Flat and low-slope roofs are on offices, shops, warehouses and the back porches of a lot of Irving houses. Flat roof repair is one service within our commercial roofing in Irving, and the same rules apply whether the roof is 200 square feet or 20,000: find out why water is getting in, fix it with material that bonds to what is already there, and tell you honestly how much life the roof has left.
Ponding water on a flat roof: why does it stay, and why does it matter?
The National Roofing Contractors Association treats water still standing 48 hours after a rain as ponding. A little standing water evaporates without harm; ponds that stay for days add weight to the deck, keep seams wet, grow algae, and speed up wear on membranes and coatings. When a seam or flashing finally opens under a pond, the leak is constant instead of occasional.
Common causes we find in Irving:
- drains and scuppers clogged with leaves and grit, often from nearby live oaks
- decks or insulation that have sagged between joists or around rooftop units
- drains set higher than the surrounding roof after an earlier recover
- roofs built nearly dead-flat with no tapered insulation
- low spots created by heavy foot traffic around equipment
Irving's rain pattern makes these faults show up fast. Annual rainfall in the city runs about 33–37 inches, and May, the wettest month, often brings it in heavy bursts that overwhelm a half-blocked drain. Inside, the signs are a ceiling stain that grows after each storm, a drip near a rooftop unit, or a musty smell above a drop ceiling. Outside, look for dried rings of silt on the membrane, which mark where ponds sat.
Low-slope roof repair, by roof type
Each membrane needs its own repair method. A patch of the wrong material may look fine for a season and then peel.
Modified bitumen repair
Modified bitumen is asphalt reinforced with polymers, installed in rolls that are torched, mopped, cold-applied or self-adhered. We cut out blisters, dry the area and patch with compatible ply and cap sheet. Split laps are opened, cleaned and resealed, and bare spots that have lost granules get new surfacing so the asphalt does not cook in the sun.
Built-up roof repair
Built-up roofs are layers of felt and asphalt, usually topped with gravel. We scrape the gravel back, repair or add plies over cracks and splits, then reset the gravel. Cracked base flashing at parapets is replaced rather than smeared with mastic.
Single-ply and coated roofs
TPO and other single-ply membranes need welded or adhered patches of the same material, and coated roofs need the same coating type on top. Our roof coatings page explains why silicone only sticks well to silicone.
Questions about flat roof repair? Talk to us.
Call for a free inspection and a written estimate. Hablamos español.
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Flat roof leak in Dallas or Irving? How we trace it
Flat roofs leak in places you cannot see from the ground: under a pond, at a flashing behind a rooftop unit, at an opened lap. Inside the building, water travels along the deck before it drips. We start where the leak shows, walk the roof above it and uphill from it, probe seams and flashings, and look for wet insulation by feel and with core samples where the cause is not obvious. Then we explain what we found with photos before quoting.
What flat roof repair in Irving, TX includes
A repair visit is more than a patch over the drip. We look at the leak area and the roof around it, because a split seam on a 20-year-old membrane says something different than the same split on a five-year-old one. Wet material is cut out instead of sealed in, since a patch laid over damp insulation traps the water and fails early. The repair uses the same family of material as the existing roof, so it bonds and moves with it through Irving's summer heat. Where the leak came from standing water, the fix includes the drainage, not just the hole. And you get a written record, with photos, that a property manager or a future buyer can read. Each visit covers:
- inspection of the leak area and the surrounding roof, with photos
- drain and scupper clearing, plus tapered insulation or a cricket where ponding is the root cause
- removal of wet or failed material around the repair
- a repair in the same material family as the existing roof
- reflashing at walls, curbs and pipes where flashing has failed
- a written summary with recommendations for what to watch next
Our repair steps, from probe to water test
- Listen, then inspect. You tell us where water shows, how often and in what kind of rain; then we walk the roof, probe seams and flashings, and check drains.
- Confirm the cause. Where needed, we take a core sample to check insulation.
- Repair. We cut out failed material, dry the area and install the compatible repair.
- Correct drainage. We clear strainers, and where ponding caused the leak, add slope.
- Test. When conditions allow, a hose test confirms the patch holds.
- Report. You get photos and a summary you can keep with the building records.
Can the low-slope porch roof on your house be fixed?
Yes. Many Irving houses built in the 1970s and 1980s have a covered back porch or patio with a roof that is nearly flat. Two problems come up again and again. The first is the joint where the porch roof meets the house wall or the main roof; that flashing opens and water runs behind the brick or into the porch ceiling. The second is a porch covered with shingles at too low a slope. Building codes do not allow asphalt shingles below a 2:12 slope, and on porch roofs that flat, wind-driven rain gets under them. We repair the flashing and, where the slope calls for it, replace the shingles with a low-slope membrane.
Repair cost, warranty terms and why owners call RJ Premium Roofing
What drives the cost of a flat roof repair
Flat roof repair prices depend on the roof type, the size of the damaged area, whether insulation below is wet, access, and whether drainage has to be corrected. We give free estimates after an inspection.
The biggest swing is what sits under the leak. A split lap over dry insulation is a short repair; the same split over a saturated area means cutting out and replacing insulation, sometimes deck, which can turn a small job into several times the work. Membrane type matters next: welding a TPO patch, rebuilding built-up plies and reflashing a parapet each take different labor and material. Access counts on taller buildings or roofs reached only through a ceiling hatch. Correcting slope with tapered insulation costs more than clearing a strainer, but it is often what stops the same leak from returning every May. Waiting usually costs more, because water keeps spreading through insulation between storms.
Why owners call RJ Premium Roofing
- Free inspection and estimate for homeowners and building owners alike.
- Urgent temporary repairs to stop water while a permanent fix is scheduled.
- Spanish and English service: se habla español.
- Photo records you keep: every repair report shows the problem, the fix and where it sits on the roof, so the next roofer starts informed.
- Google reviewers rate us 5.0 stars across 33 reviews and describe crews that explained each step.
Our repair workmanship is guaranteed, with the terms in writing on your repair agreement. Materials keep their manufacturer warranty. If many areas have failed, compare repair against a coating or commercial metal roofing retrofit where the building has a metal roof.
Reparación de techo plano near Irving
We repair flat roofs in Irving and across the area, including older retail and homes in Dallas, established neighborhoods in Bedford and commercial strips in Arlington.
Permit rules decide how big a repair can get before paperwork starts. Texas does not issue roofing licenses; in Irving, the city requires annual contractor registration, and its residential roofing handout lets a home repair stay permit-free up to 100 square feet. Larger jobs need a permit, and our written estimate says who applies for it. Commercial thresholds can differ, so we call Irving Inspections, (972) 721-2371, before work beyond a spot repair. If a repair grows into re-covering a low-slope section, Irving's Chapter 8B cool-roof amendments, which set SRI 78 for low-slope roofs, can apply to the new surface.
