Flood Testing Flat Roofs

Leak detection using flood testing.

Flood testing flat roofs.

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. 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 is the oldest simplest and basic method of testing a roofs integrity. Flood testing exposes roof drains to hydrostatic pressure and roof drains are not designed to be leak free under such unrealistic imposed conditions.

There is a significant breach in a roof system during a flood test. 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. Flood testing can cause irreparable damage to the roofing system or even the supporting structure. 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.

And imagine this worst case scenario. Water weighs 1000 kg m3 62 4 lb ft. Per foot i e. Flood testing works on is a diverse testing method and can be used on practically all roofing membranes and build ups providing you with solid visual representation.

This has largely been superseded by electronic testing as a means of establishing the waterproofing integrity of a roof or other installation. However most roofs when properly constructed are positively sloped to drains. 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. 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.

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. It can still be useful however where finishes are in place and electronic testing is impractical. Once that is complete the roofing contractor always should start off with test the field flat part of the roof area. Astm d5957 standard guide for flood testing horizontal waterproofing installations is a guide for conducting flood testing of horizontal surfaces with slopes no greater than 1 4 in.

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.