The flat roof on this Chester job runs along the foot of a pitched roof laid in small red tiles. The tricky part of any roof like this is not the middle of the flat area but its edges: the line where it meets the tiles, and the front edge where water drops into the gutter.
The photos follow the roof from the old coated surface, through the new deck, to the finished EPDM rubber roofing with trims in place.
The old surface and the tile junction
The first photo shows the old covering where it met the tiled slope. It had been painted with a pale coating at some point, and bits of broken brick and debris were lying on it. Along the junction the old finish was breaking up and coming away from the tiles.
Coatings like that can buy an old roof some time, but once the covering underneath is breaking up at the edges they do not stop water getting in.
New deck, then rubber
One photo shows a run of fresh OSB boards laid alongside a part that was already finished in rubber. Taking a roof like this in stages keeps more of it covered at any one time, so less is exposed if the weather turns.
EPDM is a synthetic rubber membrane supplied in large sheets. It is laid over the new deck, bonded down with adhesive and then finished at the perimeter with trims so the edges are held and the water is guided off the roof.
- At the tiled slope: a metal trim along the junction, with the rubber finished neatly up to the tiles.
- At the front: a black edge trim over the gutter line, so run-off drops cleanly into the gutter.
- Across the field of the roof: a smooth, continuous rubber sheet.
Anything else we noticed
The gutter below the front edge was holding moss and debris, which is worth clearing on any flat roof so the water has somewhere to go. If your gutters or fascias are tired or leaking, our UPVC fascias and guttering page explains what we fit.
Thinking about a rubber roof on your own extension or garage? Get in touch and tell us what you have. You can also compare this job with a rubber roof between two tiled pitches elsewhere in Chester.
Questions About This Kind of Job
Can a new flat roof go under an existing tiled slope?
Yes. The flat covering is finished up to the foot of the slope and the junction is trimmed or flashed so rain coming off the tiles runs onto the rubber rather than behind it.
Is painting an old flat roof a good fix?
A coating can tidy up a roof that is still sound. Where the covering is splitting or coming away at the edges, as it was here, the lasting answer is usually a new deck and a new membrane.
Why work on a flat roof in sections?
It keeps most of the roof covered while each part is stripped and re-decked, which matters when there is a room or a garage full of belongings underneath.
Do rubber roofs need edge trims?
Yes. Trims hold the membrane at the perimeter, protect the edge and control where the water leaves the roof, whether into a gutter or away from a wall.
