Your facility’s roof is the primary barrier that prevents external overhead threats from gaining entry. And yet, roofing often gets overlooked in the grand scheme of building maintenance. However, if you neglect your roof, your property will become more and more vulnerable to moisture intrusion, energy loss, and impact from weakened structures overhead. While these various issues can be resolved, you’ll save time, money, and reduce liability by simply giving your roof the attention it deserves — in doing so, you’ll also increase your roof’s longevity.
How to Extend the Life of Your Commercial Roof
1. Clean Your Roof Regularly
As a general rule, investing in routine commercial cleaning services will extend the lifespan of any surface or feature — the same goes for your commercial roof. Standing water, grime, and debris can build up on your roof over time. If you let these contaminants stay where they are, they can gradually eat away at your roof’s surfaces, clog gutters and other features, and add weight to your roof overall. Taking the time to clean these surfaces and clear away all debris will keep your roof in prime condition and also allow its reflective coatings to operate at full capacity (keeping your building cool and saving energy).
2. Inspect Your Roof With Useful Technology
Inspecting your roof for potential problems (such as leaks) is equally as important as keeping it clean. That said, the naked eye isn’t always able to identify these issues. This is where modern tools such as infrared (IR) imaging (thermography) come in handy. IR imaging devices allow inspectors to detect subtle movements of heat and moisture on roofs, building envelopes, and electrical panels. In other words, an infrared inspection can alert you to roofing problems such as poor insulation, moisture intrusion, air inflow/outflow, and more. Detecting these problems early on is key for proper commercial roof maintenance.
3. Keep Trees at a Safe Distance
The trees surrounding your facility (if there are any) can serve as friends or foes, depending on the situation. On the one hand, tall trees near your building provide shade, protecting your place from the sun’s harsh ultraviolet (UV) radiation. On the other hand, tall trees that are too close to your facility can do serious damage to your roof, windows, and siding if they get knocked over by strong winds. For this reason, it’s important to hire and consult landscape maintenance services to assess the size, shape, and location of your trees and keep them properly pruned to minimize their threat level.
4. Address Problems Immediately
If you wish to protect your facility and extend your commercial roof life, you must make any and all necessary repairs as soon as you notice a problem. Waiting to resolve a leak or other type of damage will only prolong the problem and allow it to worsen over time. Fortunately, performing routine cleaning and inspections will allow you to stay alert to these issues. It’s also important to check on your roof following a harsh weather event such as a powerful storm or heavy snowfall.
5. Hire a Reliable Commercial Property Maintenance Provider
The four tips mentioned above are only useful if you have the capacity to perform them. Put another way, the day-to-day dealings of your business might make it difficult for you to stay on top of commercial roof maintenance. If this is the case, you’re better off teaming up with a professional property management service to maintain your roof (and building as a whole) and make necessary repairs. The Budd Group, for instance, is a full-service facility maintenance provider, meaning we can serve as many roles as required by our clients — we can act as a roof snow removal service, roof inspection service, roof repair service, and much more (and that’s only our capacity as roofing professionals).
Whether you need a dedicated roof maintenance team, landscaping specialists, facility management professionals, janitorial services, or some combination, we have you covered.
To learn more about our services and values, give us a call today at 800-221-8158!