This week we are up in the North West area of London Ontario to put in a brand new flat roof for a client. They have a really nice home built in the 1970-1980’s era, but with a modernistic style that was ahead of its time when it was built.
The client needs a new flat roof envelope over the top of studio portion of the house. It’s a big job for this section of roof as it needs a full tear out, and there is a lot of roofing details around this section – there is a skylight, some internal drains, some scuppers to remove, and a roof tie in detail as well.
The roof was wet so we had to dry it off completely before we start the removal process as we want to make sure there is little to no moisture in the roof as we rebuild the roof and put in the new roofing system. We then removed the 2 ply modified bitumen system and the fibreboard which had been nailed securely to the deck, then we cleaned the wooden deck to make sure it was debris and nail free. All of this takes time, it took a full day just for the tear out, but this needs to be done carefully and methodically as this is the foundation work for the entire flat roof system.
We removed the metal flashing and other details, then we got to the other details before the base sheet went on. We blocked off the scuppers with wood blocking as these won’t be needed in the new system as they were ineffective and the homeowner didn’t want to see the downspouts on that side of the home. We did install one emergency scupper just in case the 2 drains fail.
We removed everything we could off the skylight, including the glazing so we can roof this in properly to prevent any leaks. The wood deck was in overall in great condition and was level so we could work on putting the peel and stick base sheet down and begin working on the roofing details.
We use a Soprema peel and stick base sheet on our roofing projects.
We like this product as its safe for the homeowner, there is no torching, not hot asphalt, it’s what we call a cold process system, and its just as secure and water tight as a hot process system. The only heat required is on the membrane where we heat weld the seams, but that requires no flame. And that was a good thing as it was one hot and humid week in Ontario during this project!
We installed a new 2 play membrane system, taking care to ensure the 2 drains were fitted properly now that they are the main focal points for getting the water off the roof. Typically flat roofing companies will heat weld the membrane to the flange of the drain, we took it one step further and applied an alsans system around the drain, so that in extreme heat and cold, the movement of the drain won’t affect the home. Its just an extra touch to make sure we do the best quality work we can for the client.
We roofed in the skylight and brought the membrane up nice and high to eliminate any potential leaks, as skylights are notorious for leaking, but this one is perfectly sealed.
The more interesting detail was tying in the new 2ply system to the older thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) section of the home. We heat welded our new cap sheet to the older membrane, and then used an application of alsans to tie the system together, and used a chalk line so that the transition is neat and tidy, and creates a near bullet proof transition.
We reinstalled the existing metal flashing, and the job is all done! If you’re in the SouthWestern Ontario area and you need a flat roof project done on your home, please reach out to us!