Flat roof repair in Ajax

Flat roof services in Ajax

Ajax has a lot of newer housing, and on newer flat roofs leaks usually start at details rather than the whole membrane: a terrace door, a rooftop unit or a drain on a roof that is otherwise sound. Its design snow load is among the lightest of the cities on this site, so freeze–thaw and summer storms do more damage than snow weight. We find where the water gets in, fix that spot and tell you how much life the rest of the roof has.

When a roof is past repair, we replace it with EPDM, TPO, PVC or modified bitumen, and fix the drainage so water does not sit on the new membrane. Owners and property managers also book inspections and maintenance visits.

A planned wartime-industry town: Ajax

Ajax has an unusual origin. From 1939 the federal government took farmland for the Defence Industries Limited munitions plant. After it closed in 1945, the site briefly held a University of Toronto campus and a refugee camp, and then the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation planned a modern industrial town. Ajax became a town in 1954. By 1969 major employers included Volkswagen Canada and DuPont, and by 1970 Ajax Plaza, Harwood Place Mall and Clover Ridge Plaza had opened. Census data show about 23% of homes were built before 1981 and 41% in 2001 or later.

The early planned neighbourhoods and plazas near Downtown Ajax date to the 1950s through 1970s, an era when low-slope roofs on shops, schools and apartment buildings were widely used, and where you often find flat roofs over additions on older houses. Westney Heights and Discovery Bay came mostly in the 1980s. The Central Employment Area and the Audley Road and Salem business areas hold industrial and commercial buildings with large low-slope roofs. Newer townhouse blocks and the Pat Bayly Square area downtown add recent membrane roofing.

Ajax weather and your flat roof

Ontario's Building Code sets the climate values used to design roofs in each municipality. They show what a flat roof in Ajax has to handle.

• 1 kPaGround snow load (about 21 lb per sq ft)
• 0.4 kPaRain load added to snow (Sr)
• 23 mmRain in a 15-minute storm (design value)
• 92 mmRain in one day, 1-in-50-year storm
• -20 °CJanuary design temperature
• 3,820Heating degree-days per year
• 0.48 kPaHourly wind pressure, 1-in-50-year

Snow loads are close to the Toronto figure. Freeze–thaw cycles through the winter are what open tired seams and flashings.

Short summer storms can still drop 23 mm of rain in 15 minutes, so drains and scuppers have to be clear and sealed.

Source: Ontario Building Code, Supplementary Standard SB-1, Table 1.2

Homes and buildings in Ajax

The age and type of buildings shape the flat roofs we see. These are the 2021 Census figures for Ajax.

• 23%Homes built before 1981
• 41%Homes built since 2001
• 70%Detached and semi-detached houses
• 15%Row houses and townhouses
• 7%Apartments in buildings of 5+ storeys
• 17%Households that rent

41% of homes in Ajax were built since 2001, one of the higher shares among the cities we cover. Newer flat roofs rarely fail across the whole membrane; they leak at details first: flashings at rooftop units and terraces, drains and dried-out sealants. A maintenance visit catches those early.

15% of homes in Ajax are row houses or townhouses. Flat sections often run across several units, so a leak can start on a neighbour's part of the roof or at the joint between two units. See townhouses and row houses.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile

Ajax: facts for property owners

• Population of Ajax: 126,666 (2021 Census). Source
• Ajax is part of the Regional Municipality of Durham.

Rules and programs change. Confirm current details with the municipality before you start work.

Starting prices in Ajax

Starting prices in CAD before 13% HST, based on typical Ontario contractor rates (mostly Toronto and the GTA). The final price depends on roof size, access, the layers to remove, the membrane, drains and flashings, and is confirmed in your written quote.

See all prices.