Roof Repair – How to Repair Flat Roofs

Roof Repair – How to Repair Flat Roofs

Flat roofs are completely different from sloped roofs. Water can run down sloped roofs and go down to the drain. But that is not the case on flat roofs. The entire flat roof must have a layer of watertight seal so that water cannot come through the roof and cause leaks in the house. But like the sloped roof, flat roofs can get damaged and thus need roof repair. It’s a good thing that you can do roof repair on flat roofs, as long as you know how to. How do you do it? Here’s how.

The first thing you should do is to prepare the items you’ll need for the roof repair. Get a mallet, roofing nails, putty knife, utility knife, brooms and roofing cement. These are all the materials needed to repair your flat roof.

To begin roof repair, go to your roof and locate the problems. If you found peeled regions or fractures on it, then do the following steps: Get rid of the dust and dirt on the roof using the broom. Roofing cement cannot stick on surfaces with dirt, that’s why you need to make sure that the entire area is clean. Now cut a shape on to the area where the fracture or peel was discovered. If there are multiple fractures or peels, make use of the same shapes for uniformity. Use the cut shape to make a pattern on the replacement shingles. The size and shape that you create on the replacement shingle should be accurate. If you made a mistake on the size, create multiple replacement shingles so that the shingles can be on the same level as the area on it. Make another replacement shingle. This one must be at least 2 inches larger than the other shingles.

Put the putty knife in the area of the edges. Put roofing cement under the edges. Now, attach the shingle on the hole and nail it down. Cement the shingle. If you are going to use multiple shingles to level the area, the other shingles must not be cemented. Just hammer it down with nails. Tack down the larger replacement shingle on the area and put roofing cement on its edges for the seal.

If there are split shingles on your flat roof, then you need to do a different method. First, slash the shingle into two. Open the slashed area and put roofing cement on it. Use roofing nails to tack down the sides of the shingle. Add a replacement shingle using a similar method as described on the repairing of fractured areas.
Roof repair for your flat roof should now be done. You are now protected from water leaks in the meanwhile. Check your roof regularly to maintain it and prevent anymore leaks.