The best flat roofs don’t fall flat
Flat roofs offer aesthetically pleasing clean lines in a modern home design.
Leaks are more common with flat roofs than other styles.
A flat roof lets you install a roof garden or deck.
Flat roofs have a shorter life span than other options.
A sloped roof is the standard for most homes. However, if you want a design that stands out from the crowd, it’s worth exploring the possibility of a flat roof. Advantages of a flat roof include energy efficiency, ease of maintenance, and pleasing aesthetics. Disadvantages of a flat roof include difficulty in shedding heavy rain and a shorter life span than sloped roofs. Learn more about flat roof pros and cons to see if it’s a smart design for your home.
A flat roof is any single-piece roof that has a slope with a slight incline of less than 10 degrees. Although flat roofs are common in commercial buildings, you can use them in a residential building, too, such as an adobe-style house or a modern home design. They’re even more frequently found on outbuildings and similar structures at the home, like a carport or shed.
A sloped roof is far more common than a flat roof in residential construction. In the flat roof versus sloped roof comparison, the sloped roof has one or more peaks. Slopes extend downward from the peaks, encouraging the movement of rainwater. Flat roofs have no peaks.
| Flat Roof Pros | Flat Roof Cons |
|---|---|
| Easy to maintain | Water may pool |
| Make a roof garden | Shorter life span |
| Energy efficient | Potential for leaks |
| Unique aesthetics | Membrane may puncture |
If you like the look that a flat roof provides, multiple advantages exist for this type of design.
One of the biggest advantages of a flat roof design is the ability to create extra usable space. You could add a garden atop the flat roof or a roof deck for gatherings. The flat roof is easy to access, and you can enjoy time sitting and relaxing in this space, which isn’t possible with a sloped roof.
Among the flat roofing materials you could use, some of them are environmentally friendly. The rubber membranes often consist of recycled rubber, for example. Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) is an eco-friendly material that’s commonly used in flat roof construction, too.
This design is easier to maintain because you or a local flat roof repair company serviceperson can easily stand on the flat roof to make repairs or perform maintenance.
However, because this design can be prone to leaks, you may have to do more maintenance on it than other types of roofs.
Among the flat roof pros and cons is the lower cost of construction and repair for this design. Flat roofs simply don’t require as many materials as other roof designs, which saves money upfront.
However, because flat roofs don’t last as long as other types of roofs, you may have greater costs years down the road. A local flat roofing company can give you an idea of whether the flat roof is a good investment for your new home design.
A flat roof results in less attic space for the home than a peaked roof, which improves the overall energy efficiency of the home. Some membranes on a flat roof can reflect sunlight, keeping the home cooler.
As a non-traditional roof design for homes, the flat roof may not look quite as good on your particular home style as one of the sloped designs. Some of the other disadvantages of installing a flat roof include the following.
Among the most important flat roof pros and cons is the possibility of leaks. If your installer did not fully secure the membrane seams, you could end up with leaks inside the home.
Learning how to find a leak in a flat roof can be quite challenging, as water can run far from the source of the leak to where you notice the leak inside the home.
If you use bitumen on your flat roof, it may only last 10 to 20 years. If you use metal or rubber membranes, you could see up to a 30-year life span. Sloped roofs often last at least 30 years or longer.
Although shingles may fall off a sloped roof during a severe weather event, you still may avoid leaks if the rest of the roof decking materials remain intact. With a flat roof, if a flying object punctures the membrane, you’re likely to have leaks right away. Large hailstones or fallen branches could puncture the material.
People walking across the flat roof could step through a weak spot and cause punctures, too.
Because of the shallow slope of the flat roof, rain doesn’t move as efficiently to the gutters. If the flat roof has a low spot, water is likely to collect there. Pooling water could increase the chances of leaks. During winter time, ice dams will form in this low spot, which could damage the materials.
A sloped roof efficiently moves rainwater to the gutters. The sharper slope also reduces the effects of low spots.
Among roof types for homes, a flat roof is not as common as the several different kinds of sloped roofs. Some of the common sloped roof styles that you could select for a home include:
Gable
Dutch gable
Hip
Gambrel
A-frame
Mansard
Saltbox
If you want a flat roof, but you want more of a slope than the flat roof provides, the skillion roof is worth considering. Like the flat roof, it’s a single-piece roof, but it has a slope of greater than 10 degrees.
Among the flat roof pros and cons is that the roof replacement cost is a bit lower than that of other types of roofs. The average cost to replace a flat roof is about $7,200, while the average cost for all types of roofs is about $9,400.
You can think of a flat roof as a green roof, as it does offer some environmentally-friendly advantages. When considering an eco-friendly flat roof, some of the green roof pros and cons include that you could place a garden with plants on the flat roof. Manufacturers may use recycled materials in the construction of the flat roof for an eco-friendly design.
Many homeowners believe that a modern home looks better with a flat roof than a sloped roof. A flat roof can provide several aesthetic benefits for modern homes. Among the pros and cons of a flat roof for a modern home design are the clean lines and straight edges that it delivers to improve curb appeal.
Yes, flat roofs can make use of a skylight or window to allow natural light into the home. When finding the best skylight installer, it’s important to pick a professional with experience working with a flat roof. The installer must pick the right type of window design to match the slight slope of the roof.
