A Temporary Roof Repair Only Buys Time
Fall is Here
It’s starting…the rain. Our 24 hour phone line is ringing and we’re dispatching for emergency leaks. Fall is here.
When we send a crew on a leak call, they investigate the leak and make a temporary roof repair. It’s unusual that we can fix the problem when it’s raining so we do a temporary repair and schedule a time to come back and fix the problem, so it doesn’t happen again.
Temporary Roof Repairs are Only Temporary
It’s important to understand that temporary roof repairs are just bandaid solutions and there’s no way to guarantee how long they will last. Always follow through with a proper repair.
Here’s a situation that we sometimes see happen because the temporary repair was left as is and never properly fixed.
So we put another temporary repair on it.
If this customer had let us back to fix that temporary repair, they would have saved themselves from having to deal with another leak, the damages from that leak and us coming back to put in another temporary repair.
Get the Drain Replaced
This is what happened when a drain that had a temporary repair wasn’t replaced in time.
We located the problem drain and found a temporary repair that wasn’t dealt with. It needed a new drain.
We couldn’t properly install a new drain while it was raining so we put in a temporary repair. Since the real drain was never installed, another leak happened.
Of course it was raining when the second leak happened so we put in another temporary repair. We still need to install a new drain.
Watch the Weather Forecast
Temporary roof repairs are just temporary and need to be followed through with a proper repair. Keep an eye on the weather. We need a dry day to do a proper fix because the materials we use need to dry and set. That won’t happen on a rainy day. We keep a close eye on the weather every day of the year so we know what days we can do permanent repairs, and which days we will be reacting to leaks.
Get it Fixed ASAP
The length of time that a temporary roof repair will hold depends on many many factors, most of them are out of everyone’s control. There’s just no way to guarantee how many days or weeks it will last. That’s why it’s important to get it fixed ASAP.
Vegetation on the Roof: Roots Can be a Problem
Green Roofs
There are so many great things about a green roof, or having vegetation on the roof. They save money in numerous ways. Insulating the building, preventing water damage, preventing UV damage and providing food. They’re becoming more popular and are an excellent investment. Did you know the Olympic Village has many green roofs on its buildings?
Vegetation on the Roof
If you’re getting one installed, you’ll need to know that the very thing that makes it a green roof, the vegetation on the roof, can also cause damage. Plants start from seeds and seeds get spread around from gardens. The wind, the bees, the butterflies and birds all help spread the seeds around. Some end up on the roof membrane and the start growing roots. It’s so important to have a quality roof membrane so they can’t get in.
This isn’t just a problem for green roofs. This can happen to any roof! We’ve seen roofs that could actually be mistaken for green roofs.
Sometimes it’s a few grassy weeds.
They grow tall.
Like a shrub.
Like a bush.
Like a tree.
They grow even if they weren’t meant to. It’s a bad sign when vegetation on the roof shows up with its roots in the membrane. Those roots are trying to find water in any way they can and will draw it down into the membrane.
Prevent Possible Root Damage from Vegetation on the Roof
Uncontrolled vegetation growth on the roof poses serious problems. For example, blackberry bushes have strong root systems which quickly and easily cause damage to the membrane.
Dried grasses and moss pose another safety concern especially in the hot summer months. A simple spark can ignite the dried grass and moss creating a serious risk of fire. Making sure such vegetation is regularly cleared off your roof is essential to proper roof function and safety. Such proactive measures will help extend the life of your roof system.
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Commercial Roofing Demands Special Attention
The integral piece to any structure, whether it is commercial or residential, is always the roof. As the single most important factor in keeping the elements at bay, a building’s rooftop is also one of the most important places to maintain a regular schedule of upkeep.
For commercial buildings in particular, this maintenance can be quite a job. Given the fact that most businesses tend to include significantly more square footage than an average home, simply performing inspections properly can be a challenging prospect. With livelihoods, inventory, and safety on the line, it only makes sense to trust a business’s rooftop to the able hands of experienced experts.
