Table of Contents
- What Is Commercial Roof Restoration?
- The Difference Between Commercial Roof Repair, Replacement and Restoration
- How to Tell If Your Roof Needs Resealing
- The Benefits of Roof Restoration
- Roof Restoration Process
- Why You Should Choose David Maines & Associates to Restore Your Commercial Roof
Does your roof need some TLC? If your roof is worn out or leaking, it may be time to consider roof restoration. Roof restoration can not only give your home an updated look, but it can also ensure that your roof is weather-proof and safe.
To determine whether roof restoration services are needed, the first step is usually to perform a visual inspection. You may see signs of roof defects from the building’s interior, such as mold, odors and water stains. If you notice any of these signs, you may want to examine the roof. Issues such as bubbles or tears in the cover, gaps in the flashing, cracking seams, wet insulation or pools of standing water can quicken the deterioration of your roof cover. This deterioration can cause leaks, the growth of mold and issues during strong storms.
To fix these problems before they worsen, roof restoration may be your best option.
What Is Commercial Roof Restoration?
So what exactly is roof restoration? The process of restoring your roof involves cleaning, repairing and coating. Restoring goes beyond a few repairs to give your roof an enhanced quality and durability that returns the roof to its prime.
A wide range of roofs can benefit from restoration roofing, including Zincalume, Decromastic, Colorbond, Galvanised iron, Concrete tile and Terracotta tile.
As roofs age, you may begin scheduling more frequent repairs and start to question whether it may be worth replacing the roof altogether. Maybe it makes more sense to replace a roof than to incur regular repair expenses. Consider the following questions to determine whether your roof may need some TLC:
- Is your roof 20 years old or older?
- Is your roof leaking? Is there interior damage, such as water stains or mold?
- Are there missing shingles?
- Are you incurring high costs for frequent roof repairs?
- Is your roof no longer aesthetically pleasing?
- Does your roof meet regulations?
Many may assume a leaky, damaged roof in need of constant repair should be replaced. But repairs and replacement are not your only two options when it comes to improving a roof.
The Difference Between Commercial Roof Repair, Replacement and Restoration
The option of roof restoration may be more cost-effective than repairing or replacing your roof. Restoring can revitalize your roof, push back the need for a full replacement by another decade and minimize the need for repairs.
So, what exactly is the difference between restoring, repairing and replacing a roof?
1. Roof Repair
Repairs are useful for minor issues that materialize from time to time and need a simple, low-cost fix that doesn’t require a total roof revitalization. Here are a few problems that may require only a repair:
- Drainage Issues: You’ll know your roof is experiencing drainage problems if water is pooling on the roof’s surface. If this is happening with your roof, then your drainage may be clogged, or you may need a better drainage system. Our team is experienced with fixing drainage problems, so we can assess and repair your drainage quickly.
- Punctures: Punctures in commercial roofs can sometimes occur when debris falls on the roof. Our trained team can quickly patch these punctures.
- Seams: Seams can open on the surface of your roof over time, and these openings need attention quickly to prevent further damage. With a repair, you may be able to extend your commercial roof’s longevity.
- Caulk Deterioration: This is commonly one of the first repairs you’ll need to make on a commercial roof. Removing caulk that has deteriorated and replacing it becomes increasingly important as your roof ages.
- Blisters: Blistering is usually caused by poor installation. We have several strategies we can use to fix this problem.
- Loose Fasteners: Roofs expand and contract over time due to moisture on the surface, and when this contracting and expanding occurs, fasteners can get pushed out. These fasteners need to be replaced or reinstalled.
If the damage to your roof is isolated to a single spot or just a few areas, then you might opt for a repair. Repairs keep your costs low — at least until they start to occur too frequently.
2. Roof Replacement
Sometimes, the only option remaining for a defective roof is a total replacement. If you’ve restored the roof once already and repairs are no longer enough to sustain the health of your roof, it’s time to move forward with a replacement. With a roof replacement, you’ll get a brand new roof and new insulation. This investment could last you about 20 years if you take proper care of it. Your regular maintenance and repair costs will also decrease, and your new roof will be safer and more aesthetically pleasing.
