Map of Pretoria

Have you ever noticed that most homes have angled, or pitched roofs, while most industrial and commercial buildings have flat roofs? And did you ever wonder why? Pitched roofs have their advantages, starting with their ability to quickly drain away a roof’s worst enemy; water. So what are the advantages of flat roofs that make them almost the exclusive roof of choice on shopping centers, warehouses, factories, office buildings, hospitals, etc.?

One of the main reasons why the builders and designers of all these types of building prefer a flat roof is that they have a smaller surface area. Of course many industrial flat roofing in Toronto are far larger than any pitched residential roof, but they have a smaller surface area compared to a pitched roof covering the same building. The smaller area means a smaller support structure and lower design and construction costs.

Without having to deal with working on an angle, flat roofs are also easier to maintain. And having the smaller surface area means there is less roof to maintain too.

With no attic and ceiling, flat roofs allow the use of a greater percentage of the interior space below them. Warehouses can take advantage of floor-to-ceiling storage and factories can use all the overhead space in a building for machinery and/or assembly-line conveyors.

Flat roofs are more energy efficient too. In a home, depending on the insulation, a lot of the conditioned air escapes into the attic. Under a flat roof, all conditioned air is kept in the occupied space of the building.

The flat surface of the roof makes it a perfect place for machinery and equipment, including HVAC equipment, or machinery that is required to run an operation in the building. If it couldn’t be housed on the roof, the equipment would otherwise occupy valuable floor space.

On residential buildings, flat roofs can offer additional outdoor recreational space with rooftop gardens and exercise facilities like a running track.

And all flat roofs are great places for a solar panel array, which makes them even more environmentally friendly.