Flat roof is a very familiar sight throughout North America and is the ultimate choice of roofing systems for many residents and commercial property owners in Toronto and GTA. Malls, warehouses, apartment buildings, as well as universities, schools and hospitals usually feature a flat roof. This roof type is easier to install over large surfaces and is the most common choice for industrial, commercial and institutional buildings.

A flat roof is installed to sit horizontally on top of a commercial or residential  building, with very little or no pitch in contrast to the many types of sloped roofs. Although the name indicates that a roof surface is almost completely level, a slight angle must be included to allow for the drainage of rainwater. The Ontario Building code requires flat roofs to have a positive slope of ¼” for every 4’ run towards drains or draining edges. Required slope ensures that no pooling on the surface will occur.

When the time comes, one of your first big decisions would be what type of roof you are looking to install and what roof material to use. Will you choose asphalt shingles or clay tiles, or wood shingles & shakes? There are also concrete tiles and slate tiles as well as rubber slate tiles. Or maybe you would prefer to go with stone-coated steel or metal roofing? A green roof and solar tiles are also the options to explore.

The bottom line is that one of the most popular options people choose is a flat roof, which also happened to be one of the most durable and affordable products on the market. Flat roofs offer plenty of benefits, from safety to practicality which you can find below.

DURABILITY

According to expert opinion, the specific composition of a flat roof is undemanding in its maintenance. In addition, the gravel and tar structures that form the basis of a flat roof stand the test of time: the shelf life of a flat roof is around 30 years. Thanks to the products used in the roofing system, a flat roof can resist basic elemental damage and stand up to hazards of nature more effectively than a sloped roof.  

SPACE

Flat roof gives you space and that’s why they are popular not only in commercial, industrial and institutional buildings but also acquire their share within the residential property. You can use a well-maintained flat roof as storage or recreational area. In this way, it will be an effective roofing solution at an affordable price. For a commercial business where space is a very important factor, storing exhaust pipes, AC vent, or other heavy equipment on the roof appears to be a great tangential benefit. The symmetrical design of the flat roof allows it to support heavy equipment unlike sloped roofs.

ACCESS & MAINTENANCE

Flat roofs can be accessed extremely easily and safely as they have very little slope. It is especially handy when it comes to performing visual maintenance checks to determine if any fixing is needed, cleaning debris, handling the necessary flat roofing repairs, and clearing out the rain gutters. Flat roofing maintenance becomes the piece of cake with the ability to get up there and get any problem fixed easily. In addition, a variety of flat roof coatings and other specialized materials allows keeping this system in a great condition with little effort allowing to avoid costly repairs.

COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION

As flat roofs don’t require any decorative materials like shingles on the surface, it makes them economically reasonable roofing solutions for any home or property owner who prefers to keep installation costs low. Moreover, the future maintenance and even repair of these roofs are easy and very affordable due to the minimum level of complexity in contrast to sloped roofs.

WEATHER-RESISTANCE

Toronto and GTA area is well-known for its pretty unpredictable weather which can change drastically in less than no time. Flat roofs are the best solution in such an environment as they suffer the least amount of damage from the wind compared to angled roofing systems. For example, shingles could be easily exposed to a strong wind that can cause repairs concerns. Furthermore, there are a variety of professional flat roofing solutions that can be applied to increase the water-resistance of the roof, increase its density (reduced risk of punctures), and provide a higher level of protection from UV damage.