Flat & Rubber Roofing
Flat & Rubber Roofing in Brooklyn
Torch-down, EPDM and TPO for row houses, rear extensions and commercial decks — installed with drainage that actually works.
Most of Brooklyn is flat-roofed, and most flat roof failures come down to two things: water that has nowhere to go, and seams that were never properly bonded. Both are install problems, not material problems. A cheap flat roof installed well outlasts an expensive one installed by someone rushing to the next job.
We work on the whole borough's flat roof stock — row house main roofs behind parapet walls, rear extensions and setbacks, garages, and low-slope sections tucked behind a pitched front. Before we quote a membrane we look at where the water is supposed to leave the roof, because that's usually where the problem started.
Scope
Flat roof systems we install
- Modified bitumen / torch-down — the Brooklyn workhorse, tough underfoot and repairable
- EPDM rubber — single-ply, excellent in freeze-thaw, ideal for extensions and garages
- TPO — heat-welded seams and a reflective white surface that cuts summer heat gain
- Silicone and elastomeric coatings for roofs that are sound but weathering
- Full tear-off and re-deck when the substrate underneath is saturated
- Tapered insulation to build pitch into a roof that ponds
- New scuppers, internal drains, drain bowls and leader connections
- Parapet wall coping, counter-flashing and cap sheet terminations
Worth knowing
Ponding water is the thing to take seriously
If water still sits on your roof forty-eight hours after rain, that's ponding, and it will find every weak seam eventually. In winter it freezes and expands inside those seams. Coating over a ponding roof doesn't solve it — it just moves the failure date back a season or two.
The real fix is usually tapered insulation to build slope toward the drains, or correcting drains and scuppers that are undersized or sitting too high. It costs more than a coating and it's the difference between a roof that lasts twenty years and one you're calling about every spring. We'll show you standing-water photos and give you both prices so you can decide with real information.
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Flat & Rubber Roofing across Brooklyn and the five boroughs
Based in Brooklyn, working throughout the borough and into Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan and the Bronx.
Straight answers
Flat & Rubber Roofing — your questions
How long does a flat roof last in Brooklyn?
A properly installed torch-down or EPDM roof should give you 20 to 25 years here. Roofs that fail at 8 or 10 almost always had a drainage problem from day one, or seams that weren't fully bonded.
How much does flat roof replacement cost?
Typically $7,000 to $16,000 for a standard Brooklyn row house, depending on square footage, how many existing layers come off, whether the deck is wet, and whether tapered insulation is needed to fix drainage.
Torch-down, EPDM or TPO — which should I choose?
Torch-down handles foot traffic best and is the easiest to repair locally, which matters on a roof people walk on. EPDM is excellent value and handles New York's freeze-thaw cycles well. TPO reflects heat and welds into a continuous seam, which makes it strong on larger commercial decks. We recommend based on your deck and how the roof gets used, not on what we have in the truck.
Can you just coat my flat roof instead of replacing it?
If the membrane is intact, the seams are sound and drainage works, a silicone coating is a legitimate way to add years for a fraction of the cost. If the roof is ponding, the seams are open or the insulation underneath is wet, coating traps the water and buys you a season. We'll tell you which one you have.
Do you fix leaks where my roof meets my neighbor's building?
Yes, and it's one of our most common calls. Party wall and shared-seam leaks on attached row houses need proper counter-flashing into the wall, not a bead of sealant. We'll also document it clearly if the source turns out to be on your neighbor's side and you need that conversation.
Get a straight answer on your roof
Free inspection, photos of what we find, and one written price.