Storms may buffet and rattle your business’s windows, but it is your flat roof which bears the brunt of any storm. Storm damage to flat roofs can lead to water infiltration, shortened life spans of the roofing material, and clogged drains.
What to Do First
When you notice storm damage to your low-slope or flat roof, your first call should be to your local, trusted commercial roofer for a thorough inspection. Your roofer will check the damage, provide you with a strategy for repair or replacement, and give you an estimate.
This call cannot wait. Storm damage you can see is usually matched by unseen damage inside the roof deck, under the top layer, in insulation, or within your building. One open seam can cause water to get into interior walls, causing mold, mildew, and decreased inside air quality.
Unless you can do so safely, stay off your roof after a storm and rely on the expertise of your commercial roofing contractor.
Major Problems
The initial call is all the more important when your business sustains major storm damage to the flat roof. One open seam, a clogged internal drain, perhaps some ballast scouring may not seem like a lot. But unanswered damage will only worsen the problem. That open seam will allow your insulation and deck to become waterlogged, perhaps rotting out roof timbers. That clogged drain will lead to ponding. Missing ballast or a torn membrane turns into widespread damage.
Major problems spring from trying to “handle it yourself.” Flat roofs are tricky; you have to know the materials, the layers, and the potential problems with every repair.
Storm Chasers?
We get it. Budgets are tight. Your uncle knows a guy. No good commercial roofer, though, recommends storm chasers for flat roof repair. A storm chaser is a fly-by-night operator, someone who may not even have a physical address.
Crews from these “contractors” come from day laborers scooped up from home improvement store parking lots at 7 a.m. the day of the job.
Instead of trusting your commercial roof (the one piece of your property which shelters all the other parts of your business) to storm chasers, ally yourself with a trusted, reliable, local roofer. Alan’s Roofing in central Florida is your go-to commercial roofer. Contact us today for a free quote so we can help put storm damage to your commercial roof behind you.