3. Roof Restoration
If your roof repairs are becoming more and more frequent and your costs are adding up quickly, you may begin considering a total replacement. Fortunately, a replacement may not be necessary. Before replacement, you should give your roof a new membrane.
- This new coating makes your roof leak-resistant.
- Your roof will become more aesthetically pleasing.
- Your new coating will reflect UV rays instead of absorbing them, meaning your indoor temperatures will stay cooler and your building will consume less energy.
- You’ll increase the longevity of your existing roof, meaning you’ll get more out of your investment.
A roof restoration can often fix all of your roof’s problems and can be a much more affordable option than a total replacement.
How to Tell If Your Roof Needs Resealing
Unfortunately, many commercial business owners don’t pay attention to their roof until it leaks. By then, the damage may be extensive. Damage caused by water ingress can affect both the exterior and the interior of the roof and its materials. In many cases, such extensive water damage could have been avoided by knowing how to tell if your roof needs resealing.
Knowing what to look for in an aging roof takes experience. Most building owners don’t excel at spotting the tell-tale signs of a failing roof. It takes a professional eye to recognize when a commercial roof requires restoring and resealing. Some signs that your roof needs attention are:
- General appearance: Roofing professionals are experts at determining a roof’s condition from its general appearance. For sloped and pitched roofs, restoration experts simply stand back and give a thorough visual inspection. Often they use binoculars to spot tiny signs of damage or wearing conditions. Flat roofs require getting up and walking about. Roofers look for discoloration, dislocation and disarray of all components in a roof assembly. There is nothing simpler, but more telling, than your roof’s general appearance.
- Cracked components: Roofing components with cracks or separations invite leaks even if water isn’t pouring in yet. Split shingles and cracked membranes are obvious signs of impending problems. They’re also good candidates for economic fixes with restoration techniques like resealing. Professionals can seal cracked components with a variety of specialty compounds. The restoration technique your roofing company uses depends entirely on your roofing material type.
- Missing components: Missing shingles, flashings and drains tend to stand out. Your roofing specialist will likely spot missing components immediately and be in a proactive position to restore or reseal them. Wind damage is typically the cause of missing roofing components. Poor workmanship is another contributing factor.
- Water staining: Trained professionals can identify and analyze water staining. Water is an unpredictable substance when it breaches a roofing membrane or barrier. Liquid reacts to gravity and pressure. If you see water staining inside your building, don’t assume the leak is right above it. Experienced roof restorers understand peculiar water patterns and can find a leak source far away from where the stain appeared. Tracking water leaks and sealing their entrance point is best left to those who evaluate and restore roofs professionally.
- Mold and mildew: Organic substances like mold and mildew thrive in moist environments. They also need warmth and a lack of light to survive. If you have mold and mildew signs in your ceiling or attic, it’s a strong indicator your roof is leaking and needs resealing. Mold and mildew are also evidence that your roof has likely been failing for some time. Hiring a reputable roofing company to restore and reseal your roof takes care of mold and mildew before any permanent damage occurs.
The Benefits of Roof Restoration
Are you unsure whether you should restore, replace or repair your roof? Consider the following benefits of roof restoration.
1. It’s Less Expensive
Completely replacing a roof can be quite costly, especially if an existing roof first needs to be removed. Roof replacement comes with significant costs for materials and labor. Because restoration doesn’t require as much labor or as many materials, the cost is lower.
Also, if you’ve been dealing with the consequences of roof damage for a while, you may have noticed an increase in your energy bills. By restoring your roof, your building’s energy consumption will drop, saving you even more money.
2. Restoration Can Prevent Damage and Loss
Restoring your roof can increase the safety of your roof during severe weather and high winds by re-pointing the ridge caps. The main cause of expensive damage to tiled roofs due to storms is loose ridge capping tearing off, so by restoring your roof, you can prevent costly damages from occurring.
