Pete Sol

I can't wait to put up some photos next week. I'm sold on the new roof. I just had to be completely sold, beyond any shadow of thought that something more economical could be improvised. I don't think now that anything improvised in this case will end up being economical. Not to mention peace of mind.

Hi guys (gals), I really appreciate your insights into this. Just for clarification, the precipitation/plumbing drain is approximately located in the center of this roof. So in essence, somehow the center ended up being the highest point on the roof. I do think it's modified bitumen, I am not a roofer though. Although, one look at the material and I was fairly certain it could not stand up as a barrier to water with this amount of ponding and would surely one day fail prematurely. Other info: If I hadn't specified already, the building is not new, just the roof. Therefore, the rafters are the same as before and this problem wasn't. It would also be rather unbelievable that somehow the ply-wood was sloped wrong. Reading your posts has aided me to diagnose what I do think the problem is. The layer of angled sheets, probably was installed backwards. With the thickest portion near the center drain and the thinnest towards the parapet. I wanted to know if I could contact a roofer in my area and reasonably ask him about a re-slope (yes, the parapet is high enough, it's about 14") for this degree of correction. In my experience as a builder, sometimes just because someone agrees to do a job a certain way, doesn't mean they should. Maybe a roofer will say "fine, yeah, re-slope no problem" but in fact it is a problem, because of some factor; strength, ability to seal, weathering, ect. I also don't want to be told we can't when we can, because I will need to make a proposal on this work. I think already and along the way I have always favoured a new roof to re-sloping this one, because of other issues with ventilation. However, when I make my proposal, I inform my clients of all their options and the results they are likely to get with whichever course they chose. It's my job to weigh costs and risks for them, but its their job to decide what course we will take (within reason, I have no issues with walking away from a bad job) I will mention another roof defect for those interested. The ventilation ratio for a roof such as this is 1/150 nfva. Because, there is no adequate vapour retarder below the attic and the HVAC runs up and through the roof. I can sense there is considerable stack effect going on (when I go over the existing vents I feel warm moist air). Right now there are a total of 3 vertical pipe vents for the attic area of approx 1200sqft. All the pipe vents are on the same side of the building, I don't see that aiding to circulate air through the attic. I think one solution to this can be to cut boxes in the brick fascia of the attic, on the side opposite the vents and install powered ventilation units. I'll figure out the strength using the ratio. Two or three units should be enough. They will also help reduce stack effect by blowing neutral temp air into the attic. Does this sound reasonable? Thanks. This is my first post on the forum and I am really enjoying to correspond with your community. I like the atmosphere, I like that you've asked me questions so as to clarify the situation, it's informing and fun.

First, thank you for the reply Kurt. I can post some photos of the roof in question in about a week, when I go on there to fix the Gooseneck HVAC vents (right now they are sealed with aluminium muffler tape, that is not a typo) and put covers on the stack vents (precipitation is going right in there now). If re-leveling the roof is not an option, then relocating the plumbing drain is not going to be an option either based on cost-vs-results. I'd rather recommend a new roof all together. The surface material is not asphalt shingle. What I meant before is that it is a bituminous material; large sheets, spread over the roof, with what looks like a tar between joints. I'm posting below some photos that I found online that look the same. Thanks

I was called in to take a look at flat roof. There are a lot of things wrong with this roof. It goes beyond the limits of incompetence or inebriation, probably a grudge or something. The company that did this roof is well established in my area. Most of the problems I can deal with and provide solutions for. There is one that I'm not so sure about though. One of the flat roof areas (it is it's own roof, on op of a small penthouse 20'X20') has the wrong slope. The precipitation drain is the highest point on the roof, by as much as 3" in some places. As you can well imagine, there is considerable puddling. My question is, does this roof need to be ripped off and redone completely? It was only done last year and the people did not get a good settlement claim. Are there any other options; such as some way of putting another layer of roof over the existing one to correct the slope and therefore drainage issues? The roof is made of hard insulation, covered with large sheets of what appear to be asphalt tile. I can provide more details if that can help. There are also ventilation issues with this roof right now. And I'm not sure yet if the insulation was done to code. Thank you