How To Drain A Flat Roof

The greenslope roof ponding repair kit provides a lightweight inexpensive solution to flat roof ponding.

How to drain a flat roof.

More attention should be given to the location of a drainage system to avoid future problems. Fitting the roof with one of the following systems to ensure proper drainage will help keep it protected. Flat roofs have unique architectural characteristics that make them desirable in many situations. Challenges the drains must allow a large volume of water equal to the square footage of your roof times the number of inches of rain to drain quickly.

A rooftop garden or additional outside living space are the top reasons people choose flat roofs. Ponding water on flat roofs reduces the roof s lifespan. Flat roof drains scuppers gutters and drainage systems on flat roofs. The angle is not significant enough to prevent water from pooling on the surface.

Ensure your drains are the lowest points on your flat roof and you can avoid water infiltration and subsequent flat roof repair. To keep damage like leaks from occurring water should not stand on a flat roof for more than 48 hours. If a flat roof drain is too small it can easily become blocked or simply not be in the right area for accurate draining of pooling water. A flat roof drain can also fail by becoming detached from the roof.

Interior drains work just like the drain in your shower or sink. This system works by recessing insulation in installed drains to allow for faster water drainage. This table is based on zurn s roof drain vertical requirement for horizontal roof areas at various rainfall rates table. Take the roof s total square footage and divide by the total square footage handled by one drain.

Calculate drains needed. Leaving your flat roof without a drainage system will greatly increase the risk of these issues. For flat roof drainage where you place your drains scuppers and the final material of the roofing is more important. The result is the number of drains needed.

One of the most overlooked items on a flat roof is the draining system. The 3 most common drain systems of a flat roof. They are ideal for climates that don t experience large quantities of rain and moisture. A flat roof drain is one of the most important features of a flat roof design and they need to be taken care of.

Inner drains gutters or scuppers each have their own function and deciding which system is best depends on.