has settled and/or that now the through wall scuppers bottom portion of the opening is "Still" higher than the roof surface.

I alwys used to install the main scupper opening about 3" lower than the roof plane surface, to account for future decking settlement.

The through wall scupper probably has a sheet metal box liner, which is concealed now, but I would bet that the corners, especially the bottom ones, have stress cracks eminating from them, thereby allowing a continuous slow trickle of water to enter into the wall structure.

An infra-red photo image of that wall will point out the clarity of the interior wall dampness, which should need to be corrected if a thorough home inspector does his job correctly.

The best way to recoat it without it peeling off, is to remove the existing aluminum surfacing. I would have recommended a power washer, but that would do more harm to the existing roofing plies and cause potential for additional leakage.

Ed


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## Jack A. Trades (Feb 15, 2008)

Ed, thanks for your detailed observations.
I hadn't noticed that distinct line in the roofing in photo 1.
I was thinking the roof was, at one point coated evenly with the white coating that now looks mostly gray and black.
Before I began posting this topic, my idea was to pressure wash the roof and recoat it with whatever coating I could locate that was heat reflective and leak sealing. 
You are right about the scupper having a metal liner- I can't locate any stress cracks though.
What coating would you recommend if I decide to recoat?
(Also, this is the first time I've heard of an aluminum coating- I was convinced this roof was coated with som type of an elastomer/rubberized sealer.)


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

The White splotchy patches may possibly be a white elastomeric coating used to try to patch some suspected leak spots, but the remainder of the roof is coated with an Aluminum pigmented coating. I can not tell if it the better variety, which contains a certain poundage of fibered content in the mixture, which lasts a bit longer than the Non-Fibered version.

Garden hose pressure, to clean away all of the dirt that has coagulated in the lower drain area.

Get on your hands and knees and look for minute stress cracks, especially at the exact intersection with the parapet wall on the drain wall, plus, in particular, around the actual scupper box itself.

After you hose wash off the majority of the ****, then get a large sponge and carefully wash the areas I mentioned. The cracks May bercome more visible. They are probably saturated with dried up mud currently.

That is my best guess, but even as a guess, it is probably correct.

Oh, and wear some sun screen while you are up on the roof. The UV is magnified with the silver surface and also with the fresh water.

You will get sunburned, otherwise.

Ed


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## tinner666 (Mar 14, 2005)

I saw that scupper too. I also was/am very suspicious of the juncture of roof and wall along that area.

As for coating tips, I'll leave that to Ed's expertise. Mine is very limited.


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## ncgrogan (Dec 3, 2006)

The cricket is way too short especailly on the right side of the scupper, thats part of the reason why you have a ponding/debris issue. If we are talking about design, there is also not an overflow scupper which would worry me if I were living in that house.


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## Ed the Roofer (Jan 27, 2007)

Okay, here is the biggest tip that your intersection at the transition area from the flat roof to the scupper side parapet wall is leaking, even if ever so slightly.

Do you see how the rest of the roof area is dry, but just above the flat roof right on the bottom of the parapet wall, mostly to the right of the scupper, is still wet looking. There is trapped moisture behind those base flashing materials. You more than likely have stress cracks running horizontally to the flat roof right there. They do not have to be wide open fissures to leak, just dried our and cracked material.

Ed


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