PHP Roofing Blog

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!

Maybe you’re a building manager who finally persuaded the owner to invest in a new roof. Or
maybe you’re the owner, and you just signed the check. Either way, you might be reluctant to spend even more money on “extras.” But things that extend the life of your roof and protect your workers aren’t extras; they’re the basics. Along with rooftop walkways, roof access stairs definitely fall into that category. Let’s take a look at why that’s true.

Not only is there more than one type of rooftop pipe support, there is also more than one way of attaching those pipe supports to the roof surface. But they all break down into one of two categories: penetrating vs. non-penetrating. Penetrating pipe supports attach mechanically through the roof membrane, while non-penetrating pipe supports sit on the surface of the roof and are anchored with ballast. And there are a number of benefits to that.

Rooftop equipment and pipe supports take a beating. They’re constantly pounded by everything from temperature fluctuations to wind, rain, snow, and UV damage. And, just like the postal service, they have to come through in all kinds of weather. Most of the time, it’s your standard stuff. But, if your building is in an area prone to extreme weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, and blizzards, it may take more than the basics to protect your building and its occupants.

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:

One of the most critical aspects of engineering a roof design is calculating weight loads. Mistakes can cause catastrophic overloads of pipe supports, employee injuries, or even worse, death. Every roof is different, so there is no magic formula that guarantees the right answer in every situation. But there are common factors that should be considered when calculating roof loads. Here are a few of the most important considerations: 

Last winter delivered record-breaking snowfalls for much of the country, and many places have already seen the first snowfall of the 2015 fall/winter season. While meteorologists are still scratching their heads as the “Godzilla El Niño” and the “Siberian Snow Monster” battle for control of our weather, there’s one thing we do know: Any amount of snow or ice can take a toll on both your commercial rooftop (flat roofs are especially vulnerable) and your rooftop equipment supports.

We all know the importance of “preventive medicine” – those dreaded annual checkups and biannual dentist visits – but many of us don’t take any action until there’s a problem. It’s a gamble: Sometimes we win, saving time and money while escaping negative consequences. Other times, though, what would have been a small problem takes advantage of that time to develop into a big problem, costing much more in both time and money than if it had been nipped in the proverbial bud. 

Rooftop pipe supports don’t get the respect they deserve. They might look like they don’t do much, but if the pipes or ductwork they support fall and land on your roof, the damage could be catastrophic. It could even shut down your business! So, when you buy rooftop supports, it’s important to know that the ones you choose can do the job. The safest way to do that is to go with pre-engineered supports.

Climate change has become a hot topic over the last few years – it seems to always be in the news – and we’ve heard a lot about how rising temperatures will affect our world. But we’re just now beginning to understand the specific implications for different industries. The roof construction industry, in particular, has some work to do to accommodate a warming planet. That work falls into two categories: risk mitigation and environmental impact.