PHP Roofing Blog

A commercial building with a leaky roof is not great for business, no matter what your company does. Office workers don’t like working in leaky buildings, and retail shoppers don’t want to shop in water-logged stores and supermarkets. Leaks can lead to costly slip-and-fall injuries, ruin stored merchandise, and damage flooring – to say nothing of the cost of repairing the roof itself. What can you do about leaks and, more importantly, prevent them from happening in the first place?

It is commonly assumed that an architect knows what they’re doing. After all, the architect has gone to school, joined a practice, and designed several buildings. Why should your building be any different?

Out of every surface on your building, your roof is the one that spends the most time exposed to rain and wind-driven moisture. There is absolutely no way to prevent water infiltration entirely, but there are ways to prevent most of it – and unless you try, your roof and its contents will quickly be eaten by rot and hazardous mold.

How Important is Wind Design for Your Commercial Building

When you need to install a new roof on your building or commit to major repairs, your first job—step one—is to hire a roofing consultant. Read that again. Not a roofing contractor—a roofing consultant. Many building owners hire a roofing consultant only when there is a problem with their roof, only to find that the problems exist due to things that should have been addressed before the build.

For many roofers and roofing companies, the hazards surrounding a commercial or industrial roof appear to be mostly physical. With trips and falls representing the clearest and most present danger for roofing contractors, many roofing companies have developed detailed and comprehensive plans both to prevent falls and to mitigate damage and liability if a fall occurs. By focusing so much of their effort on preventing falls, however, are roofing companies neglecting other dangers?

In the early 2000s, the EPA released a study that showed 85% of commercial buildings had sustained water damage at some point, 45% of which had existing leaks.

While there hasn’t been a similarly deep study of commercial water damage, you can bet that the situation hasn’t changed much. Minor roof leaking is often seen as low priority—an annoyance that can be dealt with at a later time.

However, you can’t just wait until leaks become apparent on the interior. Anything from improperly-secured RTUs to roof penetration, extreme weather, excessive foot traffic, materials/membrane/sealant failure, improper inspection and beyond can cause leak-inducing damage.

There’s no denying the value of a strong commercial roof. It’s your main defense against the elements and keeps your internal investments safe from damage.

But for all the thought of how a roof protects what’s under it, many building owners lose sight of protecting the roof itself. Just because roofing materials are built to last decades doesn’t mean you can leave them neglected.

The effects of damage to neglected commercial roofs can grow exponentially. One small crack will grow over time until what would have been a simple repair becomes a full-blown roof replacement.

The decision to invest in a new roof isn’t one you can make lightly. If it’s an emergency, you won’t have a choice—but that doesn’t mean you can dive in headfirst without doing your homework.

When you spend all that money, you can expect your roof will last the full 30-50 years the materials are meant for. That doesn’t mean there won’t be any issues along the way.

Luckily, you have your warranties to protect the investment. Right? The situation is a bit more complicated than that.

There’s a wide variety of warranties in the roofing industry and it’s important not to overlook your true coverage. Whenever you’re investing in a new roof, you need to be well-versed in all kinds of warranties and know how they vary in terms of coverage and obligation.

With so many day-to-day demands of facility management, it’s easy for rooftop traffic to get pushed to the back of your mind.

Especially for flat commercial roofs with HVAC equipment, ventilation, satellite dishes, electrical boxes, and more, rooftop traffic is a fact of life. Why spend so much time worrying about it when you know multiple people need regular access to walk on the roof?

Thinking this way can be dangerous. Believe it or not, regular foot traffic will take a serious toll on your roof and can cause damage if not managed properly.

If you don’t have a rooftop traffic strategy in place, you’re missing out on an opportunity to squeeze more life out of your investment. Now is the time to plan for keeping rooftop traffic in check.