Roof asset management
The cheapest roof work is the work that stops a roof failing early
A commercial roof is an asset with a service life, and the largest single influence on that service life is whether anybody looks at it twice a year. This is the least glamorous work in roofing and the highest return on money spent.
What a program covers
Scheduled inspections, twice a year
Spring and autumn: spring to find what winter did, autumn to make sure the roof goes into winter with clear drains and sound details. Both documented with photographs and locations.
Drains, scuppers and gutters cleared
The single highest-value item on the list. A blocked drain turns rainfall into a load the roof was never designed to carry and forces water into every detail at once.
Details checked and minor repairs made on the visit
Open laps, loose terminations, failed pitch pockets, split boots, lifted edge metal. Most of these are ten-minute repairs while somebody is already on the roof and become five-figure repairs when they are not.
New penetrations found and flashed
Every trade that visits a roof leaves something behind: a new conduit, a satellite mount, a hole for a cable. They are almost never flashed properly and they are a leading cause of leaks.
The roof file updated
A plan of the roof, the system and its age, the warranty and its conditions, the inspection history, photographs, and every repair with a date and a location.
The roof file, and why it is the actual product
Facility managers change jobs. Buildings change hands. Nearly every commercial building we look at has a roof whose age is a guess and whose warranty status nobody can establish. The file is what prevents that, and it is what makes every later decision cheaper.
- A roof plan with areas, systems and ages marked, so a conversation about "the roof" is a conversation about a specific section.
- Warranty documents and their conditions, including what voids them and who administers a claim.
- Dated inspection reports with photographs, so change over time is visible rather than remembered.
- A repair log, which is also what demonstrates the maintenance that a warranty requires.
- A remaining-service-life view per area, which is what a capital plan is built from.
What it does for a budget conversation
A roof replacement that arrives as a surprise competes badly against every other unplanned request. A roof section with three years of documented decline, photographs of the same detail getting worse, and a stated remaining service life is a planning item rather than an emergency, and it can be scheduled into the year where it fits.
The most useful sentence in a maintenance report is the one that says which areas do not need money this year. A report that recommends spending everywhere is a sales document.
What a program does not do
- It does not extend a roof that has reached the end of its material life. It tells you that has happened, with evidence, before the ceiling tiles do.
- It does not stop storm damage. It does mean somebody knows what the roof looked like the week before, which is exactly what a storm claim needs.
- It does not replace the manufacturer warranty process, and it should not be sold as a substitute for it.
Have buildings with roofs of unknown age and no paperwork?
Talk to us about the portfolioHow often should a commercial roof be inspected?
Twice a year as a baseline, plus after any significant weather event, plus any time a trade has worked on the roof. Buildings with heavy rooftop equipment or constant access need more.
We have a manufacturer warranty. Is that not enough?
A warranty covers defined defects under defined conditions, and those conditions generally include maintenance and prompt notification. It does not cover damage caused by somebody else drilling through the membrane, and it will not pay for the tenant's inventory.
Can you work on roofs you did not install?
Yes, and most of this work is on roofs installed by others. The first visit establishes what is up there, which is often the first time anyone has written it down.
What about multiple buildings?
That is where this earns its keep. A portfolio with a consistent inspection format lets you compare buildings on the same basis and sequence spending across years instead of reacting to whichever roof leaks first.
All work is performed by licensed and insured local roofing professionals.