Do you have a flat roof on your commercial or industrial building? Chances are very high that you do. Flat roofs are the most common roofing style for business. There are a lot of reasons for that. Cost, strength, and space are all good reasons for a flat roof.
However, “flat” is a misnomer. No roof is truly flat. Building designers should plan for a drop of at least ¼” for every foot of roof. This is to allow for adequate water drainage. Without adequate drainage, the roof is destined to fail. Inadequate water drainage leads to ponding water, the number one killer of flat roof systems.
Ponding Water Problems
Those little ponds of water remaining on your roof after a rainstorm, snow, or hailstorm seem innocuous enough. However, they can lead to untold damage to your roof and if left unchecked, can cause significant problems and expense.
There are 5 primary reasons ponding water is a concern.
Gravity. The undeniable force of gravity will cause moisture to seek out imperfections within the roofing system and move downward. The lack of drainage provides additional time for this to occur.
Vegetation. Water ponds or puddles provide a growth opportunity for mold, mildew, and other forms of vegetation. Some of these have a root system. These roots can grow right through the roofing system, causing damage to the system itself, and leading to leaks.
Additionally, some of this vegetation is extremely unhealthy for the people the roofing system is designed to protect.
Pests. We are all familiar with the problem of mosquitoes breeding in stagnant water, however ponding water also presents opportunities for birds, rodents, termites, and other unwanted pests to obtain their water needs.
Weight. Water weighs 8.34 pounds per gallon. Depending on the size of the ponding areas, you could inadvertently be adding a lot of unanticipated weight to the building structure.
Collapse. Between weight issues, structural damage, molds and pest infestations, the entire roofing system can weaken and collapse. No building can withstand the damage of unchecked water ponding indefinitely.
Solutions to the Problem
Though the only true solution is adequate drainage, the application of a waterproof coating reinforces the roof structure.
Applied as a fluid, coatings cover the entire roofing surface in a single, seamless application. This lack of seams is the very strength behind the concept of a coating. Seams are the #1 point of leak development. Even ponding water is unable to find a way through a system without seams.
This waterproof material is also applied across the flashing of all protrusions, another key location for water intrusion and leak development.
Coupled with an adequate drainage design, the presence of a waterproof coating protects your flat roof better than any other system currently on the market.
To learn more about the risks associated with your flat roof and ways to mitigate those risks, call the experts at 701-202-7280.