Should Flat Roofs Have Puddles

By lori lapierre by their very nature flat roofs do not completely drain after it rains.

Should flat roofs have puddles.

Flat roofs really shouldn t be flat. Flat roofs do not drain as effectively as pitched roofs. Home exterior roof flat roofs water puddling or standing on flat roof many so called flat roofs have some ponding. A roof should not have puddles because roofs are not designed to hold the weight of a large amount of water.

We can stop your flat roof having puddles now. If it s holding a lot of water this is not good amd firings should have been installed. The slope should be a minimum of 1 in 80 but in practice a minimum slope of 1 to 40 should be used to allow for deflection of the roof and for normal building tolerances. Flat roofs should always have a slight pitch for quick drainage of rainwater but sunken areas that create puddles can appear from time to time.

Long term effects of ignoring ponding water on a flat roof by ignoring long term ponding water on a commercial flat roof you increase the odds of having serious roofing problems. Not only in the long term can it cause structural damage from the weight of the puddles but in the short term the puddles may cause leaks. Some flat roofs can hold a small puddle of water here and there especially big roofs but if done to a good standard and the epdm up to scratch small puddles won t cause a problem. Our unique formula of recycled rubber crumb polystyrene balls and binder fill up the areas where the puddles were on your flat roof making your flat roof flat again.

However puddles 1 or more inches deep that linger for days can indicate a significant problem with. It s really depends how much water the roof is holding. When these sunken areas appear it s important to examine the problem carefully and determine if it is related to structural damage. Flat roofs should not have puddles.

As a result flat roofs are notorious for developing ponding water. They normally will have at least a inch to a foot slope and many roofers prefer more. The design of a flat roof can sometimes prevent rain and precipitation water from draining properly making standing water a common problem.