Flat & Low-Slope Roofing in Chicago

Flat Roofing Systems We Install

• Modified bitumen — torch-down, cold-adhered or self-adhering multi-ply asphalt; the Chicago workhorse
• EPDM rubber — rugged, proven, forgiving of complex penetrations
• TPO single-ply — heat-welded seams, highly reflective, strong on commercial buildings
• Built-Up Roofing (BUR) — traditional multi-layer felt and asphalt with gravel surfacing
• Roof coatings and restoration — extending the life of a sound existing membrane

Ponding Water Is the Enemy

A "flat" roof should never actually be flat — it needs fall so water leaves within 48 hours. When it does not, you get ponding, and in Chicago ponding is far worse than elsewhere: standing water freezes, expands in the seams, thaws, and does it again the next night. A minor membrane defect becomes a structural problem in a single winter. When we assess a flat roof we look hard at drainage — whether drains and scuppers are correctly placed and clear, whether the deck has deflected between joists, and whether tapered insulation is needed to create proper fall.

Parapets, Coping and the Chicago Detail

Most Chicago flat roofs are surrounded by masonry parapet walls, and that junction is where the majority of leaks we are called to actually begin — not the field of the roof at all. Failing mortar joints let water into the wall; failed or missing coping caps let it in from the top; and base flashing that was never properly terminated lets it in at the bottom. Because we do tuckpointing as well as roofing, we can fix the whole assembly rather than repairing the membrane and leaving the wall to keep feeding water behind it.

See our tuckpointing and masonry work