Business owners need to ensure that their commercial roof system is ready for the long haul. After all, it’s the investment that protects all of your other investments; it protects your equipment, your workers, and your customers!
So what steps can you take to ensure that your commercial roof is taking care of you for as long as it possibly can? Get help with these 5 tips for maximizing your commercial roof’s lifespan!
Tip Number One: Start Strong
Are you planning or in the process of a roof replacement right now? If so, then maximizing your roof’s service life starts ASAP. When considering a new roof, you need the right roofing material for your building or facility. How many square feet will the roof have to cover? Are there extensive HVAC penetrations that have to be made? What kind of weather and temperature swings will your building have to contend with? All of these factors need to be considered when speaking to your roofing contractor about a new commercial roofing system.
TPO Roof
TPO roofing is relatively new to the roofing industry. It’s installed as a single-ply membrane. It is energy efficient, durable, lightweight, and will last about 20 to 30 years.
EPDM Roof
EPDM roofing has been in use for decades in the United States and around the world. It is a synthetic rubber material and is extensively used for flat roofs. EPDM has a lifespan of about 20 to 35 years.
Metal Roof
Metal roofs are typically the most durable option (and have become increasingly popular over the last decade), lasting 30 to 50 years.
Knowing the right roof material helps building owners get the best roofing installation option for their building. Each type of roof has its own advantages, drawbacks, and costs.
Tip Number Two: Regular Roof Inspections
If you want your roof to be doing its best for you every day, year after year, then one of the most important things to do is perform regular roof inspections. Either your facility manager or a professional commercial roofing company should be doing regular inspections of the roof at least twice a year (and after any severe weather event).
Performing an inspection twice a year allows you to get your roof ready for the different weather and temperatures. And, inspecting your roof after severe weather means you can clean your roof, document any possible damage, and get roof repair scheduled immediately.
Roof Inspection Basics
First, check the inside of your building. Look for staining or mold on walls that can indicate a roof leak. Then head up to the roof itself.
When inspecting your roof, look for any ponding water. This could indicate sagging roof material or a clogged drain or gutter. Blisters in the roof material means that water is already under the roofing membrane and is evaporating or causing the underlying material to break down.
Check your HVAC systems and where their ducts penetrate the roof to make sure all the seals are intact. Check the seals around any skylights, if applicable. If your commercial roof does have shingles, check to make sure they’re not loose or missing.
Always clean up any leaves, sticks, or other debris that might have ended up on your roof. Foreign material can build up and decay, causing damage to your roof, or it can collect and obstruct your roof drains or gutters.
Tip Number Three: Scheduled Maintenance
No matter what, after years of being exposed to the elements, the time will arrive when you need some roof maintenance. Even with regular inspections and cleanings, flashings can start to come loose, sealants can degrade, and hailstorms can beat down onto your roof.
Proper maintenance of your commercial roof will extend its life by years, maybe even decades.
Preventive maintenance can prevent small roofing problems from turning into huge disasters years down the road. What’s the best way to understand the schedule of maintenance for your roof? Look for a roofing company like TEMA Roofing Services that offers a Roof Asset Management Program. With TEMA Roofing’s Program, you have roof leak protection 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (and all of your documents and maintenance history are stored in our secure data storage system which is accessible to you at any time). Plus, TEMA offers custom-designed roof maintenance programs for your roofing systems, whether you have one roof or a hundred.
A program like TEMA’s Roof Asset Management Program takes all of the guesswork out of commercial roof maintenance and lets you stay focused on running your business.
Tip Number Four: Create A Roof Repair Budget
In order to not get caught off-guard by sudden roof needs, create a special budget entirely devoted to roof repair. Sometimes you’ll find that you require roofing services at very inconvenient times; however the most important thing that you can do for your business and your employees is to get back up and running as soon as possible. Every day that you have to shut down your business or scale back operations is lost productivity and lost profits that you will never get back. Minimize the scope of a shutdown by having money ready to spend to get your roof repaired so your business can get back in production.
Talk to your accountant or financial operators to find out more about your best options for setting up a roof repair fund. Once you have it established, stick with it, contribute to it, and don’t borrow money from it! You don’t want to discover your roof repair fund filled with IOUs when you need it the most!
Tip Number Five: Make Repairs Quickly
This almost goes without saying, but if you do happen to find a roof leak, or major damage while you’re inspecting your roof, don’t put off getting it fixed. Any small flaw or problem in your commercial roof will only grow and get worse, and you don’t want to end up with a major roofing disaster because you failed to act. If you followed tip number four and have funds allotted for roof repairs, you won’t need to make any delays because of budgetary concerns.
Follow the Tips for a Long-Lasting Roof
Use these tips as a guide to help ensure the maximum life of your commercial roof. The best thing you can do to make sure your roof gives you all the years of service that it possibly can is to have a roofing company like TEMA Roofing Services on your side. TEMA only deals with commercial roofs and has decades of experience behind our name. Contact us today to get the most out of your roof!
