Commercial roofing contractors are useful allies in protecting your building from water damage. By hiring a roofer to inspect your roofing materials regularly, you can stop a roof leak before it gets so big that it causes damage to your building and supplies. A bad roof leak could even disrupt your operations, so it's best to keep up with repairs so leaks can be plugged early.
If your commercial building has a flat roof, it may have membrane roofing. This type of roofing is common on flat roofs, and it's a durable choice. However, membrane roofs can leak occasionally. Here's where leaks are likely to happen and how a commercial roofing contractor can handle the problem.
Seams Might Come Apart
Membrane roofing is applied in individual sheets since a single membrane isn't large enough to cover an entire roof. The membrane sheets overlap each other and create seams that are potential leak risks. The risk increases as your roof ages and the bond in the seam gets weaker due to rain and sun exposure.
When commercial roofing contractors inspect membrane roofing, they check the seams to see if any have pulled apart. If so, the seams need to be bonded back together. The method chosen depends on the material the membrane is made from. PVC membranes can be bonded with heat that melts the two membranes together. Seam tape and adhesive are needed to close gaps in rubber membranes.
The Membrane Can Tear
Rips and holes in membrane roofing are fairly common. These can happen when birds peck on the membrane or when hail strikes it. Punctures can also develop due to foot traffic. Commercial roofing contractors are careful to look for small punctures when examining your roof, especially around HVAC equipment and other areas that get checked or serviced by your maintenance crew.
Rips and holes can be repaired with patches cut from the same type of membrane as the roofing. A patch is adhered with heat or adhesive to make a tight bond so the hole won't leak. As your roof ages, it may accumulate several patches, and these patches need to be checked during an inspection to ensure they maintain a tight bond.
Puddles Can Form
While membrane roofing is waterproof, the membranes aren't made to withstand water puddles for a prolonged time. If a depression or dam from debris forms on the roof, water may puddle when it rains and take a long time to dry out. This could eventually lead to a roof leak.
The solution to this problem is for the roofer to fix the drainage issue. This might involve clearing away a leaf dam or adjusting the slope of the roof so rain can drain away. The roofer may also need to look underneath the membrane to check for excess moisture.
This can be done by taking core samples or by using a thermal camera. If the insulation boards under the membrane in the area are soaked, the roofer may need to replace them with new boards and then patch in new roofing material to cover the new insulation boards.
For more information, contact a commercial roofing service such as the Georgia Restoration Company.
When you have something you like inside a jar, you probably put a lid on it — right? In a way, you can think of your house in the same manner. You like and value the items inside, along with the inside of the house itself. So, it only makes sense that you would protect the interior of your home with a lid. That lid is your roof.
Keep that perspective in mind as you read this blog. Learning more about roofing will feel more interesting if you remember what a roof does: it protects the inside of the home and the people who live in it.