How Do Roofing Professionals Find Flat Roof Leaks?

After installing your new flat roof, the first thing roofing professionals will stress to you is the importance of preventative maintenance. A regular checkup isn’t just for dental health. Your roof needs to be checked from time to time for signs of damage. What do pros look for when checking your roof?

How Roofing Contractors Find Leaks

If you thought that contractors simply scan the roof with their eyes in search of signs of damage, you’re only half right. It’s true that a visual inspection of seals, edges and penetrations (such as vents) is part of the checkup, but real pros go much further to make sure your roof is in top condition. They use infrared devices to look for micro-leaks or tiny tears.

How Infrared Devices Work

The basic idea behind infrared scanning equipment is that it checks for heat signatures. Hot areas show up in shades of red while cooler spots look blue. Wet areas naturally absorb heat from the sun at greater levels than the surrounding material, so any leaks, even tiny ones, will stand out brightly during the scan.

Why Preventative Maintenance Matters

Regular maintenance is especially important with flat roofs because the effects of leaks can appear much more quickly than with sloped roofs. Unlike roofs with asphalt shingles or metal sheets, flat roofs don’t have a way to shed snow or water quickly. Also, if you have large trees that hang over your roof, or local winter weather brings ice, snow and hail, this maintenance visit is even more important. Fallen branches or hailstones can sometimes cause tiny tears in the roofing material.

Repairing these minor problems doesn’t take long and isn’t expensive. Correcting the problem ASAP keeps it that way. On the other hand, waiting weeks or months before calling a pro means that water has ample time to leak inside or weaken the roofing material.