Is Your Commercial Roof Ready for Winter?

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor. 

If your roof isn’t prepped for winter, you risk suffering damage and leaking. 

Most commercial roofing contractors offer spring and fall maintenance and cleaning to ensure your roof is in top-performing shape for the upcoming harsh seasons of winter and spring.  

How well do you know your roof? 

When you call a contractor to schedule your inspection, it’s important to be able to share your roof’s history. Do you know how old your roof is and what roofing material is on the roof? Gather information that would be helpful to the contractor including any repair and maintenance information and when it was last inspected.  Be sure to note if you are seeing any issues inside the building such as water stains on the ceilings.  

What to expect from the inspection 

Once you’ve scheduled the roof inspection, your roofing contractor will perform an in-depth analysis of areas that may have the potential to cause problems. They examine heavy traffic areas for damage, assess the condition of the drains, flashing around penetrations, tightness of seams and look for any areas where water intrusion might be possible.  

Your contractor should provide you with a report of the condition of the roof, with photos to show the situation along with a list of recommended repairs.  

Repairs and cleaning 

Once you decide to complete the repairs, your contractor will schedule the work. You should also be sure to ask that they clean areas of the roof that need attention and remove leaves and debris from gutters and drains as part of the repair process.  

Many times, your roof’s warranty will require regular maintenance and inspection in order to not void the manufacturer’s warranty. Once the repairs and cleaning are completed, your contractor will provide you with the documentation that the work was completed which you should store with your warranty paperwork.  

Winter care plan 

Now that you have established a relationship with your commercial roofing contractor, talk with them about snow removal service in the winter. When snowstorms prevent contractors from installing and repairing roofs, many stay busy by offering snow removal services. Snow and ice can be very damaging to a commercial roof, not only from the freezing and thawing but from the weight of the snow.  

Have a question? AskARoofer.

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