Van Nuys areas we cover
- Van Nuys Civic Center
- Van Nuys Boulevard
- Van Nuys Airport area
- Sepulveda Basin edge
- Woodley Avenue
- The Plant area
- Sherman Oaks border
- Valley Glen border
- Lake Balboa border
- North Hills border
What's hard on roofs around Van Nuys
Flat roofs on apartment buildings
Most people in Van Nuys rent, so apartment buildings line many of its streets. Low-rise apartment roofs are often flat or low-slope, and they depend on working drains, sound membranes and sealed parapet walls. Ponding water and cracked seams are the usual leak sources, and owners can have a licensed roofer check them before the rainy season.
Hard Valley heat
August highs at Van Nuys Airport average in the low 90s, and the record is 118°F. Summer sun bakes flat roofs and dark shingles, breaking down membranes and drying out sealants around vents and rooftop equipment. Reflective coatings and lighter materials absorb less of that heat.
Los Angeles' cool roof rule
The City of Los Angeles adopted a cool roof rule in December 2013, requiring reflective roofing on new and rebuilt home roofs, with stricter reflectance for low-slope roofs than for steep ones. Since Van Nuys is part of the city, it applies here. A licensed roofer can tell you which products meet it for your roof.
Older homes near the old town core
Van Nuys is one of the Valley's oldest towns, and its side streets mix early houses with post-war ones, many expanded over the years. Additions, patio covers and garage conversions often have low-slope roofs tied into the original roof, and those joints are where water gets in. A licensed roofer looks at every transition, not just the main roof.
Apartment and commercial buildings here often have flat or low-slope roofs, where ponding water and worn seams are the usual trouble.
