Roofing Insulation and Residential Flat Roof Insulation

Often, homeowners imagine the process of laying a roof is rather exaggerated. Everything seems to be simple. You need to call the team of technicians, choose an inexpensive but reliable roofing material, purchase it, and it’s all in the bag! But in fact, laying the roof is a rather complex and multi-stage process, in which the stage of flat roof insulation must be laid before laying roofing materials.

And residential flat roof insulation today is mandatory for various types of roofs and roof structures. But it is especially important to correctly perform this stage in houses with a flat roof. We offer you a bunch of useful information from our experts on how to complete flat roof insulation work from A to Z, avoid mistakes and save you money.

Why Insulation Is Crucial for Flat Roofing

A flat roof is flat because its surface is almost horizontal. Thanks to this, the developer receives a lot of advantages, primarily related to the ability to equip an additional functional area on the roof like a terrace, a summer garden, a balcony, etc. Compared to pitched roofs, flat roofs are cheaper, simpler in design, and easier to install and maintain. But they also have a significant drawback. They tend to leak. The reason for leakages is the too small slope of the flat roof surface (up to 12°), which does not allow rain and melting snow to flow down it as intensively as along inclined slopes. Therefore, insulation for a flat roof is important, one might say it is the key stage of its construction.

What happens to a flat roof if it hasn’t been well insulated?

• Gradually, the roofing loses its integrity, and leaks occur in it.
• Without a layer of insulation, all the moisture that gets under the roofing seeps deep into the house, leading to the formation of mold, and in especially critical situations, to the destruction of walls and ceilings.
• In addition, the lack of a flat roof insulator layer makes the roof less energy efficient. A good insulator retains heat inside the house and has a low heat output, which guarantees low heat evaporation in winter and low heat absorption in the hot season.

A properly installed roof insulator for flat roof insulation creates a strong moisture barrier and prevents leaks.

The two main choices that flat roof homeowners face when it comes to insulating are as follows:

• Choosing the best type of material for flat roof insulation.
• The choice of technology for laying insulation on a flat roof.

Let’s talk about each of these choices in detail.

What Types of Materials Are Trendy for Flat Roof Insulation

Due to its structural features, a flat roof requires a slightly different approach to the choice of insulation materials than a pitched roof. The protection against moisture must be continuous, homogeneous, and shouldn’t have any open seams. The following insulation coatings are most common for flat roofing:

• rolled bituminous materials (ordinary roofing material and its modern modifications);
• polymeric membranes;
• mastics;
• rubber roof insulation.

Considering which of them to choose, it is better to get in mind the specific features of each type of material.

For rolled bituminous materials, the main benefit is their low cost. But there are numerous cons to consider too. These materials are not long-lasting, and they tend to crack under the impact of extra low or extra high temperatures. You may need to lay 4-5 layers of bituminous materials to ensure that flat roof insulation is OK.

When we talk about polymeric membranes, it is a good idea for flat roof insulation to use them. Due to their properties, membranes are used both as finishing roofing and as interlayers inside the roofing layers (as part of an inverted roof). Due to the diversity of installation techniques and lightweight, membranes are among the top-rated insulation materials for flat roofs today.

Mastics are hydrophobic liquid compounds that impregnate the subfloor of a roof to provide insulation. The finished mastic layer hardens under the influence of air and forms a single layer of insulation coating. To strengthen the mastic insulation, it can be additionally reinforced with a fiberglass mesh.

Rubber insulation today is one of the most effective. The material is applied to the surface at a time in a continuous layer, 3 mm thick. For this, special equipment is used – an airless spray installation. With its help, 10763 square feet of roofing can be covered with liquid rubber in one day. On roofs of complex configurations, liquid rubber is more convenient to use than any rolled materials.

The Selection of Technologies for Flat Roofing Insulation

The next issue that needs to be considered is the very sequence of laying the insulation in the roofing pie. Today, two main technologies for laying flat roof insulation are actively used:

• Depending on the type of flat roof (traditional or inverted), the waterproofing layer in the roofing pie is placed at different levels.
• In the structure of a traditional roof, flat roof insulation is located above. In this case, if the structure is unexploited, the insulation simultaneously plays the role of a roof covering. But the traditional roof is often exploited. Then a protective layer is additionally mounted on top of the insulating layer like a decking board, tiles, concrete asphalt, etc.

