Pro4mance Roofing & Home Improvements repairs and replaces flat roofs from our office at 333 N Main St, Suite D, in downtown London, Kentucky. On homes, that usually means the flat or nearly flat roof over a back porch, an addition, a garage, a carport, or a sunroom. We also work on small commercial buildings, churches, and shops. We install EPDM rubber, TPO, and modified bitumen, and we fix the joint where a flat roof meets a shingle roof or a wall, which is where most flat roof leaks begin. We work in London, Corbin, and all of Laurel County, plus nearby Whitley, Knox, and Clay counties. Inspections and estimates are free. Call (606) 401-9922, Monday through Friday, 8 to 6.
Do I have a flat roof, and does it matter?
If part of your roof barely slopes, it counts as a flat or low-slope roof, and yes, it matters: it needs a sealed membrane, not shingles. Shingles only work when the roof is steep enough for water to run off them.
Most houses around London have a sloped main roof, but a lot of them also have a flatter section somewhere: a back porch roof, a room added on later, an attached garage, a carport, a sunroom, or a dormer. Shingle makers and building codes generally call for at least a 2 in 12 pitch for asphalt shingles, with extra underlayment up to 4 in 12. When a low section was shingled anyway, rain backs up under the shingles and shows up as a stain on the porch ceiling or a leak along the wall of the addition. The fix is not more shingles. It is replacing that section with a membrane made for flat roofs and tying it properly into the rest of the roof.
- Porch and patio roofs attached below a second-story wall
- Additions and back rooms with a shallow shed roof
- Garages and carports, attached or detached
- Sunrooms and enclosed porches
- Small buildings such as shops, offices, and church wings
Why does my flat roof keep leaking?
Usually because water is sitting on it or getting in at an edge. Flat roofs rarely fail in the middle first; they fail at seams, at the wall, at the drip edge, and where they meet a shingle roof.
Water that still stands a day or two after rain keeps working on the seams and adds weight. Flashing where the flat roof meets the house wall pulls loose as the wall and roof move through Kentucky freeze and thaw. Gutters, scuppers, and drains clog with leaves and send water back over the edge or under it. Old patches made with tar or caulk crack within a season or two. As roofers, we trace a leak to where water actually gets in, which is often a few feet from where the stain shows up inside. Watch for these signs:
- Puddles that are still there two days after rain
- Bubbles, blisters, or wrinkles in the roof surface
- Seams or patches lifting at the edges
- Cracked or shrinking membrane pulling away from the wall
- Stains on the porch ceiling, or on the wall where the addition meets the house
- Soft spots when you step on the roof
If water is coming in right now, see emergency roof tarping, and for leaks on the sloped part of the house, see roof repair in London, KY.
EPDM, TPO, or modified bitumen: which flat roof is best?
For most porch roofs and additions, EPDM rubber or TPO is the right call. Modified bitumen makes sense where the roof gets walked on or doubles as a deck under a door.
EPDM is a synthetic rubber sheet, usually black, that stays flexible in the cold and is easy to patch years later. On a small roof it can often go down in one piece with no seams at all. TPO is a white sheet with seams welded by hot air, so it reflects summer heat, which helps a sunroom or a room over a garage stay cooler. Modified bitumen is thicker and asphalt-based, so it handles foot traffic better. We will tell you which one fits your roof and why.
| Material | What it is | General lifespan | Often a good fit for |
|---|---|---|---|
| EPDM (rubber) | Flexible rubber sheet, often one piece | 25–30 years with care | Porch roofs, garages, additions |
| TPO | White sheet, heat-welded seams | About 20–30 years | Sunrooms and rooms that run hot |
| Modified bitumen | Thick asphalt-based layers | About 20 years or more | Roofs that get walked on |
Should I repair or replace my flat roof?
Repair it when the leak comes from one seam, one flashing, or one penetration and the wood underneath is dry. Replace it when the membrane is worn out across the whole roof, the decking is soft, or the section was shingled at too low a slope.
On a small roof, replacement is often less of a project than people expect: we tear off the old covering, replace any rotted decking, add a little slope or a better edge where water has been sitting, and put down the new membrane in a day or two. If the flat section ties into your main roof, we weave the new membrane up under the shingles so the joint stays sealed. If the main roof is near the end of its life too, it can make sense to do both at once; see roof replacement in London, KY. We never recommend a new roof when a repair will do.
How much does a flat roof cost in London, KY?
It depends on the size, what is under the old roof, and how much edge and wall detail there is. We measure it during a free inspection and give you a written price instead of a guess over the phone.
- Square footage and how many layers come off
- Rotted decking that needs replacing
- Whether slope or drainage needs to be fixed
- How many walls, pipes, vents, and skylights need flashing
- Where the flat roof ties into a shingle roof
- The material you choose
Have a store, office, church, or warehouse with a large flat roof? See commercial roofing in London, KY. If a storm damaged your flat roof, you file the claim with your insurance company; we inspect, document the damage with dated photos, write the estimate, and can meet your adjuster. See our storm damage page and insurance claim guide.
Flat porch roofs often come up when a porch gets rebuilt; see porches in London, KY, and keep the edges draining with seamless gutters. We do flat roofs for London and Corbin homeowners. See all of our exterior home improvement work, and learn who we are.
What customers say.
"Great communication from start to finish. They gave us options that fit our budget and didn't try to upsell. Very trustworthy company." — Victor Correia Hayes
"Responded quick and came out and gave me an estimate. We're able to install the roof the same week. The crew did a great job and cleaned up when they were done. Could not have asked for anything more. Would highly recommend." — Ernie Dennison, Google review
Flat roof questions, answered.
Who repairs flat roofs in London, KY?
Pro4mance Roofing and Home Improvements repairs and replaces flat roofs in London, KY from its office at 333 N Main St, Suite D. The company works on flat and low-slope roofs over porches, additions, garages, carports, sunrooms, and small commercial buildings, using EPDM rubber, TPO, and modified bitumen. It also fixes the spots where a flat roof meets a shingle roof or a wall, which is where most flat roof leaks start. The company works in London, Corbin, and throughout Laurel County, as well as Whitley, Knox, and Clay counties. Inspections and estimates are free. Call (606) 401-9922.
Can you put shingles on a flat roof?
Not on a truly flat roof. Asphalt shingles shed water by overlapping, so they need a slope to work. Shingle makers and building codes generally require at least a 2 in 12 pitch, with extra underlayment on slopes between 2 in 12 and 4 in 12. Below that, water backs up under the shingles and leaks. A flat or nearly flat roof needs a sealed membrane such as EPDM rubber, TPO, or modified bitumen instead. Many leaking porch roofs and additions around London, KY were shingled at too low a slope, and the fix is to replace the shingles on that section with a membrane.
How long does a flat roof last in Kentucky?
A flat roof in Kentucky generally lasts about 20 to 30 years with EPDM rubber or TPO and around 20 years or more with modified bitumen, if it drains well and gets checked now and then. Standing water is the biggest thing that shortens a flat roof's life, along with clogged gutters or scuppers and flashing that is never resealed. Freeze and thaw cycles in southeastern Kentucky are hardest on the edges and on the joint where the flat roof meets the house, so those are the first places Pro4mance checks on a flat roof in Laurel County.
Visit our London office.
333 N Main St, Suite D, London, KY 40741. Flat roof repair and replacement for London and Laurel County. Call (606) 401-9922.