Commercial Roof Overs - Oft Missed Items
Commercial Roofing is vastly different than residential shingle roofing. Commercial Membrane roofing is far more technical and demanding than many contractors understand and a large part of what separates residential roofers from commercial roofers is the ability to successfully execute the Preconstruction side of roofing.
Often times older roofs are able to get a further extension of life by roofing over them with a new coverboard and membrane. While a relatively simple labor tasks the key to a successful Roof Over or Re-Roof is to understand the detailed minutia that is required to provide a warranty to the client and how to ensure that the roof over provides another 20 years of life expectancy.
The first step that is often over looked on in this process is that most manufacturers require some form of roof scan to be conducted prior to performing the roof over as this will identify areas of damaged insulation or decking that will later compromise the integrity and potentially the safety of the new roofing system.
Leaks are the worst enemy of roofers and as leaks occur on commercial roofs they will degrade the value and strength of the roofing insulation and can cause structural issues in steel or concrete structures. A thermal scan or moisture scan conducted on a roof will identify areas worthy of further investigation and possible replacement of substrates prior to new roofing installation.
Early detection of these areas is key to controlling the costs of a roof over and of ensuring proper client expectations for a Roof Over. Degraded insulation will cause a failure in the new roof membrane over time and voids any warranty the client is looking for. Further should the deck be compromised it puts workers and owners at risk for injury during the Roof Over or afterwards. Identify areas of concern establish a replacement price outside of the Roof Over and be prepared for further discovery of damaged areas that may not of registered on an initial scan.
Second item of concern is to verify the thickness of the roofing system you are installing the new roof over by conducting core samples. This eliminates several problems by verifying that only 1 roof membrane is in place and a Roof Over is code approved. It will also ensure that your roofing contractor knows the depth of Insulation along with the type ahead of uncovering the roof system. This will better the overall roofing install by ensuring proper material staging and ordering thus eliminating costly false assumptions and change orders.
