Signal Hill, CA
Flat roofs do not shed water. They hold it back.
Flat sections on an otherwise pitched house are where the leaks are. Additions, porch roofs, and the bit over the garage.
Describe the flat roofing job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Signal Hill contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Signal Hill is taking requests through this service yet. We are lining them up, and yours is kept until one can.
- Nobody gets your details yet. Your request stays with us and is not passed to any company.
- One email when someone can help. When a provider covering your area can take it on, we email you once and ask whether you want that company, by name, to contact you.
- Deleted after 90 days. If nobody can take it on, or you do not say yes, your contact details are deleted 90 days after your request.
- You decide, or you do not. There is nothing to cancel and nothing to pay us.
Nobody will call you about this request unless you say yes to a company by name.
Before you let anybody on the roof
The things worth pinning down on a flat roofing job. A contractor who has not raised them has not looked properly.
- Which membrane, and how the seams are joined
- Drain, scupper and overflow provision
- Whether water ponds anywhere after rain
- Whether a coating is being sold as a repair
- How the flat section is flashed into adjoining walls and pitched roofs
Single-ply membranes — TPO, PVC, EPDM — are heat-welded or taped at the seams. The seams and the terminations are the whole job.
Drains and scuppers need to be checked every season. One blocked drain can hold enough water to matter structurally.
Ponding water is the enemy. Anything still sitting there forty-eight hours after rain is a design problem, and tapered insulation is usually the answer.
Locally
The second problem is dry offshore wind that arrives all at once in autumn. Dry offshore wind lifts material that damp coastal air had been holding down. Most wind losses here happen on a handful of nights a year.
About flat roofing here
Should I repair or replace?
Rough rule: if the covering has more than about five years left and the damage is confined to one area, repair. If it is at the end of its life or you are patching the third leak in two years, you are paying instalments on a replacement.
How quickly will someone call?
Most requests are picked up the same day, often within an hour. Emergencies are prioritised. If you have not heard anything by the next morning, check voicemail — contractors usually call from a mobile.
Can I stay in the house while it is done?
Yes, though it is loud, and things will fall off shelves in the garage. Move cars out of the driveway and take anything fragile off the walls of the top floor.
What does a new roof cost in Signal Hill?
For a typical Signal Hill home of about 24 squares, an architectural asphalt re-roof usually lands between $12,000 and $27,500. Tile, slate and standing-seam metal run well above that. The number moves on how many old layers come off, how much decking is soft underneath, and how easily a truck can get to the house.
What is it going to cost?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.