Pitched Roof To Flat Roof Conversion

There are several ways to convert a flat roof to pitched.

Pitched roof to flat roof conversion.

You either have to raise the height of the eaves or lower the height of the ridge. Realistically speaking to do it right would involve a complete tear off of the roof structure then a re engineering and rebuild of the new flat roof. There are all sorts of things you have to take into consideration depending on where the building is. This has to happen whether you re just removing the pitched roof or adding another floor with a flat roof.

However flat roofs require much more aggressive and consistent maintenance than a pitched roof. On houses new pitched roofs typically are supported by the exterior walls as with standard sloped roof construction. Flat roofs are about 10 20 more expensive to install than a pitched roof after the conversion. You can tear off the existing roof remove the trusses and strengthen the joists.

Flat roofs also don t last as long. A pitched roof is more expensive. They last 25 50 years while a flat roof membrane will last about 15 20 years. It is a significant renovation if you are converting from flat to pitched.

The typical way is to remove the existing roof and add new framing to the home that create a pitched roof over the old flat roof area. This is because the membrane is more expensive to manufacture as well as the need for more specialized labor. Pitched roofs have about a 40 longer life than flat roofs.