A roofer is a roofer is a roofer, right? Not necessarily. There are several types of roofs and therefore different types of roofing professionals. When you imagine of a roofer, you probably think about the guys who come in a pick up truck with shingles and nails to put a roof on your home. Well flat roofs are different and don’t even use shingles.

So working on a flat roof should be a lot easier than working on an inclined roof, right? This is not correct in all cases. Flat roofs until very recently were covered with tar and gravel to protect them from the weather. However, tar and gravel tends to wear down and crack over time because of the weather and needs to be restored periodically. The tar applied to fix a flat roof is hot tar kept in a high temperature vessel until it is ready to be poured out onto the roof. This tar is hot enough to severely hurt someone that gets in physical contact with it. Check out flat roofing for more details on this and why newer roofing styles can be much better and safer.

Another risk to working on a flat roof is that the roofers are standing upright rather than seated on the slope of the roof. If the roof is in a damaged state, it is quite plausible that the roofer could drop right through the roof with no warning, and nothing to stop him but the weakened roof. A sloped roof can cave in, also, but if the roofer is sitting, he is spread out to a greater extent and is less likely to go straight through than if he were in a standing position.

Newer flat roofs are constructed with rolled material that acts as a membrane. Have a look at epdm roofing for details on newer flat roof materials. This material is much safer to work with than hot tar and gravel, and repels water and other components better, too. The problem with the membrane material is that it doesn’t hold people effectively. It is easily weakened if walked on. Numerous apartment buildings with a flat roof will allow access to the roof for residents to use. This cannot be done with a membrane roof unless something is reinforced over the membrane to protect it.

The most recent invention in flat roofing is the green roof. This roof will have the membrane material as a foundation, but will be topped off with top soil and grass. The top soil will soak up any water that dwells on the roof, and will also work as the preservative layer over the membrane material. Residents can have a small garden on a green roof if they wish, but need to be mindful of flowers and plants with long roots, as the roots can damage the membrane layer of the flat roof.