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I am looking at a house for sale that has a flat top roof. I don't know anything about these types so that is my biggest hesitation for this purchase. I haven't been up there yet so I don't know what it looks like or where the water goes or anything like that. I can't even tell if this kind of house has an attic? It looks like if it did, it wouldn't be large enough to even move around.
Can you tell anything by these pictures? Is the roof even with the top of the shingle line or is it recessed a couple feet or what.
I will have the hosue inspected before buying, but should I have a roofer look at it too? Anything else I should look at for these types of roofs?

Thanks

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James,
Find a well regarded local roofing company, hire them to inspect the roof, and ask if they will allow you to join them during the inspection, so they can explain to you how the roof is built, where the water goes, and if they forsee any future problems that you should be aware of. If you don't trust the roofing companies, find a good engineering firm. In short, hire an expert to do a first hand inspection.

That house has a Mansard Roof. Typically there is a small slope on the top that you can't always see from the ground (some have a slope that is visible). As long as there is a slope, I wouldn't worry about the actual design. If it does have a true flat roof (modified mansard?), then I personally would not recommend it - Flat roofs (especially older ones) tend to be more of a problem over the long term.

The main problem with Mansard roofs is adequate ventilation. The "joint" between the steep sloping roof (where the dormers are) and the top part of the roof is pretty small and quite often gets blocked with insulation so that the attic is not adequately ventiliated. Adding vents (mechanical) will solve this if they aren't already there.

You should still hire a roofing/home inspector that is knowledgable, but hopefully the above gives you some things to consider.

Hello jameshudson
It is a beautiful house. A reliable inspector such as InspectorD (member of the forum) will look at the roof as well as the rest of the house, and advise you on the roof.
There have been new products introduced that will hold on a flat roof but back when the mansard roof was popular you couldn't expect more than 5 years out of a flat roof.
Let us know how it turns out and thanks for the pictures!
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