Gravel Voids On Flat Roofs May Shorten the Life Expectancy or Cause Leaking

A common type of roofing for flat roofs is what’s often called a “Tar and gravel”, hot mopped, or a built up roof. It is basically composed of alternating layers of bitumen and reinforcing sheets (membranes) with hot tar applied between layers and gravel on top.

These types of roofs have been used for over a 100 years and can be a very good type of roof.

Gravel voids and cracks

Wind, weather and small animals may cause gravel voids. For example, cats may climb onto the roof and use the gravel as if it’s their litter box and they scratch the gravel back and into piles.

When the gravel gets pulled back or is not covering an area, the suns UV rays will hasten the roofs deterioration and/or cracks in the tar may appear.

Repair

Cracks and voids should be patched or sealed to prevent moisture from entering the cracks. Also, the gravel voids should be properly covered.

Much of the time, limited maintenance or repair will handle this issue. However, roofs that are very old and in bad condition may need to be re-roofed.

Generally fixing gravel voids is a maintenance item for a roof and roofers do the maintenance on these roofs. In most circumstances a home owner may do limited maintenance items as well.