Roof Repair in West Warwick, RI

Why do mill-village houses so often have flat or low-slope roof sections?

Older multi-family houses and mill-village buildings commonly have low-slope or flat sections, porches and additions that were added to the main roof over time, as a general pattern. Where pitched and flat roofs meet, there is a joint that has to be sealed and flashed properly, and over many winters those joints are where leaks start.

Shared roofs add another wrinkle. If one roof covers two or three households, a leak into one apartment may start over another. The roofer has to look at the whole roof, and the owners have to agree on who pays for what.

The pages on flat roof repair and triple-decker roofing explain what is involved, even though the triple-decker is more a Providence and Fall River style than a West Warwick one.

What happened in West Warwick in the 2010 flood, and is it a roof issue?

In March 2010 the Pawtuxet River crested at 20.8 feet on March 31, after a first crest of 15.2 feet on March 15 and 16. It was the worst flooding in over 200 years in that area, and many roads across West Warwick and Cranston were closed.

That is flood damage. It comes from the ground up, not from the roof down. If you have water in a ground floor, call a restoration service. If a roof leak shows up a few weeks later, perhaps from storm wind or from a covering already tired, that is a separate matter and a roofer can look at it.

How do I handle roof repair on a building with several owners or tenants?

Ask the roofer to give one written quote for the whole roof, with the work divided by section if only one part needs repair. Owners can then decide together what to do. Tenants who see a leak should tell the landlord in writing and take dated photographs from inside.

If you are the owner of a building with four or more dwelling units, a different registration applies. Rhode Island's Commercial Roofing License covers buildings with four or more dwelling units, so ask your roofer what they hold. Our registration guide explains the difference.

What does a roofer check on a worn mill-village roof?

On a low-slope section the first look is at seams and the places where the flat roof meets a wall, a chimney or a pitched roof above it. Water that sits in one spot after rain is another thing to point out, because ponding wears a covering faster than a surface that drains. On pitched sections the roofer looks at valleys, the shingles along the eaves and any place where a porch roof meets the main house.

Then comes the part that matters for a multi-family building: tracing a stain in one apartment back to its source, which may be twenty feet away on the roof. Ask the roofer to show you photographs of what they find. A repair quote that names the exact spot is more useful than one that says only the roof needs work.