Flood Testing Flat Roofs

Difficulties with flood testing are the time required to fill test and then drain the sometimes tens of thousands of gallons of water required to properly test an area.

Flood testing flat roofs.

Flood testing can cause irreparable damage to the roofing system or even the supporting structure. There is a significant breach in a roof system during a flood test. Our roofing engineers can carry out flood testing on large and small surfaces so whether you want us to check a house office shopping centre or football stadium for roof or. Flood testing exposes roof drains to hydrostatic pressure and roof drains are not designed to be leak free under such unrealistic imposed conditions.

The roofing contractor will then if needed plug any drains in the area to make sure that water does not drain off the roof during this test. If a flood test calls for a depth of 50 mm 2 in it would add 50 kg m 10 lb ft to the dead load. And imagine this worst case scenario. Flood testing to detect leaks and verify the quality of newly installed assemblies has a long history in the roofing industry.

When the area to be tested has a slope greater than 1 4 per foot the depth of the water needed to test that area increases dramatically. Flood testing is the oldest simplest and basic method of testing a roofs integrity. This testing method eliminates the dangers and potential damage that can be caused by traditional flood testing and even pinhole leaks that aren t visible to the naked eye can be pinpointed. Manufacturers should specify a minimum time period for materials to cure prior to performing flood test however no testing should be performed during the first 24 h following installation of system materials 48 h min if materials are installed at a time when ambient temperatures are below 10 c 50 f.

A membrane integrity test conducted by temporarily plugging or otherwise closing any drains and erecting temporary dams where required to retain water on the surface of a waterproofing membrane and then flooding the surface to a maximum depth of 2 inches at the. Electronic leak detection is also widely used to provide the client with peace of mind that the installed flat roof is fit for purpose and has a. Per foot i e. It can still be useful however where finishes are in place and electronic testing is impractical.

Leak detection using flood testing. However most roofs when properly constructed are positively sloped to drains. The principle to follow in doing a water test is to always start from the bottom and. Water weighs 1000 kg m3 62 4 lb ft.

This has largely been superseded by electronic testing as a means of establishing the waterproofing integrity of a roof or other installation.