Your roof works around the clock to protect your commercial building from exposure to the elements, yet your roof is often easy to forget about—that is, until you experience a problem. One way to avoid some of the most common roofing issues that occur is to adopt a roof maintenance and documentation program.
Roof inspections are as necessary as a routine physical from your general practitioner. You want to make sure you are in good health and review any changes since your last visit.
The same goes for your roof. You want to check the health of your roof to discover if any issues that may have arisen since the last visit can be corrected in a timely manner to avoid more significant expenses at a later date.
When and How Often to Get a Roof Inspection
A building's roof should be inspected at least once a year—and ideally two times a year.
Hail season on the Colorado FrontRange runs from April through September, so a safe bet would be to have the property inspected sometime before April. If the property is in a storm-prone region, with the onset in mid-April to May, it would not be wise to wait until June because there's a good chance storms would have passed through. An ideal time is to try for two/three weeks prior to the start of the storm season.
The Roof Inspection Process
How long a roof inspection takes will vary by the size of the property and the number of buildings being inspected. You can expect us to spend several hours performing a full inspection and as much as a few days if the structure is complex or, multiple buildings are involved.
There's no need to accompany us during an inspection since we thoroughly document the entire roof system with videos, high-resolution photos, and thermography (if required), to document the inspection so that you can be assured your roof is in top condition.
During the inspection itself, we cover over 20 inspection points that allow us to assess the roof's condition. We look at the overall health of the roof itself, checking the membrane, the insulation, and the decking. We will also look at the vents on the roof, connection points, equipment, seams, and flashing to make sure they are well-sealed and in good working order. Like our doctor's visits, we can find things that might be slightly damaged and look trivial but, if left unattended, can cause serious issues down the road.
The Risks of Not Inspecting Your Roof
When building owners put off routine inspections and roof maintenance, it increases the likelihood that your roof may suffer from leaks that can damage the building and its contents and may violate your warranty coverage. Additionally, insurance carriers may deny claims following severe weather if building owners can't show that they have regularly cared for and maintained their roof.
By identifying and addressing small maintenance issues as they arise, owners can improve the performance of their roofs and potentially extend the service life of that roof. A small investment now can prevent larger expenses in the future and minimize the risk of property damage.
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