Need Roof Fixed

DRandGR

Member
Aug 27, 2007
49
3
8
We are looking to purchase materials to repair a roof or to find someone to repair a leak in the roof in the Punta Cana / Bavaro area. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

TropicalPaul

Bronze
Sep 3, 2013
1,366
614
113
The biggest issue here is the sun. The sun opens up cracks in pretty much every construction material, and then as soon as it rains, water comes in. I struggled for a long time with leaks in the roof at my hotel. I tried using all manners of waterproofers, but nothing seemed to fix the problem, at least not long-term.

I finally found a company in Santo Domingo called Unimper, you can search their Facebook page by entering Unimper SRL Impermeabilizantes Para Techos into Facebook. They aren't cheap, but they offer a 10 year guarantee and use an imported product which works really well. I would thoroughly recommend them, they have fixed leaks in 4 different roofs for me so far and they are due to start working on my new apartment this week. The owner is a guy called Daniel, I think he may speak some English.
 

ChelseaRose

Active member
Jul 16, 2017
73
41
28
Ooh thanks for this info TropicalPaul- we just bought a house in la zona and the concrete roof leaks just enough that the paint flakes in one room. Will definitely look up Unimper, as the "waterproofing" the previous owner recommended is pretty much worthless, especially as he applied it.
 

chrisdr

Member
Oct 7, 2012
223
1
18
Or you can just go for the cheap option and felt the roof - might last 3 years if you are lucky here but pretty cheap. Not good if you have a roof terrace though
 

lifeisgreat

Enjoying Life
May 7, 2016
3,271
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Ooh thanks for this info TropicalPaul- we just bought a house in la zona and the concrete roof leaks just enough that the paint flakes in one room. Will definitely look up Unimper, as the "waterproofing" the previous owner recommended is pretty much worthless, especially as he applied it.


If it's  a Bermuda roof a good quality primer and roof paint usually holds 5yrs here...
 

ChelseaRose

Active member
Jul 16, 2017
73
41
28
If it's  a Bermuda roof a good quality primer and roof paint usually holds 5yrs here...

Nope, it's a flat concrete slab roof. Currently has a paint "waterproof" sealer that needs to be reapplied every 3-5 years or so, but it was applied 6 months ago by the owner and is already leaking (either that, or the concrete wasn't dry when he applied it, and then repainted below, trapping in moisture). That said, through the hurricane storms all we got was flaky paint, no actual drips. The biggest culprit is that the water tank isn't up on blocks and I don't think they painted under it! HA!!!
 

lifeisgreat

Enjoying Life
May 7, 2016
3,271
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It was probably done on the cheap quick lipstick  scrape prime and paint with good quality paint not the cheap stuff and you should be fine ... lift the tank up off roof they constantly condensate... 
 

TropicalPaul

Bronze
Sep 3, 2013
1,366
614
113
I was talking to the owner of Unimper the other day, and he was saying that he has not seen any paint-on product being sold that is suitable for the heat we have here. The only way to get things completely waterproof is to apply a waterproof membrane (a "lona asfaltica") and this needs to be applied over the whole roof, not just the part that is leaking. You can put tiles or astroturf or whatever you want on top of this membrane, but you can't puncture it without using special products. As said earlier, I have found this solution to be the only one that works, and it works perfectly. I know that Unimper has a lot of competitors, so advise you to get various quotes, but definitely a Lona Asfaltica is what you need.
 

XTraveller

Well-known member
Aug 21, 2010
612
290
63
Flat Cement Roof

TropicalPaul,
What colour is this "Lona Asfaltica" ?

I too will soon have to redo a flat cement roof and see people here break up and completely remove the finishing cement coat first, then reapply a completely new cement finishing coat and paint, do you know why ?

Can they just scrape up what loose and repaint?

XTraveller