In order to prevent damage before it has a chance to accumulate, most experts recommend having inspections performed twice yearly; once in the spring and once again in the fall. This allows for the addressing of concerns both immediately before and after the brunt of winter’s force hits. By stopping water before it has a chance to seep into small permeations where it can accumulate mold – or worse, ice – much of the costly damage associated with roofing repairs can be avoided.
The good news is that performing bi-annual inspections, even for those on Canada’s rain-soaked west coast, is usually enough to catch most problems before they have a chance to grow and accumulate collateral damage. A city like Vancouver can be a challenging place to maintain a proper commercial roofing schedule, but the area’s notorious climate has also led to the establishment of some of the most trusted teams of roofers in the country. Companies such as Design Roofing have assembled teams of experienced local roofers who have the background and knowledge necessary to tackle Vancouver’s rainiest months.
Remember to seek out the most reputable and trustworthy companies, to perform checks twice annually, and to stop the damage before it accumulates. Your business, your employees, and your bottom line will thank you.
Protect Your Business: Protect Your Commercial Roof
Most business owners give little thought to their commercial roof until it is far too late. Instead, their focus lies in the minute details of daily operations. From payroll to merchandising and from scheduling to sales, it can be very difficult to find the time for property management when your focus is on making sure a business is vibrant and healthy.
What few proprietors realize is that by ignoring their commercial roof, they are in many ways ignoring an oncoming disaster. It may be true that a business is defined by the people who run it; their habits, their personalities, and their approach to customer service. It is also true, though, that a business cannot survive without its stock, its employees, and its physical location.
Obviously, when a rooftop becomes damaged there is little to do but shut the doors and await repairs. With the loss of physical location comes the loss of a customer’s trust that the doors will always be open…and reliability is fundamental to the long-term success of a business.
Any business that focuses on the distribution of a physical product can tell you that without the stock necessary to fill orders, they are essentially useless. A leaking roof can very quickly lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars’ worth of stock.
One of the most important factors is the health and safety of employees. From potential collapses to long-term concerns caused by the breathing of moldy air, a faulty commercial roof can easily lead to the destruction of a business workforce.
It may be difficult to find time to properly perform all of the physical checks required to maintain a commercial business, but certain elements simply cannot be left to chance. It is highly recommended that any business that owns buildings as part of its holdings should have their rooftops inspected and maintained at a minimum of two times per year.
This maintenance will not only help ensure the long-term health of employees, but it will also safeguard the business itself. If you want to be certain your company is in the best possible position moving forward, just remember–success starts at the top.
Commercial Roofing Companies Recommend Semi-Annual Maintenance
A commercial roofing contractor is often charged with the maintenance and upkeep of a business’s most important asset; the physical location in which business is conducted. However, most business owners rarely think about their go-to roofing company unless something has already drawn their attention to a problem.
The unfortunate reality is that this type of thinking often leads to unnecessary headaches and worse, financial losses which can easily climb into the tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. In fact, most commercial roofing companies recommend semi-annual maintenance checks each spring and fall to ensure that small issues can be dealt with before they have a chance to worsen.
A good roofing company can easily spot damage caused by animals, weather, vandalism, and any other potential threats to the average business. This damage, left untreated, can easily lead to leaks, structural damage, mold, or even loss of inventory. A commercial roofing contractor can locate warning signs which are nearly invisible to the naked eye and take steps to prevent losses long before they occur.
A single crack, left undetected for just a single season, can easily absorb enough water to cause significant damage. If this water is then allowed to freeze and expand, there is no limit to the destruction which can potentially follow. Commercial roofing companies suggest that by performing regularly scheduled maintenance in both the spring and autumn, much of these effects can be avoided.
In the fall, it is important to call in a commercial roofing contractor before the temperature starts to drop below freezing. Once the water has begun to freeze, it is not only more difficult to locate, but it also has already begun to cause damage. In the spring, thawing can lead to an overwhelming amount of water being deposited onto a structure in a very short period of time. Scheduling an appointment with a reputable roofing company well in advance of the spring thaw can be a critical step in locating problems before they have a chance to worsen.
