50-Year-Old Ponding Roof Replaced on Scott St

The ROOF CONDITION

Ponding water on a flat roof isn’t just a surface problem. It adds dead load to the structure, accelerates membrane breakdown, and creates conditions for moss, algae, and organic buildup that eat into the roofing system over time.

This 7,500 sq ft commercial building on Scott Street in St. Catharines had all of it. The original pitch and tar roof was somewhere between 50 and 60 years old, the drainage was inadequate from the original design, and water had been pooling in the same spots for years — warping materials, stressing the structure, and driving up the cost of every repair attempt.

The REPLACEMENT PROCESS

We stripped the entire pitch and tar system off 7,500 sq ft of deck, installed new drains in locations engineered to eliminate the ponding, and laid down a full built-up roofing system designed to move water off the surface instead of letting it sit.

The VIDEL DIFFERENCE

A 50-year-old pitch roof with ponding problems can’t be fixed with patches. The drainage was wrong from the start, and every repair since was working against the original design.

We replaced the entire system and redesigned how water leaves the roof. New drains went in where they should have been from day one, and the new BUR system is built to shed water instead of collecting it. For a building on our home turf in St. Catharines, this is exactly the kind of project where being five minutes from the office means we can respond fast if the owner ever needs us back up there — though with this system, they shouldn’t for a long time.

Learn more about flat roof replacement