With autumn on the way, it’s a good time to reflect on the summer… and, more specifically, how it might have affected your flat roof. It’s easy to underestimate how adversely warm weather can affect a flat roof; after all, it wouldn’t evidence itself as frozen snow or maybe even a leak.
However, this is exactly why you must be careful not to underestimate the potential harm of such weather – especially given that, in the midday sun, each square metre of a flat roof will receive roughly a thousand watts of sunlight, the Guardian warns.
Is your roof effectively insulated?
If your flat roof shields an extension or conservatory, you might have spent many summer days casually wandering into that space, likening it to a greenhouse and then leaving it for somewhere a little cooler.
Well, the unbearable warmth of a space could be attributed to its roof. This is because, in a roof, insulation doesn’t just help to keep more heat from escaping during the winter; it can also assist in regulating a room’s temperature in the summer days.
Don’t fight fire with fire…
Instead, fight it – or, should we say, prevent it – with the right type of flat roof. Admittedly, you might be wondering how likely your flat roof really is to catch fire even in blistering summer – unless you are barbecuing on that roof, which isn’t entirely beyond the realms of possibility.
We’ll return to that point a little later – but, first, let’s say that, if you were planning to get a new flat roof installed, you should consult your local authority. While most flat roof systems satisfy the Regulations for fire protection anyway, you should still check that your favoured such system does.
Have you been using that flat roof as a floor?
One of the selling points of flat roofs is that they can be repurposed as an extra space for foot traffic; for example, if you would like a balcony on which you could use barbecuing equipment as the sun shines. However, it isn’t just the occasional piece of overcooked food that could threaten the roof…
There’s also the simple fact that, if you have converted the flat roof into a roof terrace or something similar, you may not have strengthened the surface to account for the increased strain of the feet and bodies often resting on it. Therefore, you might have already caused accidental damage.
If you worry that your flat roof might have become damaged in the recent summer heat, ask a professional to inspect that roof. We can send roofers to Sunderland, Newcastle, Durham and various nearby places for the purpose of carrying out free checks of roof health.
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