Commercial Roofing Maintenance Best Practices

No two commercial roofs are exactly the same, which means a care and maintenance plan has to be designed by the commercial property owner or manager. In today’s post, US Roofing shares some best practices for commercial roof care.

Be Proactive with Roofing Maintenance

Reactive roofing maintenance means responding to roofing after the fact — that is, waiting to find signs of roofing failure or for tenants to complain about them before taking action. You’ll want to avoid taking this approach because such signs happen when the roof is already severely damaged and will require extensive repairs.

In comparison, a proactive approach takes measures to prevent roofing problems from happening in the first place. In addition to savings in repair costs, proactive roofing maintenance offers the following benefits:

• Longer life span. Proactive roofing maintenance can help you get the most years out of your roof, perhaps even get a few years more than its expected life span.
• Structural integrity. Damage to the roof’s framing and substrate, if not repaired, can compromise its integrity. There is a higher risk of structural damage if the roof has high foot traffic or has several utilities such as air conditioner condensers.
• Continued business. A well-maintained roof can prevent disruption of your tenant’s business and avoid downtime, loss of revenue and damage to critical equipment.
• Avoid voiding your warranty. Poor maintenance is considered by roofing manufacturers to be a form of neglect, which, in most roofing warranties, can void warranty coverage.

Work With a Team

As a property owner or manager, you have many things to think about in addition to the roof, even more so if you own or manage multiple buildings. Delegate the maintenance work to a team and make sure they are trained to recognize signs of roofing problems and to follow procedure in order to avoid delays. This will leave you with key tasks like signing off on roofing repair costs, and more time for your other responsibilities.

Stick to a Schedule

Annual inspections conducted by your team and scheduled maintenance conducted by your roofing contractor are two halves of a thorough commercial roofing maintenance routine. It’s important to stick to your maintenance schedule because it helps avoid delaying repairs. Professional roofing maintenance appointments are conducted every three to five years, which should give you ample time to prepare for them and make sure they aren’t postponed.

US Roofing provides roofing services to communities in New England. Give us a call at (978) 532-6300 or fill out our contact form to schedule an appointment.