There are many aspects of life, love and architecture where we want to have the best of all possible worlds. In most cases, we can at least have some form of compromise.

People compromise between minimalist and rustic interior design styles to create Modern Farmhouse, people enjoy fusion cuisine and crossover films are amongst the most popular in cinema history.

However, one compromise that flat roof specialists cannot possibly in good conscience recommend is combining the practical benefits of a flat or slightly-pitched roof with roof shingles and tiles more characteristic of a pitched roof.

The problem is that in practice, you do not get the best of both worlds but instead, you get the downsides of both flat roofs made with unsuitable roofing material and layered shingles that do not have the angled pitch they need to function properly.

Part of the problem is that shingles do not lie flush on the surface of your roof like a dedicated waterproof treatment such as EPDM rubber would, so instead of water flowing along the top of the layered squamous shingles, it instead pools underneath the singles, exactly where you do not want the water to be.

This is bad on its own, as it can cause water to seep underneath the waterproofing layers and cause a leak, but it is made far worse in wintery weather, where it can cause an ice dam and by extension a lot of damage to your roof.

Any roof material that relies on being fitted in a scalelike arrangement tends to require a much steeper pitch than dedicated flat roof treatments, making them unsuitable for a flat roof.

However, this is offset by the practical benefits of a flat roof, such as additional, practicality, the ability to fit solar panels and so much more besides.