Flat and low-slope · Los Angeles County
Flat roof repair in Los Angeles, with wet insulation priced before we open it.
A flat roof can hold water in its layers long after the rain stops, so your quote prices wet insulation and soft decking before anything is cut open.
Need a tarp today? Call (310) 857-2520. We’re on your roof the same day.
- 45 minutes at the house
- 48 hours to the quote
- 10 years on workmanship
The trouble with a flat roof is water that stays. It sits in a low spot after a storm until it finds an open seam. From there it soaks the layers under the surface, and the stain shows up inside weeks later, often nowhere near the seam. Mid-century houses in the hills have roofs like this, and so do a lot of additions and garage conversions.
Where flat roofs leak
- Ponding. A ring of dirt where water sat for days after the last rain.
- Seams. The laps where one roll of cap sheet overlaps the next, opened by heat.
- Blisters. Bubbles in the surface with moisture trapped under them.
- Parapet corners. Where the roof turns up a low wall and the seal has cracked.
- Drains and scuppers. Stopped up with leaves, so water spills over the edge and down the wall.
- Old coatings. Chalky and cracked, and letting water through.
Dry layers or wet ones
Which fix a flat roof needs comes down to what is under the surface. If the layers are dry, an open seam can be cut out and patched, or a worn surface recoated. If they hold water, a patch or a coating seals that water in, and the roof has to come off down to the deck and be rebuilt from there. The quote names the fix and gives the reason in writing.
How a flat roof job goes
- The free quote visit, about 45 minutes. We check every drain, scupper and parapet corner, and the ceiling under any stain.
- Your written quote comes in 48 hours: the job, plus wet insulation and soft decking priced if found.
- We book the work for a dry spell, because new layers won't stick to a damp roof. If water comes in before then, call, and we come out the day you call. The roof leak repair page sets out that visit.
- On a tear-off, the old layers come off down to the deck. Wet insulation and soft decking are photographed, counted and sent to you before they are replaced.
- The final bill is the quoted price, plus only the found lines you said yes to.
Priced if found
- Wet insulation. Under the old cap sheet, replaced only where it is wet.
- Rotted decking. Per sheet.
- A layer we couldn't count at the visit. Per square. Some flat roofs have been covered over more than once.
Each one has a price on your quote before work starts, and is charged only if it is there.
What the flat roof price depends on
- Patching, recoating or tearing off
- How big the roof is, and the number of layers coming off
- How many drains, scuppers and parapet corners need new flashing
- Getting material up and old layers down, on a hillside or up two stories
Questions about flat roofs
Will a coating stop the leak?
Only if the layers under it are dry. A coating renews the surface. Over wet layers it holds the water in, and the roof keeps rotting from the inside.
Do you work on apartment buildings and shops?
Yes. On commercial and apartment roofs the old built-up roof comes off down to the deck, as it does on a house, and the quote carries the same priced-if-found lines.
Does a new flat roof carry the 10 years on workmanship?
Yes, counted from the date on the final bill, the same as any new roof we put on.
Roofs and jobs
Flat and low-slope
Cap sheet, torch-down and coatings on mid-century houses, additions and garage conversions.
Priced if found: wet insulation under the old roof.Contact
Two numbers. They match.
The one on the quote and the one on the bill. Book the free visit, or call and ask what happens when the deck turns out to be soft.
(310) 857-2520