For Commercial Roofing, Summer Maintenance Prevents Winter Headaches
In the harsh northern climate of most Canadian cities, business owners must have the foresight to anticipate many weather related structural problems before they have the chance to accumulate, potentially leading to costly repairs. Nowhere is this concept more relevant than in the field of industrial roofing.
Although often out of sight, commercial roofing has the ability to become a real problem in a very short period of time. Because damage is often not noticed until accumulation has occurred, a faulty rooftop can easily cause tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage before ever being addressed.
Most roofing specialists recommend annual maintenance and check-ups to prevent this from occurring. Because commercial roofing is comprised of different building materials and is often subjected to different conditions than a home roof, it is highly recommended that a team of industrial roofing specialists, like those at Design Roofing, be called in to perform these yearly checks.
For commercial roofing in particular, these checks can be the difference between a small maintenance fee and the potential loss of thousands of dollars’ worth of stock and business hours. Because of temperature and weather conditions, these potential pitfalls are significantly easier to identify and address during the summer months.
The warmth and lack of winter precipitation mean that industrial roofing repairs can be performed not only with better results, but also in significantly fewer hours. This not only saves the business owner money on billable hours, but also means that lost productivity is kept to an absolute minimum.
Of course, the roofing specialists at Design Roofing are able to work in all conditions when it comes to industrial roofing jobs. It is simply a matter of strategically timing certain maintenance tasks in order to provide the maximum value to their loyal clientele, and the warmer summer weather provides a perfect opportunity to do exactly that.
Industrial and commercial properties should have their rooftops inspected at a minimum of once per year for potential damage accumulation. From loose tiles, to damage cause by animals and weather, performing basic upkeep can easily save a business thousands of dollars in lost time and product. The summer provides the perfect opportunity to perform this basic maintenance without having to deal with the added cost and headaches associated with working through the harsh Canadian winter. The experts at Design Roofing have to expertise and experience needed to perform these tasks in a professional and efficient manner, potentially saving thousands of dollars along the way.
Industrial Roofing Firms Can Help With Nesting Issues
One of the surest signs of spring is the ongoing chorus of chirps and tweets from our feathered friends. But for business owners, these calls can be the first warning to a serious problem; one which affects nearly every property owner at one point or another and often requires costly emergency roof repair.
Nesting birds may seem harmless, but they can take a serious toll on industrial roofing. Accumulation of debris, as well as droppings can lead to a messy rooftop situation for many business owners. Unfortunately, the law dictates that once nesting season has begun, business owners are essentially at the mercy of nature.
Luckily, there are options. Prior to the official beginning of nesting season, property owners can call in a reputable industrial roofing company to help with the removal of nests, as well as taking preventative steps to avoid future problems. Roof services provided by these companies not only help with the removal of pesky nesters, but can also help prevent other problems by performing semi-annual evaluations.
Emergency roof repair can be a costly undertaking, especially when preventative maintenance can be performed easily, and at a significantly lower price. Roof services such as debris removal, nest removal, and spot repairs can be done at the very beginning of the warm season, long before accumulation causes any serious damage.
Once the nesting season has begun, however, business owners must simply sit and watch as rooftop problems continue to mount. By seeking out an established industrial roofing company to provide upkeep and other ongoing roof services early in the season, business owners can avoid the costs and headaches associated with emergency roof repair.
Keys to Maintaining a Flat Roof
If you hire a professional in the commercial roofing business, a very common choice that they will recommend for your infrastructure is the installation of a flat roof. This makes sense for a number of reasons, but what many people fail to realize is that proper maintenance and upkeep can save a business owner both time and money, and can often prolong the need for a complete roofing replacement by years.
When dealing with flat roofing repairs and maintenance, there are a few simple things to keep in mind which can help relieve many of the headaches associated with a full roofing replacement. These tips are quick, easy, and best of all, can save thousands of dollars over the lifetime of a flat roof.
1) Check the roof top at least three times per year, particularly if the business is located near a high number of trees. Leaves, sticks, and other debris can clog drainage systems and lead to costly flat roofing repairs. If there is any build up on the roof top, it is best to call in a qualified roofing specialist to deal with the problem.
