Roofs we work on · Flat & Low Slope
Where the Water Sits, and Why It Is There
Flat and low slope sections on this coast are very often over an addition, a Florida room or a carport enclosure. They fail differently from the main roof and they usually fail first.
Tell us the age of the roof and whether anything is actually leaking. Those two answers decide what conversation we are having.
2005
A whole region re-roofed in eighteen months, and it is finishing together
No leak
Most people here are replacing a roof that works. We will say so
Our crews
We inspect, we photograph, and our own people do the work
Licensed
A licensed Florida general contractor
Treating standing water as a maintenance issue
Water that sits on a low slope roof after the rain has stopped is telling you about the fall or about the drainage, not about the membrane. Coating over it addresses the symptom and hides the cause, and it is the single most common thing done to these roofs. On an addition the fall was sometimes marginal when it was built, and twenty years of settlement has taken the margin away.
What we establish on a low slope section
- Where water sits, and how long after rain it stays.
- Whether the fall was ever adequate or has been lost.
- Where drainage is meant to go, and whether it still goes there.
- The condition of the membrane and, more importantly, its seams.
- How this section ties into the main roof above it.
Why these sections are so common here
A great deal of housing on this coast has been extended — Florida rooms, enclosed carports, screened areas later closed in. Those additions usually carry a low slope roof, and they are frequently the oldest and least considered part of the building envelope.
They also tend to be where a homeowner first sees a stain, which makes them a useful early warning about how the rest of the roof has been treated over the years.
How we handle it
- 01Diagnose the ponding before proposing a surface.
- 02Correct fall or drainage where that is the real problem.
- 03Rebuild the tie-in to the main roof rather than sealing over it.
- 04Say plainly when a coating is a delay rather than a repair.
The junction where a low slope addition meets the main roof is where we find more leaks than anywhere else on these houses. It is a detail that has to be built rather than sealed, and on additions put up quickly it frequently was not. That is worth checking before spending anything on the flat section itself.
Said plainly
Where we stop
A coating over standing water buys time and does not fix a drainage problem. We will quote a coating where it genuinely suits the roof, and we will tell you when what you actually need is fall corrected, which is more expensive and is the answer that lasts.
FAQ
Common questions
- Is standing water always a problem?
- Water still sitting well after the rain has stopped is telling you something about fall or drainage. A little residual water immediately afterwards is normal. The distinction is how long it stays.
- Will a coating fix my flat roof?
- Where the substrate and the fall are sound and the issue is surface condition, a coating is a legitimate answer. Over a drainage problem it is a delay with a price tag, and we will say which one you are looking at.
- Why does my addition leak and the main roof does not?
- Usually the tie-in between the two rather than the addition itself. That junction has to be properly built, and on additions constructed quickly it often was not.
Treasure Coast specifics
The 2005 Cohort
Frances and Jeanne put most of this coast under new roofs across 2005 and 2006. Those roofs did not age independently, and they are not going to finish independently either.
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A Roof That Does Not Leak
The usual trigger for a roof replacement on this coast is not water in the house. It is a letter about the age of the roof, which is a genuinely uncomfortable position to be put in.
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Where Roofs Fail
Uplift starts at perimeters and corners. Water gets in at penetrations and flashings. The large open field of the roof, which is what a quote is usually priced by, is the part least likely to be the problem.
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The Two Inspections
These are two different documents produced by different people for different reasons, and owners conflate them constantly. Knowing which one you have, and which one you need, saves a surprising amount of confusion.
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How We Work Here
We are based in Fort Lauderdale and work up the Treasure Coast in scheduled blocks. On a coast where a replacement wave draws companies in from everywhere, being clear about who we are matters more than usual.
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More roofs we work on
Shingle Roofs
Asphalt shingle is what most of this coast was re-roofed with after 2004, which means a very large number of shingle roofs here started their service lives inside the same eighteen months.
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Tile Roofs
On a tile roof the tile is a rain screen and the underlayment is the waterproofing. Tile outlives underlayment comfortably, so most tile roof work here is really underlayment work.
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Metal Roofs
Metal genuinely lasts on this coast when it is specified and detailed properly. What decides that is rarely the panel. It is the fastener system, the coating and what happens at every edge and penetration.
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Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.