Flat Roof Drainage & Ponding Repair in Wausau, WI
A flat roof is never truly flat. It is supposed to slope, gently, to drains, scuppers or gutters. When it doesn't, water sits. Water still standing 48 hours after a rain is called ponding, and it shortens a roof's life by keeping seams wet, adding weight, and in a Wisconsin winter, freezing into ice that blocks the drains for the next thaw. Ponding usually comes from a few causes: drains clogged with leaves or debris, drain bowls set higher than the roof around them, a deck that has sagged between joists, too few drains for the roof area, or a roof that was simply built too flat. We fix the cause: clearing and resetting drains, adding drains or scuppers with overflows, building crickets between drains, or installing tapered insulation, often as part of a recover or replacement when the roof is open anyway.
What's included
- Drains cleaned, strainers replaced, clamping rings reset
- Drain bowls lowered or re-flashed
- New drains, scuppers and overflow scuppers
- Crickets between drains and behind curbs
- Tapered insulation to build in slope
- Gutters, leaders and downspouts on flat roofs repaired
- Low spots built up and re-membraned
- Heat-trace recommendations for drains that freeze
- Before-and-after photos after the next rain
Sound like your roof?
Not sure what is wrong or what it should cost? If any of these sound familiar, tell us about the roof. We'll tell you what it probably is, then confirm it on the roof and give you a written price before any work starts.
- Water still on the roof two days after rain
- Rings of dirt or algae where water sits
- Ice sheets across the same corner every winter
- A drain sitting higher than the roof around it
- Overflowing scuppers or gutters in heavy rain
Leaking right now? Protect the inside first
Move inventory, files and electronics away from the drip, shut off power to any light fixture or panel that is getting wet, and put down buckets or plastic. Keep people out from under a ceiling that is sagging with water above it. Don't send staff onto the roof during a storm, in the dark, or when it is icy or snow-covered. Low-slope roofs have skylights, open edges and slick membranes. Then request service: an active leak can usually be dried in temporarily until a permanent repair is possible.
From the first call to a dry roof
Tell Us About the Roof
The building, the roof type if you know it, and what is happening: an active leak, a stain, ponding water, storm damage, or a roof that is just getting old. Active leaks go to the front of the line.
Roof Assessment
We walk the roof, trace the problem, check the drains and flashings, and take core samples or moisture readings where the insulation might be wet.
Written Options and Price
You get a written scope and price. When more than one approach makes sense, repair, coating and replacement are laid out side by side with what each one buys you.
Work Done and Documented
The work is done to the manufacturer's specification, and you get a photo report and any warranty paperwork for your files.
You may also need
Ice Dam Removal
Frozen drains, scuppers and gutters opened and channels cleared through the ice so meltwater can leave the roof, without chopping into the membrane, followed by a fix for why the ice formed.
Learn moreCommercial Roof Repair
Leak tracing and repair on every common low-slope system, including EPDM, TPO, PVC, modified bitumen, built-up and metal, with photos of what failed and a written price before work starts.
Learn moreReplacement & Installation
New EPDM, TPO, PVC and modified bitumen roofs for warehouses, plants, offices, retail, churches, schools and apartment buildings, as a full tear-off or a code-compliant recover, with drainage fixed while the roof is open.
Learn moreDrainage & Ponding Repair — FAQs
The common rule of thumb is that water still on the roof 48 hours after rain, in drying weather, is ponding that should be fixed. See ponding water on a flat roof.
Often. Clearing and resetting drains, adding a drain or scupper, or building a cricket can fix localized ponding. Widespread ponding from a too-flat deck is usually fixed with tapered insulation during a recover or replacement.
Not always. Many freeze because of where they are, such as near an overhang or a cold edge, or because the drain line runs through an unheated space. Heat trace is one option; insulating the drain line or changing the drainage is another.