How Does A Flat Roof Drain Water

A flat roof may use interior drains to collect water from the centre of the roof.

How does a flat roof drain water. The first thing to say about how flat roofs drain water away is that they re not actually totally flat. Water is caught as it rolls off of the edge of the roof and is then diverted to the proper downspout and out the drainage system. These are located in the central points of the roof and transport rainwater underneath the membrane to a nearby sewer. The flat roof itself might ve actually been made too level meaning water can t run off the side.

These drains are like the drain at the bottom of your shower except that the roof drain has a larger strainer to protect it from debris. Increasing the angle of a flat roof will always increase the speed of water movement across the surface. How do flat roofs drain rainwater. For flat roof drainage where you place your drains scuppers and the final material of the roofing is more important.

A low slope roof tilts slightly downhill from its center or from one side so water rolls off to parapet scuppers and down the hopper downspout. Pooling of water on the roof that can eventually lead to leaks or structural damage. Internal drains are often placed in low slope roofs when the roof span does not make a single slope practical. Normal gutters the things we all hate to clean.

The roof slopes toward the center drain where pipes in your building channel the water into the sewage. If these roofing types are not fitted with a proper drainage solution they will experience poor drainage which leads to the following issues. Flat roofing does not drain naturally like sloped roofs that can rely on the force of gravity to remove water. After the slope on most flat roof designs the water heads to guttering in order to control its descent into.

Still the function of the two drains is the same. These are common for both commercial and residential properties and is one of the more cost effective solutions for flat roof drainage.