By restoring your roof now, you can prevent even greater damage to your roof from occurring. Preventing this damage reduces safety risks to your business and employees. A deteriorating roof will continually worsen over time, so restoring it before it gets to the point of needing total replacement will save you money and put your mind at ease.
3. Restoration Can Prevent Moisture Absorption
Restoring your roof can prevent moisture from being absorbed into the tiles. Re-coating tiles can prevent them from getting waterlogged, particularly during long periods of rain.
If your roof is aging and in need of major repairs, opting to restore your roof may be exactly the right next step for you.
4. It Increases Durability and Longevity
Restoring your roof with a membrane coating can protect it from damage and increase its longevity. The membrane coating protects the roof from UV rays. These UV rays can damage the pointing mortar. The membrane coating also keeps the pointing from constricting or expanding. When the pointing mortar expands or contracts, small cracks can appear. Preventing this damage from occurring can help your roof last longer and remain durable for years to come.
Generally, commercial roofs last approximately 20 years. When you get your roof restored, you extend its life beyond this typical range. Restoration ensures you can avoid completely replacing the roof for at least another several years, affording you plenty of time to save for this future expense and allowing you to use the money you’ve saved today toward other expenditures and financial goals.
5. Restoration Protects Against Leaks
The membrane coating can also protect your building from leaks. The coating keeps the pointing and ridge capping together, preventing leaks in the areas most prone to leakage. You can rest easy knowing your roof is protecting your facility from leaks and water damage that could be costly to your business.
6. It Can Have Tax Benefits
Replacement of a roof is categorized as a capital expense, while restoration is considered a maintenance expenditure. Generally, you’ll pay less in taxes on maintenance when you take the current deduction rather than if you capitalize the cost and recover it through the roof’s depreciation.
7. Restoration Is More Environmentally Friendly
After a roof replacement, a lot of roofing waste ends up in landfills. Restoration is a much more sustainable option, as you are extending the life of your current roof. Doing so keeps waste out of landfills for another several years and ensures you get the most use out of your current roof materials as you can. Restoring your roof can also boost the energy efficiency of your building, reducing its impact on the environment and increasing its cost-effectiveness.
8. Restoration Can Improve Cleanliness of Rain Run-Off
Roof restoration can also help increase the cleanliness of the water running off of your roof. To take advantage of this cleaner water, you may want to shop around for some rainwater tanks, though be sure to check with the manufacturer ahead of time.
If you want an improved roof that increases durability and longevity, protects your home against leaks, improves the cleanliness of water run-off, stays safe during severe weather and doesn’t absorb moisture, you may want to consider roof restoration.
9. It Can Boost Building Value
Roof restoration can provide functional benefits and improve the overall look of your building. With enhanced curb appeal and other advantages like better durability and longevity, potential buyers will likely be more inclined to pay a higher price. A roof restoration project is an investment in the value of your building, so you know you’ll be putting your money to good use.
10. Restoration Provides Better Insulation
Your building can lose a lot of energy through a poorly insulated roof. If you live in an area with extreme hot and cold, that insulation is essential to controlling the temperature of your building. Commercial and industrial roof restoration offers you that protection, giving you confidence that you aren’t wasting any money sending your HVAC system into overdrive to keep up with gaps in your roof. Commercial roof restoration can save money so you have better control of your building’s temperature and HVAC costs.
11. It’s a Quieter Alternative
While installing a new roof can be a noisy, chaotic process, commercial roof restoration is fairly quiet and easy. The process usually won’t involve stripping away shingles and nailing new ones on. Instead, it will be a gentler process that won’t interfere with other businesses around you. Once your roof is restored, you’ll also experience greater sound control inside your building — storms and heavy winds will be muffled against the stronger supports of your restored roof.
12. Roof Restoration Is Quicker
Compared to other alternatives like roof replacement, commercial roof restoration is a much quicker process. Instead of having to go through the complicated process of getting an entirely new roof, all you’ll need is a new membrane that can sure up your building and make it look newer. It’s a simple, effective solution that won’t require truckloads of supplies throughout the day.
