PHP Roofing Blog

Are you as big of a fan of TED talks as we are? Innovative experts from around the world come to sound off on their ideas in short talks given at TED, which you may remember stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design.

With the arrival of summer weather – and with many parts of the country experiencing record-breaking heat waves – it’s hard to ignore the power of the sun. It can make walking across the street seem like a marathon, it sends energy bills soaring, and it can make a parked car feel like a furnace. No wonder the sun gets a bad rap this time of year!

As an architect, there is a lot of study that goes into earning your license. However, it is important to realize that you will have to renew it periodically. Many states have Continuing Education requirements in place as a term of that renewal. Even if your state doesn’t require further education, the AIA does. 

When it comes to harsh weather, most people think of cold, snow, and ice. But, if you manage a building in a warmer climate, you probably define harsh weather a little differently: blistering sun and heat punctuated by occasional rain and wind. And, since a roof’s main job is to protect the building and everything inside it, choosing the right low-slope roofing system for your climate is a business imperative.

We’ve written quite a bit about green roofs and how adding a layer of vegetation can impact both the urban environment and a building’s energy efficiency. The latest industry trend, however, is blue roofing. And it’s all about storm water management.

Roof coatings—you’ve probably heard that these can be beneficial to your roof and your building in general. We've put together a brief guide to help you understand the types of coatings available and the benefits of the product. This information can prepare you to make a smart decision regarding your roof's care.

Every facility manager has budget constraints, and that means you have to make some choices about priorities. Decisions often lean toward “tyranny of the urgent” – you need a new roof, you need to repave the parking lot, etc. Things like launching sustainability initiatives and becoming LEED certified can seem like a luxury…but they aren’t.

Your building’s low-slope roofing can’t be all that complicated. After all, just about everybody has one…right?

Not exactly. Even low-slope roofs come in an astounding array of options. And, if you weren’t directly involved in the design and planning process, you might not know much more about your roof than what’s visually obvious. But you really should get to know your roof better, so let’s make some introductions.

We tend to take the sun for granted. We don’t really think about how powerful it is until we feel the painful effects of a day at the lake. But the sun actually produces far more energy than we give it credit for—or take advantage of. It’s been said that enough energy pummels the earth every day to power the planet for an entire year.

Sticking a few pipes on a rooftop sounds pretty simple. But, as any good architect or building engineer can tell you, there’s a lot more to it than that. Inadequate supports can result in sagging, vibration, excess movement, and even pipe collapse. That, in turn, can cause extensive damage, incurring both repair costs and, depending on the severity of the damage, work stoppage. That’s why the design of rooftop supports is such an important part of any commercial building plan. There are a number of things to consider, each of which could change your final specifications. These are a few of the most important factors: