Flat roofing in Kent

Flat roof materials

• Felt (strictly, reinforced bitumen membrane): layers of bitumen sheet bonded to the roof deck, the traditional British flat roof
• Rubber, or EPDM: a single sheet of synthetic rubber, often laid in one piece on a small roof so there are few joins or none
• Fibreglass, or GRP: glass-reinforced plastic laid wet over a timber deck, which sets hard and is finished with a topcoat

Repair or replace a flat roof

A flat roof with one split, or one failed edge where it meets a wall, can often be repaired. When the boards under the covering have gone soft, or water is getting in in more than one place, replacing the covering and the deck beneath it is usually the better job.

Puddles on a flat roof

Water should run off a flat roof, not sit on it. A flat roof is built with a slight fall towards a gutter or an outlet, so puddles that are still there days after rain mean the fall or the deck needs looking at.

Replacing a flat roof covering follows the same rule as a pitched roof: the Planning Portal says re-covering half or more of the roof normally needs a building control application.