Maintaining Your Flat Roof

Installing a flat roof is only the first part of the job. Once it’s all set up and installed correctly, maintenance is definitely something to keep on top of.

Maintenance of a flat roof is by no means a constant job, but small checks and tasks should be carried out periodically to keep the roof performing at its best.

Here’s what you can do to best maintain your flat roof:

Periodic Checks

Checking your flat roof, approximately every 6 months, will do wonders for the long term maintenance. It will help you to spot any issues and therefore fix them sooner rather than later, preventing bigger and more costly repair jobs in the future.

Our GRP roofing comes with a 25 year guarantee, and our EPDM roofing has a service life of 35 years. These are great guarantees, but in some cases, particularly bad weather or unrelated issues can effect the life of the roof, so make sure to check it frequently.

Internal checks are just as important as external check too, so don’t forget to include these in your 6 monthly plans.

Trim Nearby Foliage

If any nearby trees or branches are hanging over your roof, it’s important to trim them back.  They have the potential to scratch and scrape the surface of your roof and make it susceptible to further damage.

Deal with Leaks

If your flat roof starts leaking, it’s important to deal with this right away. Water damage could result in further damage to your roof or even the whole property.

Watch the Weight

When materials build up on your roof, for example ice and snow in the colder months, the weight on the roof could be too much for it to bear. There is the potential for excessive weight to cause collapse.

Ordinarily, flat roofs are designed to deal with a large amount of weight and can often withstand foot traffic, but it’s important to be aware of how much weight your roof can hold just in case.

Invest in Good Drainage

If water ends up pooling on your roof, this could be another issue that causes excessive weight on the roof.

Installing a good guttering and drainage system can make the difference between how your roof copes with heavy rainfall.

Remove Debris

If debris collects in your gutter or on your roof, this again can cause issues with the weight but also with the drainage, which in turn adds to this problem. Leaves, twigs, dirt, moss and mould could collect on your roof and cause more wear than necessary.

There tips can aid in the upkeep of your flat roofing and performing regular maintenance will help this investment become more cost effective in the long run.