Low-Slope & Rowhome Roofs in Bethlehem, PA

Many of Bethlehem's rowhomes and twins have a pitched slate or shingle roof at the front and a nearly flat roof over the rear rooms. Porches, kitchen additions and dormers often have one too. Shingles are not made for those slopes, so these roofs use a membrane.

Common choices are modified bitumen, EPDM rubber and TPO. Whatever the membrane, most leaks start at the edges: where the roof meets a party wall or parapet, at the drain or scupper, and around chimneys and vents.

On attached houses the rear roofs often run together across the party walls. A new membrane has to be finished cleanly against the neighbor's roof, so it helps to tell your neighbor before work starts, and some owners on a row replace together.

In a historic district, visible roofs get attention even when they are low. Easton's guidelines, for example, say EPDM rubber is generally not recommended on visible roofs because it doesn't come in historically compatible colors (Easton guidelines).