flat roof advise please

[GingerNinja]

We have a flat roof which started leaking today, not surprisingly because its about 16 years old (installed before we bought the house).

I am looking for some advise on how to deal with it. I reckon I can do 1 of 3 things and I would appreciate some advise on which one would be the most pragmatic way of dealing with it.

1) I could repair the crack thats leaking, but I have to find the crack first and then there is no guarantee it will work (I hope to sell the house in a year or so and a flat roof will be a potentual stumbling point, I also want to tackle this definitively).

2) Get the roof resurfaced which will be more expensive but will hopefully cover the crack and all potential cracks.

3) Replace the flat roof with a new one. Which one would most be the most adequate method of dealing with this leak.

I wont be doing the repair myself so how much should I be looking to spend (dont want to be ripped of by the builders).

FYI the roof is a standard felt roof, nothing fancy, I imagine the people that put it in did it as cheap as possible.

I really appreciate any assistance, cheers

 

[masona]

The life expectancy of a flat roof is about 15 to 20 years.This will also be your selling point,you can either do a temporary repair and knock the valve of your property to allow for a new roof or go ahead for a complete new re-felt.It will be in the surveyor reports regarding the condition of the flat roof.I would go for a new re-felt roof as it could be cheaper than the new owner's knocking the valve of your property.It would give a good impression,if you leave it,then they think what else wrong with the house !!
Get a few quotes before you decide.Most flat roof problems are lack of ventilation and cross air-flow which causing the roofing sheets to expand thus cracking the bitumen felts unless plywood was use.

 

[GingerNinja]

Thanks for the advise, I'm thinking a new roof would be best (athough the most expensive). Your right about prospctive buyers, and of course they may not want the hastle of getting a new roof..... so I'd best do it.

I've been doing some research into the types of roofing and the Synthetic Rubber roofing a Fibre Glass roofing seem to be more durable and from what I can gather the Synthetic rubber seems cheaper.

We've had a couple of roofers around so far and the best quote was around the £1000 mark for a 3 layered felt roof (they didnt do the other types) and thats only guaranteed for 10 years, that seems a bit much for a square(ish) roof about 18 foot by about 15 foot.

I would appreciate some opinion on this, it sounds like I'm being a bit ripped off here.

 

[masona]

I'm in the bitumen market which we only supply to blending plant,so I have no idea about the flat roof price! Your roof area is approx 25 m2 = £40 per square metre,not sure if that include taking out any rotted sheets etc.I always found the best one to go for are the one that do roofing bitumen felts all the times and not tiles roofers,best to get a few more quotes.

 

[GwaiLo]

I'd say your real choice is going to be between price and quality. Most of the large felt manufacturers will offer insurance backed warranties of 20 - 25 years on thier high performance felts so long as the work is done by one of thier approved contractors. The Products generaly have BBA certificates, so have been tested thouroughly. The contractors have been trained and vetted by the manufacturer, hence the product is properly installed. However, if you want a good product layed by a good tradesmen you haver to pay good money.

If you go down the route of just getting prices for "a new felt roof" from people you are going to get the cheapest product and you have no way of knowing if it is being properly installed. Nontheless that will be the cheapest way to get a new roof covering.

 

[GingerNinja]

Thanks for the advise, I think I get the picture on felting flat roofs now, I'm still curious about the Fibreglass and Synthetic Ruber types though?

 

[masona]

See this for info on Fibreglass and Synthetic Rubber types.They are a bit dearer plus you would have new sheetings cost to add on,approx starting from £50 per square metre onward,but you'll get your money worth as it will lasts for a long time.I didn't this as I was under the impression to keep the costs down and moving on.The best way is to put a pitch roof with tiles etc....

 

[GingerNinja]

I've just had a quote for a fibreglass roof from roofer and we spoke for a while about EPDM roofs and he was of the opinion that they were bad, infact he said he likes to steer clear of them. I think his main reasons were that they couldnt reflect the suns rays and were suseptable to damage because of our constantly changing climate.

Everything I have read disagrees with what he said, and as EPDM is quite considerably cheaper than Fibreglass I would prefer to follow that path.

I would appreciate some opinon on EPDM and whether it does live upto the claims made my manufacturers and builders who support it.

Thanks for the continued help.

 

[renovator]

see this

 

[masona]

Just seen renovator website,

Life expectancy of up to 50 years and a written 20 years guarantee,can't be that bad can it ?

Was EPDM quote expensive ? have you considered a pitch roof ? I know you're thinking of moving but could sell quicker being more attractive or could add more valve to the property.

 

[GwaiLo]

The life expectancy of modern roofing felts could be claimed to be "up to 50 years" and many come with insurance backed guarantees of 25years. Many of them also have agrement certificates, so have been through an independent verification process.

I am not convinced by these "rubber" systems personally. The only synthetic rubber roofing products I am aware of that have agrement certtificates are for temporary repair.

It is easy for manufacturers to make these claims.

 

[GingerNinja]

its a difficult one to consider, I'm really looking for someone with practical experice who hasnt got anything to gain by commenting on EPDM, appreciate the comments though

I think a pitched roof would be far too expensive, I simply dont think I can afford it

 

[GwaiLo]

ginger,
Are you familiar with The British Board of Agrément? If not look here. When I have to specify a building product and need to be confident that it perform as I want and be durable enough I almost always end up specifying a product with an Agrément certificate.

They are utterly independent and the certificate for the product tells you what the BBA have assessed the product as being capable of doing.

see this