Claremont, CA
Flat roofs do not shed water. They hold it back.
Almost every flat roof problem is a drainage problem wearing a disguise. Standing water finds the one seam that was not welded properly.
Describe the flat roofing job
Three questions, then the address. Up to three Claremont contractors who do this work.
You are on the list.
No provider in Claremont 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.
- Drain, scupper and overflow provision
- How the flat section is flashed into adjoining walls and pitched roofs
- Which membrane, and how the seams are joined
- Whether water ponds anywhere after rain
- Whether a coating is being sold as a repair
Modified bitumen is the rolled, torched or self-adhered system you see on older flat additions. Cheaper, and shorter-lived.
Look at the flashing where the flat section meets a wall. That transition leaks far more often than the field of the membrane does.
Coatings can buy a sound roof several years. Coating a failed roof buys you a wet roof with a fresh top coat on it.
Locally
The second problem is dry offshore wind that arrives all at once in autumn. They also drive ember risk, which is why vent screening and Class A assemblies matter more here than the colour of the covering.
About flat roofing here
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.
Why does ventilation keep coming up?
It is the most under-sold part of a roof. Trapped heat and moisture shorten shingle life, warp decking, and in cold weather it is what turns snow into an ice dam.
How long should a roof last here?
Rated life and real life are different numbers. Here, ordinary rated life is a fair guide, provided the attic breathes. Ventilation and the quality of the installation move that more than the brand does.
Do I have to hire anyone?
No. Take the quotes, sit on them, compare them, or throw them away. There is nothing to cancel and nothing owed.
What is it going to cost?
Free, no obligation, and your details go to no company until you say yes.