Flat Roof Leaks In Winter

A flat roof gives your home a sleek modern profile but it comes with its own share of special considerations.

Flat roof leaks in winter.

As discussed in ice dam company case study 03 ice dams can form in many locations on the typical home the eave lowest edge of the roof is the most common area for ice dams but we find them around other areas including skylights in valleys and in low pitch roof pans and saddles. The roof leak repair is usually pretty easy. Roof leaks must be repaired from the outside to ensure the problem is corrected. However when it is not practical to climb up on the roof to fix a leak such as during the winter months you can repair a leaky roof temporarily from the inside if you can determine where the leak is occuring from the underside of your roof.

The water on a flat roof flows much more slowly than does water flowing on a sloped roof. 4 common sources of winter roof leaks. We ll show you some simple tricks for finding and repairing most of the common types of leaky roofs. But if you live in the snow belt and in the winter you have leaks only on warm or sunny days you probably have ice dams.

In this case the leak is almost always caused by a small hole or a puncture in the rubber membrane. Tracking down the leak is the hard part. When an ice dam traps water on your roof the water will find any small pinhole or seam voids and enter the building. If you have a roof leak in the winter months and it s not being caused by ice dam there may be another culprit.

Ice dams one of the most common causes of winter roof leaks ice dam is the term for a ridge of ice that forms at the edge of a roof. You may pay an ice dam removal company to melt the ice dam off your roof only for the leaking to continue. Like any other type of dam it blocks the natural flow of water in this case trapping the melted snow water on your roof. During the summer it s easy for water to flow off of a flat roof thanks to one of three common drainage systems inner drains scuppers or gutters.

A flat roof is no more or less likely to leak than a pitched roof it all comes down to the design and the competence with which it is installed. Flat roofs must be installed on a very specific mild slope so that the water can drain off properly and if the drains and scuppers aren t cleared regularly this increases the chance of a leak. If you d like any further advice on fixing a flat roof during the winter months you can contact us on 203 648 9889 we have an extremely professional team of roofers on hand who ll be able to do the job quickly and at a very affordable rate. How to care for a flat roof in the winter.