Why Do People Put River Rocks On Flat Roofs

The membrane is.

Why do people put river rocks on flat roofs.

Membrane roofs are attached in a variety of ways. Tar has a low melting point. Flat roofing is not actually flat. It has a very low slope between 1 4 to 1 2 inch per foot so that it drains water.

In my last place the flat roof was covered with small stones which was better on. Epdm and neoprene roof seams are fastened by adhesive and pvc roof seams are heat or solvent welded. I have just had a flat roof put in on an extension. On many flat roof low slope commercial buildings it s common to see gravel on top of the roof.

Have you ever wondered why contractors install gravel on flat roofs. Talk to ten roofing contractors and you ll get ten answers on what the gravel is for but this seems to be the consensus. Both factors can extend the life of your flat roof. They can be partially loose laid and held down with river rock ballast requires roof structure to support the weight or fully adhered to the roof deck.

If there is a complete covering of the roof with small rocks gravel then it is the top layer of a built up flat roof. The weight provided by the gravel is used to anchor down the roof materials therefore using far fewer fasteners to hold the materials to the decking. All the suspect areas have a third layer of felt also. It has a layer of undercoat and then a layer of the self adhensive felt on the top.

To weigh down or secure the. To protect the underlying layer of roofing materials as is the case with built up roofs burs. Specifically there are two main reasons to use a ballasted roof system. Built up roof bur the traditional hot tar and gravel.

Rocks are placed on commercial flat roofs for many different reasons if the roof is what is called a ballast roof it is not fastened or adhered down throughout the whole roof. Gravel is used on flat roofs for two reasons. The extension is directly beneath the back windows so looks un sightly. In a typical tar and gravel roof which by the way is gradually being supplanted by gravelless roof systems you put down a layer of tar paper then tar and finally gravel.

This protects the other layers from damage by hail or storms also people walking on the roof so they do not damage the waterproof layers below.