Flat roofs!?

Question

Im planning on putting a Flat roof on a garage. The roof area is 5.6m x 2.7. I need a reliable roof which wont leak. Whats the cheapest way to do it.

Answer 1

Reliable roof that won't leak, and cheapest don't really go together I'm afraid. There is no doubt conventional flat roofs are problematic. They will fail generally between 5-15 years, depending how lucky you are. Having had flat roofs and knowing the pitfalls I have put vinyl coated box section sheets, (12' lengths) on my large workshop roof, 7years ago, and they show no signs of any deterioration. I would use these every time as opposed to a flat felt roof. If you decide to use anything like this, shop around, I found vast differences in prices quoted.

Answer 2

If you have a flat roof chances are that it is already leaking or will begin to leak.
If your roof is fairly new – call the roofing company that installed your roof and have
them fix it.
If it is an older roof, or the original installer will not fix it for some reason
Fix the roof yourself
Have a roof repair performed by a roofing contractor specializing in flat roofs.

Answer 3

Flat roofs as previously said are not to be recommended however there are instances where they are unavoidable.
A good quality flat roof will cost you £100 per sq m with this you should get a 10 year guarantee. Read the terms of any guarantee carefully.
If you can fit a pitched roof likely to cost you 2 to 3 times as much but you wont get a 10 yr guarantee with a pitched roof.

Answer 4

Before you do the flat roof, consider the climate in your area. If you get a lot of rain OR snow, go with an inclined roof instead. With an inclined roof, snow won't accumulate nearly as much on top, and rain will run off the roof instead of just sitting there and possibly leaking.

Even if you can go with a flat roof, a contractor would probably have it "bulge" in the middle so that rain will run off to the sides. The more precipitation your area gets, the less flat your roof should be.

Answer 5

as already stated the main problem with flat roofs is that if you do not get enough fall across the roof water sits on it and leaks through the seams when the roof is done with the conventional roofing felt.
I recently had a quotes for replacing the felt on my garages flat roof. which is slightly larger than yours ( 6.3m x 3.2m)
The first roofing contractor stated that he could do a conventional felt flat roof for me but it would be expensive as he would have to remove all the old felt and then re-bitumen the roof prior to laying 2 layers of traditional roofing felt,

The Second roofing contractor came round and looked at the job and shocked me when he stated that he could recover my garage roof using one large sheet of heavy duty pond liner, (this pond liner would have a 20 year guarantee) and as it did not have any seams on the roof itself it would not be prone to the usual seepage problem where the roofing felt widths overlap.
The second suppliers quote came in at approximately half of the first contractors price and had twice the expected lifespan of the traditional felt roofing.
I hope this gives you something to think about.

Answer 6

Before you even start, it may be advisable to drop the flat roof plan. They are notoriously trouble prone. If you want the flat roof look, go for one with a pitch of 4 or 6 inches.

Answer 7

we replaced a flat roof on our extension last year, it was approx same size as yours. after having several quotes. we went with the flat roof company http://www.flatroof.co.uk/home the total cost for new tuffdek roof, guttering & facia's was £1100 and that comes with a 25 year guarantee and in a choice of colours.

Answer 8

While flat roofs can be problematic, waterproofing products such as the AtomX system can be used to ensure no leakage.

Answer 9

cheapest aint best ..your asking for something that dont exist ...you cant have both ..expect to pay up to a grand for proper reinforced felt ..it will last twenty years