When building a commercial or residential home or replacing the old roof on your home or commercial building, there are many roofing options for you to explore. Your roofing options always center around going for either a pitched or flat roof. Where pitched roofs offer various styles, including mansard, hipped, gambrel, dome, or gabled, flat roofs come with fewer styles like built-up or single-ply.
Regardless of the roofing type you finally chose to go for; it’s worth noting that both flat and pitched roofing type comes with its benefits and setbacks. Understanding their benefits and drawbacks will help you arrive at what’s best for your structure. However, in recent times, most professional roofing contractors in NYC always advise their clients to go for flat roofs for either commercial or residential buildings. It offers many energy-efficient options and creates more space for homeowners or property managers to utilize. However, before you go for a flat roof over a pitched roof, you should consider some factors like cost, maintenance, structure, and energy efficiency.
Like almost any aspect of your building, your roof needs regular maintenance. Although most roofing systems, whether a pitched or flat roof, come with a lengthy warranty, usually up to 15 to 20 years, this never means you should sideline periodic maintenance. Compared to pitched roofs, flat roofs are much easier to inspect, clean, and repair. Pitched roofs have slopes which makes them difficult and very risky to work on. No doubt, flat roofs offer below-par drainage ability compared to pitched roofs. However, with regular maintenance and inspection of gutters and drains (which is much easier with flat roofs), you can take care of the drainage problem of flat roofs. One of the major problems with flat roofs is leaks. However, this is always a result of a lack of proper inspection and maintenance. And with the suitable flat roof sealant, the chances of having leaks on your flat roof will be greatly reduced.
Of course, before embarking on any roofing project, the cost is one of the critical factors you have to consider. While there’s a wide variation in the cost of installing a flat roof and pitched roof, the futuristic cost in maintenance and inspection for both roofs seems to cancel the initial price variations out.
For most roofers, flat roofs are considerably cheaper to install than pitched roofs. Nevertheless, in the long run, the cost of maintenance and repairs of flat roofs is higher than that of pitched roofs. However, one great thing about flat roofs is that you can DIY its maintenance as it is much easier and presents lower risks than the pitched roof.
And then, we have the point of the structure to consider when trying to pick from either a flat or pitched roof. When it comes to structure, pitched roofs offer great structure, remarkable stability, and excellent drainage, even better than flat roofs. In wet climates, pitched roofs are usually the people’s favorite. In contrast, flat roofs are not so excellent in drainage. Nevertheless, they offer attractive designs and captivating styling while also costing less than pitched roofs. It is hard to resist the contemporary designs that flat roofs provide, whether in residential or commercial buildings. And even if your building is in a rainy climate, with outstanding waterproofing made available by flat roof sealants, you can still delight yourself and boost the appeal of your structure by going for a flat roofing system.
Whether for flat or pitched roofs, there are many energy-efficient options for each type of roof. The energy-efficient roofing materials for flat roofs offer most of the same benefits as any other material for a pitched roof. Energy-efficient roofing systems come with the promise of reducing cooling costs, offering better wind resistance, better seals, and less likelihood of leaks and penetration by wind-driven water improved insulation. Above all, it promises longer roof life with minimal maintenance. While both the pitch and flat roofs offer incredible energy efficiency depending on the material, we will always favor flat roofs that make energy efficiency seem effortless to come by.
Flat roofs are always way cheaper than you’d imagine. Compared to pitched roofs, flat roofs are very affordable and convenient. The materials and cost of coating are less expensive as well.
If you have your eyes on more eco-friendly roofing options, flat roofs offer many energy-efficient roofing options for you to explore.
One big flex with a flat roof is that you can easily carry out a DIY inspection without worrying about safety as they are easier and safer to walk on.
Although flat roofs may require more periodic maintenance, cleaning and carrying out repairs on a flat roof is much easier than any other roofing type.
Most flat roofs come with “living roofs,” which are mostly a well-decorated and organized outdoorsy area on the rooftop. Homeowners can utilize this space for a lot of activities.
Flat roofs are resistant to the elements, including winds. They are quite durable, with a lifespan of up to 35 years. Of course, with regular maintenance and solid installation, you can easily achieve this and even prolong it a little.
Finally, whichever roof type you choose for your residential or commercial building, it is necessary that you consider all the possibilities, the pros, and the cons. Of course, the climate will play a huge role in narrowing down your option. The flat roof is best for dry climates, while pitched roofs are great for wet climates. But when you consider cost, maintenance, structure, and energy efficiency, you will discover that climate is not such a big monster as you think. Always go for a roof that not only works best for your budget or pocket but suits your needs. And lastly, have a chat with your local roofer to help you arrive at the best roof type and roof material for your building.
For more inquiries on a flat roof or flat roofing solutions, reach out to us at 553 Prospect Avenue Brooklyn NY 11215 (646)-838-0441 https://www.nyroofing.com/.