13. It Gives You Confidence in the Life of Your Roof
Commercial roofing also gives you confidence in how your roof is operating. If it’s been years since you’ve made repairs or had inspections, you could start to worry about its effectiveness. Heavy storms and high winds could make you question whether you’ve done enough to protect your building. Roof restoration solves all of those problems, letting you relax and gain solid confidence in the ability of your roof.
From affordability to better durability and longevity, there are a lot of benefits when it comes to commercial roof restoration. With all of these advantages, you may be looking for ways to learn more about the restoration of commercial roofs.
Roof Restoration Process
The process of commercial roof restoration is fairly straightforward. The exact mechanism of how roofing experts examine, treat and ensure your existing roof performs at its peak depends on your building design and what in-place materials they work with. From a building owner perspective, this is the roof restoration process you can expect:
- Contact a roof restoration company: Make sure you do due diligence and contact a roofing company that is reputable and experienced in restoring your roof type. Not every roofing company has the skills to take on built-up or EPDM roofs. Most companies are proficient with shingle systems, but many aren’t comfortable with metal roofs. Also, make sure your prospective roof restoration company is licensed and insured. Companies who belong to the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) will be reputable.
- Consult with a roof restoration company: A professional roofing company will provide an expert resource person to meet you and assess your roof’s current condition. Then they’ll discuss your options such as simple repairs and ongoing maintenance, roof restoration or a complete roof replacement. Your company representative will also give you a free, no-obligation estimate as well as a timeline of what to expect.
- Hire a roof restoration company: Once you’ve contacted and consulted with the right roof restoration company, you’ll want to move forward with a contract. A professional roofing company will give you a clear and detailed contract outlining the scope of works, terms and pricing. With a good roofing specialist, there will be no surprises. You’ll also have a solid guarantee that your restored roof will provide years of trouble-free coverage.
Why You Should Choose David Maines & Associates to Restore Your Commercial Roof
At David Maines & Associates, Inc., before repair work begins, we offer free inspections and estimates. We can take a look at your roof and give you details on what repairs are needed, along with an estimate for the execution of those repairs. We’ll also discuss your options with you if we believe your roof needs restoration or a full replacement so that you have all the information you need to make an informed decision.
We focus on providing the best commercial roofing services and results to our clients, which include manufacturing companies, retail centers, corporate offices, restaurants, schools and universities, government agencies and municipal buildings.
We know that every roof is unique and we take a specialized approach to each roof we restore so that you get the result that is best for your building. We have experience in restoring several types of roofs, including:
Our materials are of the highest quality, and our commercial systems come from many top manufacturers, such as Tremco, Firestone, Garland, Carlisle and more.
We bring our experience and knowledge to every restoration roofing project, and we’ll communicate with you throughout the process. We’ll make sure you know exactly where the project stands every step of the way, and you’ll receive notifications immediately with important information. With every job, we deliver excellent customer service and look forward to building long-term relationships with our clients.
We’ll make sure you’re getting the roof solution you need as affordably and efficiently as possible. For 28 years, David Maines & Associates, Inc. has been the leading service provider for commercial roofing. Our commitment to ensuring the best results and working with high-quality materials means you can rest assured that your roof restoration will be done right.
Roof repairs are great for improving the quality and safety of your roof in the short-term, but when these repairs become too frequent and costly, you may want to consider restoring your roof or replacing it. Many commercial buildings can have their roofs restored before replacement is needed, which can save your company money and increase the value of your initial investment by adding over a decade of life to your existing roof.
If you delay restoring your roof for too long, however, restoration may not be possible and replacing the roof may be the only viable option left. A roof can have a significant impact on a building’s energy consumption, interior environment and aesthetic appeal, so we recommend prioritizing your roof’s condition to keep your building and its tenants safe for decades to come.
Are you ready to schedule your roof restoration? If you’re in Pennsylvania or one of the surrounding states, contact us today at David Maines & Associates, Inc. to give your roof new life.
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