Hawaiian Gardens, CA
Flat and low-slope roofing in Hawaiian Gardens
Flat sections on an otherwise pitched house are where the leaks are. Additions, porch roofs, and the bit over the garage.
Describe the flat roofing job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Hawaiian Gardens contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Hawaiian Gardens is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a flat roofing job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- Whether water ponds anywhere after rain
- Which membrane, and how the seams are joined
- Drain, scupper and overflow provision
- Whether a coating is being sold as a repair
- How the flat section is flashed into adjoining walls and pitched roofs
Look at the flashing where the flat section meets a wall. That transition leaks far more often than the field of the membrane does.
Single-ply membranes — TPO, PVC, EPDM — are heat-welded or taped at the seams. The seams and the terminations are the whole job.
Drains and scuppers need to be checked every season. One blocked drain can hold enough water to matter structurally.
Locally
Then, less dramatically: sudden dry winds that test every lifted edge on the roof. Dry offshore wind lifts material that damp coastal air had been holding down. Most wind losses here happen on a handful of nights a year.
About flat roofing here
How long does a re-roof take?
Two days is typical for asphalt. Add days for steep pitch, multiple layers to strip, tile work, or a roof with a lot of valleys and penetrations.
Can I just put a new roof over the old one?
Often you legally can, and it is usually a poor idea. Overlaying hides the condition of the decking, adds weight, shortens the life of the new shingles by trapping heat, and doubles the cost of the next tear-off.
Is moss on the roof a problem?
Yes, eventually. Moss holds water against the shingle and lifts the edges as it thickens. Zinc or copper strip at the ridge suppresses it. Pressure washing an asphalt roof strips the granules and does more harm than the moss did.
Why does ventilation keep coming up?
Because a badly ventilated attic cooks the roof from underneath and takes years off it. Intake at the eaves and exhaust at the ridge, in balance. It is cheap during a re-roof and awkward afterwards.
Ready for a real number?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.