Flat roofs in Jersey City sit on top of a great many rowhouses, brownstones, walk-ups and small apartment buildings. They are not truly flat: a good one slopes gently toward a drain, a scupper or a rear gutter. This page explains the coverings you are likely to have, the parts of a flat roof that cause most trouble, and what you can safely keep an eye on yourself.
Roofer Jersey City is an independent referral service, not a roofing company. When you call or send the form, an independent local roofer can contact you about your job; that roofer gives any quote and does any work.
The coverings on Jersey City flat roofs
Modified bitumen
Asphalt-based roofing in rolls, laid in overlapping sheets with bonded seams. Often dark or with a granular top surface. Repairs patch in matching material over a cleaned area.
EPDM
A synthetic rubber membrane, often black, laid in large sheets with fewer seams. Repairs use patches and seam materials made for rubber roofing.
TPO
A single-ply thermoplastic membrane, often white or light gray, with seams joined by heat. Repairs weld new material onto clean existing membrane.
Built-up roofing
Layers of roofing felt and bitumen built up on the roof, often with a gravel or coated top. Older buildings may have several layers under whatever is on top today.
Coatings
A liquid coating rolled or sprayed over an existing roof. It can renew the surface of a roof that is still sound underneath; it does not fix a roof that is wet or failing below. Ask the roofer which case yours is.
If you do not know what your roof is, a roofer can usually tell quickly. It is worth knowing before any repair, because each covering is repaired with its own materials.
Where flat roofs go wrong
Drains and scuppers
A flat roof works as long as water leaves it. Interior drains, scuppers through the parapet and gutters at the rear edge are the exits. Leaves, grit, wind-blown litter and, in the cold months, ice can block them. Water then rises and looks for a weak seam or flashing edge.
Ponding
Water that sits in a low spot for days after rain keeps the covering wet and adds weight. Ponding can come from a sagging deck, a blocked drain or a roof that was never sloped well. A roofer can tell you which, and whether the fix is a drain, added slope or a repair to the deck.
Blisters, splits and seams
Blisters are pockets where the covering has lifted from what is under it. A blister may sit quietly for a while; once it cracks, water can get in. Splits open where the roof moves. Seams open with age and sun. Summer heat on a dark flat roof is real here: the nearest long-term station, Newark Liberty International Airport, averages a high of 86.9 F in July.
Parapet edges and coping
Where the roof turns up a parapet, the flashing keeps water from running behind the covering. The coping on top keeps rain out of the brick. Both are frequent leak points on Jersey City rows. The article on parapet wall leaks explains why.
Openings
Skylights, the roof hatch, vent pipes and curbs for rooftop equipment all break through the covering. Each needs its own flashing, and each is a place to check after a leak.
Ponding, blisters or a leak under the flat roof? Call or send the form and an independent Jersey City roofer can contact you about it.
What you can check from the hatch
You do not need to walk on the roof to keep an eye on it. From the hatch or a window, on a dry calm day, look for:
- Leaves and debris around drains and scuppers
- Water still standing after the rest of the roof has dried
- Bubbles, cracks or open edges in the covering
- Flashing pulling away from the parapets
- Gaps or loose pieces in the coping on top of the walls
- Anything new: a satellite dish, a vent, a cable run through the roof
Photograph what you see and send the photos with your request. Stay off a wet or icy roof, and if the hatch opens onto the roof surface itself, let the roofer go further.
Repair or a new flat roof
A flat roof with one open seam, one bad flashing or one blocked drain is a repair: see roof repair in Jersey City. A flat roof with leaks in several places, blisters across the surface, wide ponding and soft spots underfoot may be done: see roof replacement in Jersey City, which compares the systems and covers tear-off and overlay.
Permits and flat roofs
Under the New Jersey code, repairing or replacing existing roof covering on a detached one- or two-family house is ordinary maintenance. Many flat roofs here are on attached rows and multi-family buildings, which that roof item does not cover. For an attached rowhouse, a multi-family building, or any structural work, ask the Jersey City construction code office whether a permit is needed before work starts. More in the roofing permit guide.
Call or send the form and an independent Jersey City roofer can contact you about your flat roof. Free to ask.
Questions people ask
What is the most common flat roof covering in Jersey City?
You will see modified bitumen, EPDM rubber, TPO, built-up roofing and coatings across the city. A roofer can tell you which yours is on a visit.
Is standing water on my flat roof a problem?
Water that drains off soon after rain is normal. Water that stays in the same low spot long after the rest of the roof has dried is ponding and is worth a roofer’s look.
Can a coating fix my leaking flat roof?
A coating can renew a roof that is sound underneath. It does not fix a roof that is wet or failing below. Ask the roofer which case yours is.
Who runs this site?
Roofer Jersey City is an independent referral service, not a roofing company. An independent local roofer can contact you, and that roofer gives any quote and does any work.
Call a local roofer
Tell us what the roof is doing
Get the roof looked at before the next storm
Send the form and an independent local roofer can contact you about the job.
