Flat Roof Leak Repair Services in Auckland

Commercial and industrial flat roofs have perimeter penetration and the trickiest leak: a/c units. Roof perimeters are often kept millimetre shy of the edge and neatly sealed to existing or new metal using tar (and fibreglass fabric in most cases).

This seal will eventually fail allowing water directly in to building or worse, in between layers of flat roofing, sometimes not noticed until roof becomes beyond repair. The adhesion between top roof and underlying roofs is vital to the top roofs survival (longevity), so avoiding leaks on a multi layered roof is vital.

It is as simple as adding about 100 mm of material to the roof perimeter. This enables the roof to continue over the edge, overlapping wall or existing metal coping. This raw edge is then finished with an aluminium drip edge to fasten and cover roofing.

The most common residential flat roof leak occurs where flat roofing meets siding. The ‘flashing’ at this joint is crucial. Flashing comes in many forms. Flashing can be copper, aluminium, lead or tar. That’s right, tar. The best form of flashing with residential flat (low slope) roofing is actually none of these.

Whether it is a metal or the roof sealed right to the siding, either way, it can fail. If the flat roofing were to continue up the wall behind the siding, there is no tar to fail. This method will last as long as the material. It will not fail. Physics never fails.

Tricky part to this is the layers of siding. To be done properly, the flat roof (we prefer Butynol Rubber roofing) needs to continue behind all layers of siding (vinyl, insulation, asbestos and tar paper is most common).