Preventative Roof Maintenance 101

The Definitive Guide: Preventative Roof Maintenance

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While you’re taking care of the day-to-day aspects of operating your business, be sure that you don’t neglect to give your roof the attention it needs to keep performing at its best and protecting everything underneath it. Central Roofing Company, a premier Los Angeles Roofer since 1992, is here to provide you with the fundamentals of roof maintenance to keep unnecessary repairs and spending well under control.

The Basics of Roof Maintenance

A roof system is arguably the most vulnerable part of a building’s exterior. Ultraviolet radiation, wind, rain, hail, snow, and sleet all affect a roof system’s performance.

Performance is based on good design, quality materials, proper installation, and a preventive-maintenance program. Roof maintenance is critical to preventing roof problems and keeping the roof in watertight condition. Early identification and repair of roof problems will help provide a long-lasting roof system.

Roof Maintenance Programs

The type of roof you have also determines its maintenance. For instance, some roofing materials are relatively maintenance free, which means they usually don’t need to be inspected as often as other roofing materials. Maintenance programs are designed to predict specific issues based on the type of roof you have and how long it’s expected to last, which gives you a head start on saving up for a new roof when your current roof starts to reach the end of its life expectancy.

Parts of Your Roof That Need to Be Maintained

Commercial roofing systems are made up of several parts, and it’s essential that each specific component is thoroughly inspected during maintenance. Such parts include:
● Flashings
● The roof membrane
● Traffic walkways
● Roof surface penetrations, such as vent pipes
● Roof insulation
● Roof decking
The system must work and be maintained as a whole in order for it to provide your business with the best protection possible.

Roofing Interior

When it comes to roof maintenance and roof repair, it’s just as important to look at the interior of your building as it is to examine the exterior. Interior indications that your roof might be in need of attention include discolored interior wall surfaces, stains on the ceiling tiles, mold and signs of leaking around the frames of your windows. While these signs could be totally unrelated to your roof, it’s best that you let us come out and take a look just to be on the safe side.

It’s always preferable to head a roofing disaster off at the pass. Get in touch with the roofing experts here at Central Roofing Company to start a maintenance program for your commercial roof.

Roof Inspections

Roof inspections should be performed regularly by trained roofing professionals, preferably on a biannual basis (once in the spring and once in the fall). Early problem detection makes repairs manageable before they become serious. A procedure whereby this is done routinely and recorded in writing should be established.

Historical File

Building owners should have and keep up to date a roof system historical file. Maintenance personnel should be familiar with the contents of the roof system’s historical file (which should be kept on-site) and the conditions of the warranty so that the proper course of action can be taken when a problem occurs. A detailed history of the roof installation, repairs and changes made, and a roof plan should be included in the historical file. It also should contain the original plans and specifications, warranties, thorough documentation of maintenance and repairs, and, where possible, samples of roof system materials.

The file should be kept with the building when sold and purchased – it provides considerable information for pre-purchase and condition surveys of the property.

Warranties

Many warranties have direct or indirect exclusions based on lack of maintenance. If yearly or biannual maintenance is not performed and documented, damage from water intrusion may be excluded if it is determined that the leakage could have been prevented with typical maintenance.

Additionally, roofing contractors may provide maintenance as part of the labor and material warranty. This can remove some of the maintenance responsibility from the owner.

The Bottom Line

The money that building owners think is being saved by not performing regular inspections and maintenance will likely be spent in larger quantities when it becomes necessary to repair or prematurely replace the roof system. The cost of a single day of inspection and maintenance is minimal compared to the cost of removing and replacing the entire roof system.

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