Roofing 101: Protect Your Building Investments

Roofing 101: Protect Your Building Investments

Roofing 101: Protect Your Building Investments

The roof is a vital component of every building ever built. Without a good roof, nothing will shield your building from heat, snow, rain, hail, and strong winds that may cause extensive damage to the integrity of the entire structure. Understating its necessity is not a wise consideration.

You are investing in your building when you take proper care of your roof. Roof leaks can cause structural damage as well as harm to your facility’s products and materials.

While some damage to the roof surface is evident, the untrained eye will overlook more significant, more expensive issues to remedy, such as hail damage or moisture in the insulation layers.

Here are various ways on how you can protect your roof and prolong its lifespan:

Regular Roof Maintenance

The threats to your property may come in different ways depending on the season. For example, the end of fall sends leaves and twigs to your roof and gutters, which can clog pipes and cause poor water drainage. If you don’t clean your gutters, they may break due to a buildup of water, snow, and debris in the winter.

Waterproofing your roof and constructing fire-resistant walls will not keep you safe from natural calamities indefinitely. Your commercial property must have disaster-roofing. Not doing so may leave you with more costly repairs and replacements from all the damages your building will sustain.

Another seasonal issue that necessitates regular repair is winter damage. Your roof needs routine inspection by professionals after months of surviving frigid temperatures, snowstorms, and high winds to ensure the repair of leaks, heating, and ventilation equipment are working correctly, the replacement of missing shingles, and the restoration of damaged roof parts.

When doing any regular maintenance on your roof area, ensure that you have a good entry point for the ones doing the job. One way of doing so is installing access ways made from weather-resistant material like galvanized steel roof hatches, which adds convenience and safety for all your maintenance crew.

Get a Roof Insurance 

Read your policy’s fine print to ensure you don’t miss any important details about the coverage of the different disasters. Will your eight-year-old roof be insured for its original price or its current market worth if it burns down in a fire?

Should you go after the contractor or go to your commercial property insurer if your newly constructed roof gets blown off by a hurricane? Your policy should spell out the terms of coverage and which circumstances render them void.

It’s just as crucial to protecting your commercial property legally as you would want to defend it physically from natural disasters. Don’t you want to have a way to reestablish your business if the worst happens? Get property insurance coverage, especially for portions of the building that are more likely to be damaged by a disaster, such as your roof.

Consider Your Business’ Location

Before deciding on a location for your operation, survey potential locations, some properties may appear inexpensive, yet the place may be in a flood zone. Take note of the possible dangers offered by your company’s area so you’ll know what precautions to take when building or remodeling your commercial facility.

If the location of your business is near a body of water or in the path of a hurricane, for example, waterproof roofs are preferable to water-shedding roofs. The former blocks water from entering your home, while the latter relies on its steep slope to quickly shed and drain water. A secondary membrane is also required to prevent water from penetrating the structure.

Choose water-resistant or hydrostatic roofing if your building has little or no slope. It can handle slow-moving water and doesn’t require an additional membrane to prevent leaks.

Make Ready for Fire

During the summer, many locations have dry weather, little humidity, and high temperatures, making them vulnerable to wildfires. If your business is in one of these places, a simple mishap might turn your enterprise into dust. It’s why fireproofing your commercial property should be a top priority.

When constructing or renovating a structure, use fire-resistant materials. Slate roofs, metal roofs, and Class A asphalt shingles are fire-resistant and can endure flames for two to four hours before burning.

Schedule an Effective Maintenance Timeline

A roof’s service life without maintenance is 12 years at best, far less than the 20 years of its designed lifespan. Every roof needs an effective schedule to implement its preventative maintenance. This timeline might guide your plan if you want to implement your very own system:

January:

During this period, you need to call for the removal of snow and gutter ice.

February:

Schedule an inspection for any signs of leaks caused by the winter damage to your roof.

March:

Ensure to call a roofing professional after every hailstorm. Schedule the roofers to inspect your roof membrane for any damage.

April:

This month is an excellent month for spring cleaning and ensuring everything is in order.

May:

Prepare for the summer by scheduling for re-roofing and repair works.

June:

If you are in the U.S., you have to schedule for Emergency Weather Service if your location is near a coastal area because this month is the start of Hurricane season.

July:

Schedule any improvements that you may need for the following months.

August:

This month is an excellent time to orient your maintenance team (if you have any) to the necessary protocols you may want to implement. You can ask for help from professional roofers to schedule a seminar.

September:

This month is for budgeting. Ensure to schedule a meeting with a plan relating to the budget for preventative maintenance and allocating budgets for repair, replacement, or enhancement.

October:

Some areas may have winter climates, and this month is an excellent time to install ice melts or snow guards.

November:

Inspect that all the installations and work are all in order. This inspection will ensure that your building’s roof can endure the harsh winter weather.

December:

Ensure to sign a Winter Price Freeze contract to avoid any price increase for your future works.

Conclusion

A business will survive and weather out any storm if its foundation is solid and the people who built it protect it. Never let your establishment go into disarray or halt your operations due to a sudden unforeseen situation caused by not taking the correct steps. Consult a licensed professional for a piece of solid advice before deciding to do anything.