Trying to get our old apartment building’s rooftop fixed was more complicated than I thought

We live in an older villa in Incheon, with about 8 households. For a long time, the rooftop was leaking and it was a nightmare. Water would drip into the rooms on the top floor, making things damp and moldy. We knew we had to do something about it, but figuring out how to get it fixed turned out to be a whole process.

H2: Getting the Ball Rolling

Initially, I thought we could just call a waterproofing company and get it done. Easy, right? But it’s an apartment building, not a single house. So, decisions have to be made by everyone, or at least a majority. We don’t have a formal homeowner’s association or anything like that, just a few people who try to organize things. The idea of waterproofing the rooftop came up again and again in casual conversations, but it never really got off the ground. People would say things like, “Oh, they said they painted the rooftop last year,” but clearly, that wasn’t enough or wasn’t done properly. We could still see cracks and signs of water damage.

H2: The Costs and the Hurdles

When we started looking into actual costs, that’s when things got a bit more serious. I remember looking up “rooftop waterproofing cost” online and seeing a range of prices, depending on the method and the size of the area. For our building, it was going to be a significant amount of money, probably a few million won. Dividing that among 8 households felt like a big ask, especially when not everyone experiences the leaks directly. People on lower floors might not feel the urgency. I heard that some areas, like in Incheon, have support programs for older apartment buildings to help with renovations like rooftop waterproofing, exterior painting, or fence repairs. It was something we looked into, but navigating those application processes and meeting the criteria seemed like another project in itself. It also seemed like these programs were more for larger complexes or had specific requirements we didn’t meet, like a certain number of households or specific types of building structures.

H2: Different Waterproofing Methods

We also learned there are different ways to waterproof a rooftop. Some companies use what they call “liquid coating” (액체도장), which sounds like painting a strong protective layer. Others might use membranes or different materials. The information online was a bit overwhelming. I saw terms like “epoxy primer” (에폭시프라이머) mentioned, which I assume is a type of base coat. We didn’t really know which method was best for our specific situation. Was it better to go with a cheaper, quicker paint job, or invest in something more robust that would last longer? The problem was, getting reliable advice without feeling like we were being pushed into the most expensive option was hard. We just wanted the leaks to stop.

H2: Dealing with Contractors

Once we finally got enough people to agree on needing to proceed and had a rough idea of the budget, we started getting quotes from a few waterproofing companies. This was another point of confusion. Some companies seemed to focus only on the rooftop, while others mentioned that if we were going to do major work, maybe we should consider exterior wall cracks (외벽균열) too, since it’s an old building. One company came, looked around, and gave us a price. Another came, took longer, and gave a slightly different price and method. It felt like comparing apples and oranges sometimes. There was also a concern about how long the work would take. I saw some mentions of projects taking around 3 months, which seemed long just for a rooftop. We were hoping for something quicker.

H2: What Actually Happened (And What Didn’t)

In the end, after a lot of discussion and back-and-forth, we managed to get some of the most urgent repairs done. It wasn’t a full rooftop overhaul, but a specific section that was causing the most severe leaks got addressed. It involved some patching and a specific type of sealant. It cost less than a full job, but it was still a few hundred thousand won per household for that specific repair. The problem is, there are still other parts of the rooftop that look a bit worn, and we’re not sure if they’ll start leaking next rainy season. The conversations about a more complete fix continue, but it’s a slow process. It feels like we’ve put a band-aid on it rather than truly solving the problem for good. I’m still not entirely sure if we chose the right company or the most cost-effective solution long-term, but at least the worst of the dripping has stopped for now.