How does your roof measure up?
As the onset of the 2014 rainy and hurricane season is upon us….There’s nothing like repeated rains to make you aware of the protection your roofs provide. Even the most reliable roofing systems have trouble holding on in the face of repeated winds and rains like we have had over the past few weeks.
As a company with a complete line of roof maintenance, repair and new installation services, **Roofing Concepts Unlimited/Fl. Inc. **is in the business of providing roofing peace-of-mind to building owners all across Florida.
Your building’s roofs, walls, and overall building envelope components must perform on a 365/24/7 basis to withstand the sun, wind, rain, storms, and foot traffic and occasional hurricane. Before you get on the roof, the following tips create a starting point for determining how well the roof has weathered storms or has been performing overall.
When you’re ready, RCU/RDSF can perform full inspections and analysis that capture a complete, objective, and accurate understanding of your roof assets’ condition baseline. Then, we can provide recommendations and a long-term solutions roadmap for saving the roof on your buildings and capital expenditure dollars.
1. Frequency
•Regular inspections should occur 2 x per year at a minimum
•Before season of most severe weather and before/after major weather events
2. Review Paperwork to ensure:
•Copy of warranty with required maintenance
•Many manufacturer roof warranties require this frequency to ensure compliance
3. Survey Tools
•Layout Sketch of the roof
•Note pad
•Digital camera
Roof Core Sample tools and supplies
4. Roof Surface
•Debris – Items such as leaves, plants, branches, loose and abandoned HVAC equipment, satellite dishes, pallets, etc. High winds can impale braches, sticks and other flying debris into the roof.
•Antennas or satellite dishes – Have they moved or missing. Are the anchors still standing and or attached?
•Field of roof – Cracks, scrapes, punctures, tears
•Ballasted roofs – Some systems are held down with river rock or pavers. Storms can create piles of stone or lift pavers. Conventional BUR roofs with gravel surfaces can be severely wind swept exposing the roofing plies to UV rays
•Membrane Seams – Are the overlapping seams intact, cracked, split, wrinkled, rolled back or blistered
•Coatings – are they intact, cracked or peeling
•Fasteners backed out and exposed
•Expansion joints – cracks, missing caps
•Metal Flashings around penetrations and equipment may be bent, broken or pulled back creating moisture/weather entry points. Sealants may need to be reapplied
•Lightning arrest system – are the wires and anchors still intact
5. Penetrations
• Review pipes, conduits, openings, sky lights, HVAC Equipment, roof exhausters to see if there are unsealed openings, bent metal flashings, gaps, cracks, or missing sealants, collars or rubber boots.
6. Walls
•Parapet walls typically extend up to knee level. Look for missing caps, masonry and mortar.
•Termination bars anchor and tie the roof system into the wall. Look for looks fasteners, bars pulled away from the wall.
7. Drainage
•Poor drainage is anything that does not dry out within 48 – 72 hours.
•Damaged, clogged or missing drains
8. Repairs
•How well are previous repairs performing?
- Were the repairs completed properly and professionally
In RCU/RDSF’s Experience…
•Lack of proper inspections, repairs and maintenance can lead to a voided roof warranty
•The cost of an emergency leak equates to the cost of fixing 6 potential leaks
It has been proven……………
That Preventative maintenance can more than double the life of a roof. According to The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and the American Institute of Plant Engineers (AIPE), preventative maintenance can increase the service life of a roof 30% to 200% when done annually!
Did you know………….
•Most roofing manufacturers require semi-annual roof inspections and maintenance
•Lack of such inspections and maintenance can lead to a voided roof warranty
•RCU’s affiliate company Roof Doctors provides pro-active maintenance programs to ensure that your warranty is upheld and remains compliant.Please contact us.