When you think of a flat roof, you probably think of commercial structures like retail centers or hospitals. But flat roof houses are a common sight in Florida, and knowing your roofing options is a crucial step in protecting your home. As your local flat roofing partner, PITCH Roofing is here to explain everything you need to know about residential flat roofs.
Our founding roofers put together their 60 years of combined roofing experience to resolve Florida’s systemic roofing issues. This includes issues like unreliable workmanship, poor communication, and roofers who over-promise and under-deliver. Keep reading for a comprehensive breakdown of flat roofing from Florida contractors you can trust!
What Is Flat Roofing?
A common misconception is that flat roofs are actually flat. But in the roofing industry, we actually call these low-slope roofs. Since your roof is slightly slanted, water will naturally drain from it. If you had a truly flat roof on your home, ponding water would be a serious issue!
There are advantages and downsides to having a flat roof home. For one thing, the rainy season becomes more of a problem. Heavy rains mean that your flat roof will drain slower, which increases the risk of damage. You’ll also need to be wary of UV rays, which can break down your flat roofing material over time.
That said, hurricanes are much less of a worry for flat roof houses. While hurricane-force winds can tear shingles from your roof, they don’t do much against flat roofing materials. In this way, the concerns of a flat roof homeowner are very different from those of a homeowner with a sloped roof.
Material Options for Flat Roof Houses
If you’re looking at installing a new flat roof on your house, it’s easy for the options to overwhelm you. That’s why PITCH is here to give you a complete breakdown of your roofing material options for a residential flat roof. From longevity to maintenance to installation costs, we’re covering everything you need to know ahead of a residential flat roof replacement.
Modified Bitumen
In the world of flat roofing, modified bitumen is a tried and true classic. By combining the flexibility and water resistance of rubber with the durability of asphalt, these roofing systems are an excellent choice for withstanding Florida’s unpredictable weather patterns. Unlike other items on this list, modified bitumen is a multilayer roofing system that’s reinforced with fiberglass. As a result, it’s less prone to puncture damage than other flat roofing systems.
Modified bitumen is also affordable — a residential flat roof replacement will cost $4 to $9 per square foot when using modified bitumen. That said, it has its problems. While its dark coloring helps to hide dirt, it also attracts UV rays. And over time, those rays can break down your roofing material and lead to tears and cracks, which become potential leak risks.
All told, you can expect modified bitumen roofs to last for 15 to 20 years on average. Your roof will likely need minor repairs during this time, so it’s important to stay up to date on roof inspections. That said, if you want an affordable material that is built to last, modified bitumen is an excellent choice for your house with a flat roof.
EPDM
Ethylene propylene diene monomer, EPDM, has been protecting residential flat roofs since the 1960s. If you’ve ever heard someone mention a rubber flat roof, this is the material they were referring to. Applied in a single-ply later, contractors heat-weld this rubberized roofing material to ensure it’s watertight and stays in place and use adhesives on the seams.
Because of its high tensile strength, EPDM does a great job resisting puncture damage from storm debris and hail. It’s also at a mid-point in terms of flat roof replacement costs. In Florida, expect to pay $5 to $12 per square foot for an EPDM residential roof replacement.
This makes EPDM more expensive than modified bitumen, but you get a longer lifespan for that extra investment. EPDM roofs last for 25 to 30 years, offering potentially more than a decade of extra protection when compared to modified bitumen. As you can see, there’s a reason that EPDM has been a popular choice for flat roof houses for more than 60 years!
TPO
Thermoplastic polyolefin, TPO, is a relative newcomer on the roofing market. Invented in the 1990s, TPO has taken the roofing world by storm. Similar to EPDM, TPO is a rubberized, single-ply roofing system. And also like EPDM, contractors install TPO by heat-welding it to your roof.
There are notable differences, though. Instead of using adhesives for your seams, TPO heat-welds even the seams into place. This ensures they won’t go anywhere, although they can loosen over time due to thermal contraction. To stay ahead of this issue, you’ll want to remain current on roof inspections.
TPO lasts for 20 to 30 years, making it roughly comparable with EPDM. It is a bit more expensive, however, at $5 to $15 per square foot. And since it’s newer on the market, there is less certainty in how it will age. Still, if you want a solar-reflective flat roof for your home, then TPO is undeniably the gold standard.
Get a Free Residential Flat Roofing Estimate
This has been a primer on what you need to know about flat roofing, but the next step is even more important: getting help. Whether you need a flat roof replacement or flat roof repairs for your home, PITCH Roofing has the veteran Florida contractors for the job.
All roofing work starts with a free, no-obligation cost estimate. To get yours, call us at 727-677-4824 or fill out our contact form. We’ll send out a friendly roofing professional to inspect your roof and discuss your options and preferences with you. They’ll then compile all that information into a roofing estimate that’s itemized, transparent, and tailored to your property and your needs. This completely eliminates guesswork from the roofing process!
If you have a house with a flat roof, reach out to PITCH Roofing to see how we can help. We have deep roots in our local community, and we’re committed to securing the best outcomes for our customers. To us, that’s the cornerstone of Roofing Done Right!
Heather Ware is an In-House Roofing Specialist at PITCH Roofing. Working daily alongside our internal roofing teams, she translates complex Florida building codes and roofing techniques into clear, actionable advice for homeowners. With 4 years of experience in the Florida roofing industry, her goal is to ensure property owners have the exact facts they need to protect their investments.
