Across Glasgow and Edinburgh, Flat Roofing has been a very popular choice for new build homes and extensions as well as older and more traditional sandstone homes.

But while modern flat roofing is a lot more advanced in construction and materials; older flat roofing can develop problems like water ponding which can lead to water ingress. And that is why so often, we get calls from home owners across the Central Belt of Scotland asking about flat roof waterproofing.

While there are different methods of flat roof waterproofing, we will list three of the most common methods here.

Reinforced Bitumen Membranes for Flat Roofing

A common material used for waterproofing a flat roof on residential properties is reinforced bitumen membranes.

The process of waterproofing a flat roof this way involves laying down two or three layers of the material across the full surface of your properties flat roof. These layers are then bonded together using hot bitumen. The bitumen coating is combined with a polyester carrier to produce a combined material that is waterproof. This newly formed waterproof material can then be laid across a warm, dry flat roof to create a waterproof layer.

Liquid Waterproofing for Flat Roofing

Glass Reinforced Plastic (also known as GRP) waterproofing uses rigid polyester resin combined with a glass fibre reinforcement. While the varying weather across Glasgow and Edinburgh means that the exact lifespan of this type of flat roof waterproofing can not be guaranteed, the general lifespan of liquid waterproofing can be anywhere between 20-40 years.

Single Ply Membranes for Flat Roofing

One of the most popular and traditional choices for flat roof waterproofing is single ply membranes. Typically this method is used more commonly for commercial and industrial roofing, sheets of single ply membrane come in a range of thickness and width to accommodate all shapes and sizes of flat roofing. The only complication with single ply membranes is that because they are usually combined to a warm flat roofs insulation, an additional layer will be required underneath the roofs insulation to prevent rising internal condensation from affecting the integrity of your roof insulation material.

If you would like to know more about flat roofing services and anything else to do with roof repairs, call our Glasgow head office on 0141 944 6100.