Another arrangement of layers is typical for an inverted roof. The layers are turned over, that is, the insulation is laid on top of the insulation, protecting thereby it from exposure to UV rays, atmospheric moisture, and sudden temperature changes.

Some Hints to Make Flat Roof Insulation Reliable and Cost-Efficient

So, you have already decided on the material for insulating a flat roof, and have chosen the technology for laying the insulation. What’s next? How not to miscalculate with the organization of isolation?

1. Never plan roof insulation work without a preliminary calculation and design. Only a specialist can determine exactly what insulation material will be OK in your case, how to install it, what installation techniques to use, and how much of the total material is needed. Remember that an amateur installation of insulation can bring you much more costs than hiring qualified professionals.
2. Choosing a contractor is very important. If you want to install flat roof insulation for residential properties, it is better to contact specialists who know the specifics of such work. Contractors for commercial properties should similarly be experienced in roofing insulation for such properties.
3. Don’t skimp on materials. This is a guarantee that the roof will be reliably protected and will not require repairs in subsequent years. Just calculate how much repairs will cost due to poor-quality insulation, and how much quality material will cost. Feel the difference!

And now we will give an example of performing insulation work for a flat roof, performed by the specialists of our company.

Special Offers for Residential Flat Roof Insulation by ID Flat Roof

Our Services

While insulating roofs, we apply only high-level materials and prepare for work strongly, measuring and inspecting every foot of the surface. This means searching for the best options for each order. What result can you opt for? A strongly heated cover saves heat and protects the loft and living space. Our team is trained to work especially with the best materials and owns qualifying certificates from top roofing manufacturers.

Insulating Roofs

If your roof has got significantly weaker heat-saving characteristics, it is time to reinsulate it. The process of insulating a flat roof includes taking all the previous rock or glass wool away and installing a new layer of new-generation insulant produced by PVC. For residential buildings, the whole working process usually doesn’t take more than a day.

If you need commercial certified roofing services, our team is at your command. We perform our high-grade insulation works for flat roofs throughout Massachusetts. If the area of the surface is big, it may take a few days to finish re-insulation.

We can work with different kinds of buildings and accommodations like shopping centers and small shops, office buildings, restaurants and cafes, garages, car repair & gas stations, all other industrial areas. We are open for requests in areas of Watertown, Needham, Boston, and other MA-based areas.

Insulation Repairing

Remember that with roof inspection on time, you can escape long and expensive exterior renovations. If you contact a reliable contractor timely, sewing in some patches will be enough. The cold-proof material gets damaged just partly in some cases. In this way, we can change only a few parts and leave other parts untouched.

With a properly insulated roof, you receive many benefits such as forwarding:

✔ More comfortable temperature in cold seasons of the year;

✔ Significantly lower bills on heating;

✔ Better protection from leaks and less snow melting from the heat indoors;

✔ An improved energy efficiency.

With a special technology, insulating an existing flat roof becomes as fast and reliable as never before. It is easy to apply a cold-proof material to a membrane. Also, it makes installation more eco-friendly as far as no liquid chemicals are involved.

Other Services To Take Into Account

Our team specializes in flat and low-pitched roofs made from PVC. They are perfect for gardening and installing dance decks and solar batteries. Our roofers are professionally repairing, reinstalling, and changing flat roofs to pitched. We’ve been working in this field for 22 years and have gained enough experience to deal even with complicated cases.

Our team provides roofing insulation in all towns and areas of Massachusetts. We mostly work with PVC membranes produced by top roofing material manufacturers. The team has large experience in commercial & residential flat roof construction. With our services, your roof will stand still & reliable for long years. If you are ready to improve and remake your housing, call or fill a booking form on our website.

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Please call +1 (617) 299-0291 for a FREE phone consultation or Request an Estimate Today

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Getting reliable and intact roof insulation for a flat roof is a must. Fortunately, today, there are several various insulating materials that may come in handy for your flat roofing. Choosing high-quality materials and professional roofing insulation service contractors is a win-win option. As a result, you may get durable insulation that may serve for decades without any repair.