A roof is often out of sight and out of mind for business operators, but failure to regularly inspect the roof risks more than voiding the roofing manufacturer’s warranty. An undetected and unaddressed leak, loose debris or similar rooftop hazard can expose a restaurant or retail operation to water damage, wildlife infestations, electrical failures and even fires.
That’s why Justin Hicks, senior roofing account manager at MaintenX, encourages clients to schedule regular inspections by one of the company’s roofing experts. MaintenX is a facility maintenance provider serving multisite retailers, restaurants and Fortune 500 companies across the country.
“It’s always best to have somebody on that roof at least once or twice a year even if you haven’t had a storm, so you’re catching issues prior to rain,” Hicks says. “And it’s required by the roofing manufacturers for about the first 10 years — every year you have to have somebody walk the roof and send pictures.”
A range of routine maintenance tasks put boots on roofs throughout the year, from servicing HVAC units to adjusting satellite dishes, running cabling and other activities. The more foot traffic, the greater the risk of incidental damage and the need for inspections by a roofer trained to recognize signs of perforations and wear.
Why the vigilance? The reason is that commercial roofs are more vulnerable than many people realize.
“Someone working on a roof may think the surface is either concrete or something they can’t hurt,” Hicks explains, adding that many tradespeople share this lack of understanding. “Most often, the surface is really a single-ply membrane, and the corner of an access panel can poke a hole in it.”
Handle With Care
Thermoplastic polyolefin or TPO has become the material of choice for many roofing contractors and building owners due to its relatively low cost, durability, ease of installation and ability to reflect much of the sun’s heat. It is also the product that Hicks encounters most often on commercial buildings today.
TPO comes in a range of weights, typically 35 to 45 mils, or about 60 mils to cover unsupported areas. (For comparison, a heavy-duty, puncture-resistant trash bag is about 6 mils.) Roofers roll out TPO in strips and weld the seams with heat for a water-tight seal. Most TPO manufacturers back the product for about 20 years when properly installed and maintained.
Even the lightest-weight TPO is strong enough to repel rain and resist sunlight for many years, but it is vulnerable to punctures.
“It’s like an insulation board,” Hicks says, describing a typical TPO application. “There’s really nothing too firm there. A dropped screwdriver can penetrate it.”
The primary line of defense against damage from foot traffic is to install walking pads, which distribute a person’s weight and keep feet and tools off the roof’s surface. In the absence of walking pads or when someone ventures beyond walkways, minor accidents such as stepping on a discarded screw can perforate the membrane and create leaks.
“Walk pads are a part of preventive maintenance and will prevent 80 to 90 percent of roof issues associated with accessing HVAC units,” Hicks says. “Most of the time, an owner will install a walkway from the roof hatch to any installed equipment. By not putting down the walkway pad, you open yourself up for holes, cuts and tears in the roof.”
Owners should caution anyone with access to their roof to stick to the walking pads and avoid walking or placing objects on unprotected surfaces. Leaving this point to chance can be costly.
“I’ve had property managers step on the roof with high heels,” Hicks says. “I’ve had to explain that your heel can go through that, because the only thing underneath that material is insulation.”
Visual Indicators
Certified inspectors are trained by manufacturers for specific roof types to recognize wear and areas requiring repair or preventive maintenance. During roof inspections, MaintenX technicians check for debris such as tree limbs or loose gutters that could tear the roof in high winds. This inspection includes ensuring that HVAC access panels are fully fastened to withstand storms.
Discoloration can reveal spots that collect water or grow algae. Near busy roadways, dust can turn white roofs gray or even black, and discoloration itself can compromise energy efficiency, Hicks says. TPO’s normally white or light gray surface helps repel heat, an important function in hot climates.
MaintenX removes the contaminants that cause discoloration with a light-pressure wash, which is a common maintenance requirement from TPO manufacturers.
“If you can’t see the surface, you don’t know if you are missing a hole, a cut or a puncture,” Hicks says. “To be able to maintain that roof, priority one is to keep it clean.”
Signs of animal activity are another red flag. For example, if a restaurant allows the grease traps at rooftop vents to overflow or leak, birds pecking at the trailing fat have been known to break through roof membranes and cause leaks. Owners can reduce this risk by installing grease guards around each trap, which will usually prevent leaks between periodic cleanings, Hicks says.
Regular roof inspections and preventive maintenance can avoid many common roof problems and lessen the damage from leaks that are caught and corrected early.
“Preventive maintenance is key,” Hicks says. “If you have a qualified roofer on that roof once or twice a year, you are going to be stopping most issues before they happen. Take care of your investment and love your roof.”
— By Matt Hudgins. MaintenX is a content partner of Retail & Restaurant Facility Business. For more articles from and news about MaintenX, click here.