But by the 60s, flat roofs became a fixture of modernist design. Originally, flat roofs were most common in warmer parts of the world as they offered additional space in the outdoors to be repurposed and used like a deck. The perfect finish to modern homes, a flat roof offers many benefits beyond just its aesthetic. Instead of two slabs inclining to meet one, a flat roof is a single slab flat over the home structure. Gardner Homes’ design approach extends to every part of the home, from the final touches to finding the right roof.įlat roofs offer a modern and updated take on the expected pitched style. At vent stacks, he would stretch a special rubber collar over the pipe and glue it to the EPDM, then seal it with glued strips of uncured rubber and a bead of tri-polymer caulk.G.J. Because seams are so vulnerable, he would also glue a 12-inch-wide strip of uncured rubber (which, unlike EPDM, has no “memory,” meaning it can be stretched without springing back and wrinkling) onto the seam itself. Had there been a seam to contend with, Tom would first clean it with a special solvent, then apply a black rubber-to-rubber adhesive. Working in sections, he finishes the rest of the roof, smoothing out air bubbles with the now-dry roller before gluing the edges up the wall and parapet and 6 inches down over the front of the roof. ![]() He doesn’t pick up the rubber or it will stretch from its own weight, then spring back, causing it to lay down unevenly. So after letting it dry to the touch, he gets down on his knees and carefully spreads the rubber over the iso board, pushing as much from the inside of the fold as he can to prevent wrinkles. Like ordinary contact cement, the glue goes on both surfaces and bonds instantly the moment the two meet. Using a ¼-inch-nap paint roller on an extension pole, Tom spreads the glue over the exposed section of iso board and the corresponding folded-over rubber. Step 1 The Importance of Building it Right So we watched Tom put down EPDM on a small section at the project house to learn how a pro makes a flat roof smooth, strong, and watertight. It’s so easy, in fact, that a handy homeowner could do it himself. He sealed them all with a glue-down EPDM rubber membrane system, a favorite of his because it’s light, quick to install, and requires no special equipment. ![]() “If you build and flash one right-and keep it clean-a good flat roof won’t leak,” says TOH general contractor Tom Silva, who had seven different flat roofs to contend with on the Cambridge project house. Fortunately, modern materials for covering flat roofs have improved considerably over the past two decades some carry warranties of up to 20 years, approaching those for sloped roofing. And their horizontal lines abound in the West and in urban areas.īut flat roofs take a pounding from harsh weather, which is why they rarely last as long as a good sloped roof. Traditional homes often have sections of flat roof-over shed dormers, above porches and garages, and on balconies. ![]() Of course, you don’t need to live in a modern house to deal with a flat roof. Yet for historic Modern-style buildings like This Old House’s Cambridge TV project, flat roofs are at the core of the architecture, meant to reflect the broad horizontal lines of the natural landscape. Flat roofs aren’t architecturally logical, as rain and snow will shed much more quickly off a sloped roof.
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