Should We Walk Away?
We are about to go into contract for a unit on the top floor of a newly constructed building. The problem is that our inspection showed that the roof was almost completely flat (i.e. not angled or sloped at all for drainage). It is our understanding that flat roofs are supposed to have a slight…
We are about to go into contract for a unit on the top floor of a newly constructed building.
The problem is that our inspection showed that the roof was almost completely flat (i.e. not angled or sloped at all for drainage). It is our understanding that flat roofs are supposed to have a slight pitch to keep water from pooling and leaking in. There are drains (2) on the roof, but absolutely no pitch and you can already see where some ponding has occured.
Having zero familiarity with flat roofs, here’s the question: Will an improperly pitched flat roof cause significantly more problems (leaks, costly repairs), than a properly pitched flat roof? Should we walk away if the developer refuses to fix the pitch?
We love the place and will probably have a tough time finding a similar unit in our price range, but we have no desire to buy into a potentially costly situation either. We will be the first ones to be leaked on if there’s an issue, and even though major repairs would be paid for by the whole building, there aren’t that many units to share the cost with.
So, thoughts from those who are more experienced? Is this something worth walking away over?
the rec to visit the day after it rains is a good one…we’re supposed to get rain this week.
and flashing (where the roof meets the parapet and any bulkheads) is critical. A lot of roofers skip this if you don’t keep an eye on things.
for the warranty, when people talk about a 10 or 20 year roof, that’s the warranty on the membrane…but not on the installation…If there’s a leak, it’ll almost certainly be because of the installation, not because the membrane started to disintegrate.
if this is a new constriction, would you be able to get warranty from the builder on the roof for long period of time?
BTW I should have added that far more important than whether the ponding and/or pitch is a problem, is the base terminations, the flashing details, etc.
It doesn’t sound like a huge issue, honestly. It may mean the roof lasts 17 years instead of 20.
I believe engineering specs for roofs in general state that all ponding should evaporate within 24 hours of the end of a rain event. So all you have to do is bring a tent the next rainstorm and hang out with a sleeping bag 🙂
Thanks for all of the responses so far. I just pulled up the inspection report; it is a Modified Bitumen roof. The inspection report does not provide any measurements. This is what the report says:
“- Evidence of ponding water was observed on the flat roof. A flat roof should normally drain 24-48 hours after rain. Ponding can accelerate deterioriation of roofing materials and eventually become a potential source of leakage. When reroofing is performed, eliminate areas where ponding can occur.”
“- The flat roof is practically level which could lead to a shortened life span due to the inability to readily drain water. When reroofing is performed, improve roof slope to facilitate drainage.”
There were no puddles during the inspection, but during an earlier viewing, there were small puddles on one side of the roof (the area farthest from the drains). They were shallow enough to be swept away by a broom, but they may have been there for a while as it had not rained recently (this was early August). Though it was dry when the inspector came, you could see the discoloration (light grey in the areas of ponding, as opposed to black for the rest of the roof).
If you’re really serious you’d visit after the next down pour and take peek. I wouldnt worry much about the inspectors take on the roof unless he pulled out tools to measure the pitch. Most homes in BK have flat roofs.
If the roof is a concrete slab there should be a slight pitch to each drain not necessarily to the edge of the roof. It’s always better to have a roof shed water but a little standing water on a roof is not uncommon, brownstones often have some at the roofing seams and low spots in the roof but it is more troubling in new construction. If the roof is a concrete slab with a Kemper membrane or other very high quality roofing it will be fine if not beware. The concrete alone will be waterproof until it begins to crack. What exactly did the inspector say about the quality of the roof and the potential for problems and how deep are the puddles?
I have a flat roof with ponding on my upstate house. You say it has drains. With todays rubber membrane materials I’m sure you are fine. Someday there may be a leak or staining. There will be this on a sloped roof also.
It gets fixed or replaced and ceiling gets repaired. The roof does not come crashing down and destroy everything all at once with no warning.
You say the roof is’almost’ flat. did the inspector give you any numbers…i.e. 1/8″ per foot? If not, find out.
Ask the developer for the specifications on the roof membrane (both the manufacturer and the specific product name). You can then go online and pretty quickly find what the required minimum pitch is…if your building has less than the minimum, I’d walk away.
For ponding, many flat systems actually allow some ponding. The spec’s might say ponding is allowed on no more than 10% of the roof area. But this is only because where the seams in the membrane overlap there’s a slight bump…inevitably a very small amount of water will get stuck on the uphill side of the bump, but the amount is so small it will evaporate quickly.
Good Luck.