If you’re in the planning stages for a new commercial roof installation, it’s important to involve all participants who can add value to the process. Here are a few suggestions and their potential responsibilities. The contractor is the most important member of the team because the quality of the installation comes down to their experience and familiarity with the new roofing system you’ve chosen. Before hiring a commercial roofer, you should investigate their previous projects, especially those that are similar to your own. Your roofer should provide you with peace of mind, before, during, an ..read more

The winter weather might be frightful, but it’s the job of your commercial roof system to keep it outside where it belongs. That’s true in every season, but wintertime brings roof challenges that are unlike those during other times of the year. Thermal expansion and contraction create stresses on all parts of your commercial roof. Even during particularly harsh winters, there will be times when direct daytime sunlight can “warm up” sections of your roof, causing them to expand. At night, these sections shrink back again. Even slight movements – perhaps not even visible – can pull at membrane s ..read more

Your Metal Roof Structural standing seam metal roofs for flat commercial buildings are practical, reliable, and long-lasting. However, time eventually catches up with metal, and rusted roof decks and leaks may start to compromise the building’s integrity. Here are some of the most common problems that lead to leaks and larger repair and maintenance budgets: Roof metal expansion and contraction. This movement loosens screws, pulls at seams, and causes cracks to form around stacks and other penetrations. Rust and corrosion. Moisture’s effect on steel is well known. Snow, rainfall, and ponding wa ..read more

Cool Roofs and Cost Savings for Commercial Building Owners As a commercial building owner with a flat roof, you know first-hand that your roof is a cost-intensive investment. Once the initial costs of installation have been paid, you have maintenance and cleaning fees, snow removal, and possibly repair costs if those are not covered under your warranty.  An additional factor you may not have considered is the impact of your roof on your yearly energy costs. With the continual rise in energy costs over the past 2 decades, business owners and roofing system manufacturers are increasing thei ..read more

Do you know why it’s important to know the solar reflective index of your commercial flat roof? When your commercial roof has reached the end of its life cycle or has been damaged beyond repair, it’s time to decide what type of new roofing system is best suited to your needs. In the past 20 years, with rising energy costs, roofing manufacturers, government agencies, and consumers have started to focus on keeping energy costs down. One of the most effective ways of doing this is to choose a “Cool Roof”, and the easiest way to ensure that you are choosing the highest-performance cool roof is to ..read more

A wide variety of commercial roof systems is available for building owners and managers who are in need of a replacement. Thermoplastic membranes are the relative new kids on the block, although they have been around for decades, with occasional tweaks in chemical composition. They are lightweight, flexible, and usually white (although available in a variety of colors), which provides high reflectivity and energy savings for building owners. They’re manufactured with a mesh scrim laminated between two layers of film, and installed on the roof with either adhered or mechanical attachment method ..read more

Three Indicators that Your Commercial Roof Has Been Damaged by Hail Hail is a weather problem that causes significant financial loss every year in the US; it’s possible that a single hailstorm can cause a billion dollars’ worth of damage. According to the National Weather Service, even 1-inch hail is capable of producing considerable property damage. Your commercial building is not exempt from the effects of hail and, after any storm that produces hail, you should inspect it to see if your roof has been damaged. Here are three things to look for: Dimples or “minor” cracks in the roof membrane ..read more

A new commercial roof is a major capital investment and should prompt you to consider a number of cost factors before making your final decision. Initial installation cost is usually the first thing that comes to mind, but that’s not necessarily the most important factor. If you’re expecting your roof to last 15 years or more, its cost over the entire life may be the most economical number. And that is dependent on several things: Your new roofing system should be able to meet the unique watertight needs of your facility. A building with large rooftop expanses (a warehouse, for example) has di ..read more

Drainage on Your Commercial Roof Ensuring that your commercial roof’s drainage system is working as designed is critical to maintaining watertight integrity. A gallon of water weighs about eight pounds and having a pool of undrained water on your rooftop adds stress to the surface and building structure and can significantly shorten the life of your roofing system. “Flat” commercial roofs are typically not 100% flat – at least they shouldn’t be, because water needs gravity to flow. In fact, a flat – low-slope – commercial roof is usually defined as having a slope or pitch of no more than 3 inc ..read more

The concept of “sustainability” in commercial construction boils down to a few basic elements. These include using renewable and recyclable building materials during construction along with reducing energy consumption and waste during the building’s life cycle. The ultimate goal is to reduce its impact on the environment. Today’s commercial roofing systems can help achieve these objectives in several ways. Here’s a brief look at a few. Waste reduction. The manufacture of roofing materials can generate a lot of waste. However, today’s roof production processes are efficient, and recycle manufac ..read more