If you’re a property owner, sooner or later you’re going to have to fix or replace your commercial roof. The average roof lasts about 20 years, and insurers are more stringent than ever about making sure their customers have up-to-date roofs. Keeping your roof in good repair will ensure you don’t face hassles from your insurer, and will also help you avoid expensive water and other damage to your building.
If you’re thinking about hiring a professional commercial roof installation and repair company to do the work, be sure you know these basics about commercial roof maintenance:
Consider your options – If your facility is an older building, you have a lot more options for roofing materials than the original builder of your facility did. There are a variety of other materials you can use for your commercial or industrial roof. Consider your needs and your budget, and choose accordingly.
- Prevention is the best cure – Regular inspection and maintenance of your commercial roof will help you catch problems early and correct them before they become more extensive and expensive. While climbing up the ladder during hot summer days or during the chill of winter is no one’s idea of a good time, it’s a worthwhile investment to go up and have a look around a few times a year, particularly after bad storms or weather events. Spotting smaller issues and fixing them now is much better than letting water damage accumulate over time.
- Replacement or resurfacing – Will you need to completely replace your roof, or can you build over the old roof? Modern building codes allow for only two layers of roofing. More layers than that will put your building at an elevated risk of collapse.
- Will the new roof be completely new, or will it be built over your old one? Building codes today allow for no more than two separate layers of roofing. This is because of building standards, and safety hazards and weight. Roof collapses happen much easier when you are dealing with more than one roof over your head.
- When installing a second layer of roofing it is important to do a moisture scan. Reroofing over an existing wet roof can cause rusting of the deck, cause mold and many other devastating effects to your roof and building.
- Know when to call a professional – While you can do basic roof repairs yourself, it’s worthwhile to call in professional commercial roofers when the damage is more extensive or is longstanding. Professional roofers can do a thorough inspection and perform industry-standard repairs that will ensure your roof is in good shape for years to come.
Pfister Roofing provides full-service commercial roofing services to businesses and organizations in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut. In business for three decades, Pfister is a respected provider of specialty roofing services, including installing and maintaining roofs for historical buildings.