Valdosta Commercial Roofing
Leak repair

Built-up roof (BUR) repair

Built-up roofing — multiple plies of felt in bitumen, usually under gravel — is the oldest low-slope system still in common service, and much of it is well past its nominal life while still performing. Repair means getting through the surfacing to find the actual failure, which is slower than on single-ply, and the gravel has to be properly reinstated or the exposed bitumen degrades quickly.

Call (706) 696-1888

What the job involves

  • Gravel removal and reinstatement over the working area
  • Ply inspection to establish how many layers are compromised
  • Flashing repair at walls, curbs and drains
  • Moisture survey, since BUR hides saturation well
  • Assessment of total build-up weight where layers have accumulated

Signs you need it

  • Bare or shiny patches where gravel has migrated away
  • Alligatoring of exposed bitumen
  • Ponding in areas that have deflected over time

Where we cover

Each area has its own page for built-up roof (bur) repair.

Questions

How many roofs are on our building?

Worth establishing before planning any work — older commercial buildings frequently carry two or three layers, which affects both structural load and whether a further recover is permissible under code. A core sample answers it definitively in a few minutes.

Is a BUR roof worth repairing at 30 years?

Often yes, if the plies are sound and the problem is confined to flashings and details, which it usually is. These systems were built heavy. What ends them is saturated insulation beneath, not the plies themselves.

Related work

Describe what you are seeing

Low-slope roofs in this climate fail at details rather than in the field, and the damage is usually well advanced before water reaches a tenant space.

Call (706) 696-1888
Call (706) 696-1888